Separating ITCZ- and ENSO-related rainfall changes in the Galápagos over the last 3 kyr using D/H ratios of multiple lipid biomarkers

We present a 3000-yr rainfall reconstruction from the Galápagos Islands that is based on paired biomarker records from the sediment of El Junco Lake. Located in the eastern equatorial Pacific, the climate of the Galápagos Islands is governed by movements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We use a novel method for reconstructing past ENSO- and ITCZ-related rainfall changes through analysis of molecular and isotopic biomarker records representing several types of plants and algae that grow under differing climatic conditions. We propose that ?D values of dinosterol, a sterol produced by dinoflagellates, record changes in mean rainfall in El Junco Lake, while dD values of C34 botryococcene, a hydrocarbon unique to the green alga Botryococcus braunii, record changes in rainfall associated with moderate-to-strong El Niño events. We use these proxies to infer changes in mean rainfall and El Niño-related rainfall over the past 3000 yr. During periods in which the inferred change in El Niño-related rainfall opposed the change in mean rainfall, we infer changes in the amount of ITCZ-related rainfall. Simulations with an idealized isotope hydrology model of El Junco Lake help illustrate the interpretation of these proxy reconstructions. Opposing changes in El Niño- and ITCZ-related rainfall appear to account for several of the largest inferred hydrologic changes in El Junco Lake. We propose that these reconstructions can be used to infer changes in frequency and/or intensity of El Niño events and changes in the position of the ITCZ in the eastern equatorial Pacific over the past 3000 yr. Comparison with El Junco Lake sediment grain size records indicates general agreement of inferred rainfall changes over the late Holocene.

Galápagos coral reef persistence after ENSO warming across an acidification gradient

Anthropogenic CO2 is causing warming and ocean acidification. Coral reefs are being severely impacted, yet confusion lingers regarding how reefs will respond to these stressors over this century. Since the 1982-1983 El Niño-Southern Oscillation warming event, the persistence of reefs around the Galápagos Islands has differed across an acidification gradient. Reefs disappeared where pH<8.0 and aragonite saturation state (Omega arag)<=3 and have not recovered, whereas one reef has persisted where pH>8.0 and Omega arag>3. Where upwelling is greatest, calcification by massive Porites is higher than predicted by a published relationship with temperature despite high CO2, possibly due to elevated nutrients. However, skeletal P/Ca, a proxy for phosphate exposure, negatively correlates with density (R=-0.822, p<0.0001). We propose that elevated nutrients have the potential to exacerbate acidification by depressing coral skeletal densities and further increasing bioerosion already accelerated by low pH.

El Niño and the related phenomenon Southern Oscillation (ENSO): The largest signal in interannual climate variation

El Niño and the related phenomenon Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the strongest signal in the interannual variation of ocean-atmosphere system. It is mainly a tropical event but its impact is global. ENSO has been drawing great scientific attention in many international research programs. There has been an observational system for the tropical ocean, and scientists have known the climatologies of the upper ocean, developed some theories about the ENSO cycle, and established coupled ocean-atmosphere models to give encouraging predictions of ENSO for a 1-year lead. However, questions remain about the physical mechanisms for the ENSO cycle and its irregularity, ENSO-monsoon interactions, long-term variation of ENSO, and increasing the predictive skill of ENSO and its related climate variations.

Multidecadal variability of the continental precipitation annual amplitude driven by AMO and ENSO

As the water vapor content in the atmosphere scales with temperature, a warmer world is expected to feature an intensification of the hydrological cycle. Work to date has mainly focused on mean precipitation changes, whose connection to climatic modes is elusive at a global scale. Here we show that continental precipitation annual amplitude, which represents the annual range between minimum and maximum (monthly) rainfall, covaries with a linear combination of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and low-frequency variations in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on a decadal to multidecadal scale with a correlation coefficient of 0.92 (P<0.01). The teleconnection is a result of changes in moisture transport in key regions. Reported trends in the annual amplitude of global precipitation in recent decades need to be assessed in light of this substantial low-frequency variability, which could mask or enhance an anthropogenic signal in hydrological cycle changes.

A precipitation climatology for stations in the tropical Pacific basin : effects of ENSO /

"February 1998."

Jazz Innovations II with Kidz Boplicity Enso and the Ted Poor Group May 19, 2016

Concert Program

A Review of ENSO Influence on the North Atlantic. A Non-Stationary Signal

The atmospheric seasonal cycle of the North Atlantic region is dominated by meridional movements of the circulation systems: from the tropics, where the West African Monsoon and extreme tropical weather events take place, to the extratropics, where the circulation is dominated by seasonal changes in the jetstream and extratropical cyclones. Climate variability over the North Atlantic is controlled by various mechanisms. Atmospheric internal variability plays a crucial role in the mid-latitudes. However, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is still the main source of predictability in this region situated far away from the Pacific. Although the ENSO influence over tropical and extra-tropical areas is related to different physical mechanisms, in both regions this teleconnection seems to be non-stationary in time and modulated by multidecadal changes of the mean flow. Nowadays, long observational records (greater than 100 years) and modeling projects (e.g., CMIP) permit detecting non-stationarities in the influence of ENSO over the Atlantic basin, and further analyzing its potential mechanisms. The present article reviews the ENSO influence over the Atlantic region, paying special attention to the stability of this teleconnection over time and the possible modulators. Evidence is given that the ENSO–Atlantic teleconnection is weak over the North Atlantic. In this regard, the multidecadal ocean variability seems to modulate the presence of teleconnections, which can lead to important impacts of ENSO and to open windows of opportunity for seasonal predictability.

Impactos del ENSO en la biogeoquímica del sistema de afloramiento frente a Perú central, febrero 2013 - diciembre 2015

El ecosistema de afloramiento frente a Perú, tiene características que le confieren propiedades únicas y relevantes en el contexto regional y global. Entre sus propiedades biogeoquímicas se destaca la presencia de i) una alta productividad consecuencia de aguas ricas en nutrientes, ii) una extensa y somera Zona de Mínimo Oxígeno (ZMO) y iii) un alto reciclaje y pérdida de nitratos, asociado a los procesos de productividad como a la remineralización de la materia orgánica. Todas estas características están inmersas en una alta variabilidad temporal, observándose cambios significativos a escala interanual asociados con el ciclo ENSO y su fase cálida El Niño y fría La Niña. En este contexto, desde el año 2013, la DGIOCC de IMARPE desarrolla el proyecto “Estudio integrado del Afloramiento Costero frente a Perú Central”, con la finalidad de caracterizar el afloramiento costero, sus forzantes y sus características físico- químicas y biológicas en una gradiente costa-océano. En este artículo, se presentan resultados de las condiciones químicas del afloramiento frente a Callao, poniendo en evidencia el impacto del ciclo El Niño Oscilación del Sur (ENSO) que se desarrolló entre los años 2013 y 2015.

De nya EU-direktiven om hållbarhetsrapportering : En fallstudie genomförd på Stora Enso

Bakgrund Denna uppsats behandlar de nya EU-kraven som föreslås träda i kraft från och med det räkenskapsår som inleds närmast efter den 31 december 2016. Uppsatsen har undersökt hur Stora Enso arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering enligt Global Reporting Initiatives riktlinjer. Detta eftersom att Stora Enso var det första börsnoterade företaget i Sverige vars hållbarhetsrapportering granskats av en tredje part. Vidare siktar denna uppsats på att ge de företag som ej tidigare har erfarenhet från hållbarhetsrapportering en inspirationskälla, som stöd i upprättningen av egna hållbarhetsrapporter. Syfte Syftet med den här fallstudien är att beskriva hur ett företag som redan innan EU-kraven börjat tillämpats rapporterat i enlighet med dessa, och hur de aktivt arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering. Metod Fallstudie: intervjuer och dokumentanalys. Slutsats Det är viktigt att hela tiden fortsätta förbättra företagets hållbara utveckling och dess mål. Stora Ensos hållbarhetsrapportering kopplades ihop med den hållbara utvecklingen i stort, och här sågs att rapporteringen har hjälpt Stora Enso att uppnå och utveckla sina hållbarhetsmål. Utan hållbarhetsrapporteringen skulle Stora Ensos positiva utveckling inte varit lika omfattande. Utifrån de intervjuer som genomfördes konstaterades det att GRI:s riktlinjer medför både en fördel och en nackdel: de är väldigt omfattande.