American scientists from Duke University have found out how long the El Niño climate phenomenon has existed on our planet. The study was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
El Niño is associated with a giant release of warm water in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which affects rainfall and temperature patterns around the world.
Oscillations between El Niño and its cool counterpart La Niña existed at least 250 million years ago and were often larger than today, according to new modeling.
The study found that the two most important variables influencing the magnitude of the fluctuation were the temperature structure of the ocean and the “atmospheric noise” of winds on its surface.
Scientists have compared the climatic changes of El Niño and La Niña to the movement of a pendulum. According to them, the winds give this process additional energy.
Experts say studying past climates will help make reliable predictions about future weather.
