Nature & Environment
El Niño And Severe Drought Connections: Researchers Link The Two Together
Rosanna Singh
First Posted: Nov 03, 2015 09:53 AM EST
Researchers discovered that global climate change is causing increasing amounts of droughts along with significant increases in plant growth, according to a recent study at the University of Montana.
The researchers found that over the last 32 years there had been widespread increases in plant growth and evaporation due to global climate change activities. The blunt of El Niño's effects are due to increasing evapotranspiration, a process where water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from plants and soil. This increases the potential for future drought along with rising temperatures, which is connected to strong El Niño events, according to the researchers.
In their study, the researchers investigated global evapotranspiration trends between 1982 and 2013, where they examined green vegetation, weather and temperature, precipitation and cloudiness. They found that there were significant amounts of plant growth reduction and evaporation due to recent climate change.
The researchers concluded that if the trends continue, mostly likely there will be extreme regional droughts tied to strong El Niño events.
This study was published in Nature Magazine.
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TagsEl Niño, Climate Change, evaporation, Drought, plant growth, evapotranspiration, rising temperatures, green vegetation, Temperature, Soil, regional droughts, El Nino events. ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Nov 03, 2015 09:53 AM EST
Researchers discovered that global climate change is causing increasing amounts of droughts along with significant increases in plant growth, according to a recent study at the University of Montana.
The researchers found that over the last 32 years there had been widespread increases in plant growth and evaporation due to global climate change activities. The blunt of El Niño's effects are due to increasing evapotranspiration, a process where water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from plants and soil. This increases the potential for future drought along with rising temperatures, which is connected to strong El Niño events, according to the researchers.
In their study, the researchers investigated global evapotranspiration trends between 1982 and 2013, where they examined green vegetation, weather and temperature, precipitation and cloudiness. They found that there were significant amounts of plant growth reduction and evaporation due to recent climate change.
The researchers concluded that if the trends continue, mostly likely there will be extreme regional droughts tied to strong El Niño events.
This study was published in Nature Magazine.
Related Articles
Sunscreen Is Killing Coral Reefs Around The World
Ocean Acidity: Sea Grass Had Better Growth In Acidic Water, According To New Study
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone