Variability of El Niño/Southern Oscillation activity at millennial timescales during the Holocene epoch
- PMID:12432388
- DOI: 10.1038/nature01194
Variability of El Niño/Southern Oscillation activity at millennial timescales during the Holocene epoch
Abstract
The variability of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the Holocene epoch, in particular on millennial timescales, is poorly understood. Palaeoclimate studies have documented ENSO variability for selected intervals in the Holocene, but most records are either too short or insufficiently resolved to investigate variability on millennial scales. Here we present a record of sedimentation in Laguna Pallcacocha, southern Ecuador, which is strongly influenced by ENSO variability, and covers the past 12,000 years continuously. We find that changes on a timescale of 2-8 years, which we attribute to warm ENSO events, become more frequent over the Holocene until about 1,200 years ago, and then decline towards the present. Periods of relatively high and low ENSO activity, alternating at a timescale of about 2,000 years, are superimposed on this long-term trend. We attribute the long-term trend to orbitally induced changes in insolation, and suggest internal ENSO dynamics as a possible cause of the millennial variability. However, the millennial oscillation will need to be confirmed in other ENSO proxy records.
Similar articles
- Millennial and orbital variations of El Niño/Southern Oscillation and high-latitude climate in the last glacial period.Turney CS, Kershaw AP, Clemens SC, Branch N, Moss PT, Fifield LK.Turney CS, et al.Nature. 2004 Mar 18;428(6980):306-10. doi: 10.1038/nature02386.Nature. 2004.PMID:15029193
- Variability in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation through a glacial-interglacial cycle.Tudhope AW, Chilcott CP, McCulloch MT, Cook ER, Chappell J, Ellam RM, Lea DW, Lough JM, Shimmield GB.Tudhope AW, et al.Science. 2001 Feb 23;291(5508):1511-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1057969. Epub 2001 Jan 25.Science. 2001.PMID:11222850
- El Niño/Southern Oscillation and tropical Pacific climate during the last millennium.Cobb KM, Charles CD, Cheng H, Edwards RL.Cobb KM, et al.Nature. 2003 Jul 17;424(6946):271-6. doi: 10.1038/nature01779.Nature. 2003.PMID:12867972
- The evolution of climate over the last millennium.Jones PD, Osborn TJ, Briffa KR.Jones PD, et al.Science. 2001 Apr 27;292(5517):662-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1059126.Science. 2001.PMID:11326088Review.
- El Niño and human health.Kovats RS.Kovats RS.Bull World Health Organ. 2000;78(9):1127-35.Bull World Health Organ. 2000.PMID:11019461Free PMC article.Review.
Cited by
- Western Pacific hydroclimate linked to global climate variability over the past two millennia.Griffiths ML, Kimbrough AK, Gagan MK, Drysdale RN, Cole JE, Johnson KR, Zhao JX, Cook BI, Hellstrom JC, Hantoro WS.Griffiths ML, et al.Nat Commun. 2016 Jun 8;7:11719. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11719.Nat Commun. 2016.PMID:27271972Free PMC article.
- High precise dating on the variation of the Asian summer monsoon since 37 ka BP.Li TY, Wu Y, Shen CC, Li JY, Chiang HW, Lin K, Tan LC, Jiang XY, Cheng H, Edwards RL.Li TY, et al.Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 30;11(1):9375. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-88597-7.Sci Rep. 2021.PMID:33931675Free PMC article.
- Fingerprint of volcanic forcing on the ENSO-Indian monsoon coupling.Singh M, Krishnan R, Goswami B, Choudhury AD, Swapna P, Vellore R, Prajeesh AG, Sandeep N, Venkataraman C, Donner RV, Marwan N, Kurths J.Singh M, et al.Sci Adv. 2020 Sep 18;6(38):eaba8164. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba8164. Print 2020 Sep.Sci Adv. 2020.PMID:32948581Free PMC article.
- Interhemispheric antiphasing of neotropical precipitation during the past millennium.Steinman BA, Stansell ND, Mann ME, Cooke CA, Abbott MB, Vuille M, Bird BW, Lachniet MS, Fernandez A.Steinman BA, et al.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 26;119(17):e2120015119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2120015119. Epub 2022 Apr 18.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022.PMID:35446705Free PMC article.
- 2,000-year-long temperature and hydrology reconstructions from the Indo-Pacific warm pool.Oppo DW, Rosenthal Y, Linsley BK.Oppo DW, et al.Nature. 2009 Aug 27;460(7259):1113-6. doi: 10.1038/nature08233.Nature. 2009.PMID:19713927
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Miscellaneous