Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Climate dynamics

Simplifying climate complexity

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Geoscience

View current issue Submit your manuscript

The El Niño Southern Oscillation strongly impacts climate, but its variability remains difficult to predict. A conceptual model based on shifting circulation patterns offers a simple explanation for this complex behaviour.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Different types of ENSO events can be captured by zonal shifts of the Walker circulation and changes in upper-ocean conditions.

The figure is adapted from ref. 5

References

  1. McPhaden, M. J., Zebiak, S. E. & Glantz, M. H. Science 314, 740–1745 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ropelewski, C. F. & Halpert, M. S. Mon. Wea. Rev., 115, 1606–1626.

  3. Anderson, W., Cook, B. I., Slinski, K., Schwarzwald, K. & McNally, A. J. Hydrometeorology 24, 119–131 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ashok, K., Behera, S. K., Rao, S. A., Weng, H. & Yamagata, T. J. Geophys. Res. 112, C11007 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Thual, S. & Dewitte, B. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01154-x (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Jin, F.-F. J. Atmos. Sci. 54, 811–829 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Capotondi, A. et al. Bull. Am. Meteor. Soc. 96, 921–938 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zhao, B. & Fedorov, A. V. J. Climate 33, 2075–2091 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Vos, R., Velasco, M. & Edgar de Labastida, R. Economic and social effects of El Niño in Ecuador, 1997–1998 (Inter-American Development Bank, 1999).

  10. Capotondi, A., Newman, M., Xu, T. & Di Lorenzo, E. Geophys. Res. Lett. 49, e2021GL097350 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Timmermann, A. et al. Nature 559, 535–545 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Chen, N., Fang, X. & Yu, J.-Y. npj Clim. Atmos. Sci. 5, 16 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado, CIRES, and NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA

    Antonietta Capotondi

Authors
  1. Antonietta Capotondi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonietta Capotondi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Capotondi, A. Simplifying climate complexity. Nat. Geosci. 16, 280–281 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01161-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01161-y

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation