Indian Ocean causes south-eastern dry - drought mystery solved

摘要

The causes of south-eastern Australia's longest, most severe and most damaging droughts have been discovered, with the surprise, finding that they originate far away in the Indian Ocean. A team of Australian scientists has detailed for the first timehow a phenomenon known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) - a variable and irregular cycle of warming and cooling of ocean water (Figure 1) - dictates whether moisture-bearing winds are carried across the southern half of Australia. The landmark new studyexplains the current record breaking drought in southeastern Australia and solves the mystery of why a string of La Nina events in the Pacific Ocean — which usually bring rain - has failed to break it.