NASA Discovers a Soggy Secret of EL Nino

NASA-funded researchers have discovered El Niño's soggy secret. When scientists identified rain patterns in the Pacific Ocean, they discovered the secret of how El Niño moves rainfall around the globe during the life of these periodic climate events when waters warm in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The results may help scientists improve rainfall forecasts around the globe during the life of an El Niño, and may also offer new insights into how an El Niño develops.

The findings were highlighted in a paper authored by Scott Curtis of the University of Maryland - Baltimore County, Baltimore, Md., and Bob Adler, of Goddard. The study appeared in a recent issue of the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research.

In an effort to predict and understand the effects of El Niño, most scientists focus on seasonal changes in rainfall patterns, like where and when rain falls during winter. This study takes a different approach by first looking at the evolution of rainfall over the geographic area of the Pacific, which has the power to change the global winds and re-direct rainfall patterns around the world.

For more on the rainfall pattern of El Nino, visit: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2003/0428soggynino.html