Aeolian Destabilization Along the Mojave River,Mojave Desert,California: Linkages Among Fluvial,Groundwater, and Aeolian Systems |
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| Abstract: | It has been suggested by some that warm El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events have become stronger and more frequent as a result of global warming. This study aims to investigate whether there is any evidence for changes in the behavior of the ENSO phenomenon that may be attributed to global warming. Cluster analysis is carried out to group warm and cold events by various characteristics using the U.K. Climatic Research Unit air-temperature anomaly data set for the period 1856-1999. Analysis of the resulting groups of events and their relation to global temperature changes gives rise to various conclusions. First, the cold (La Niña) phase of the ENSO phenomenon has been more stable in the period of study than the warm (El Niño) one. Second, average strength warm events seem to be more frequent immediately preceding and during periods of steep global temperature rise, supporting the idea (Hunt, 1999) that more frequent El Niños are a short-term response in ocean-atmosphere coupling to rising global temperature. |
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| Keywords: | El Niño La Niña ENSO global warming |
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