Category: Ocean and climate news

A recent study from French-Peruvian researchers published in Nature shows that extreme El Niño events also impact rainfall patterns and erosion in the western Peruvian Andes

El Niño and La Niña are the names of climate events occurring in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which are now globally infamous. They characterise a close relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere, in which the main protagonists can have devastating consequences worldwide. A recent study from French-Peruvian researchers published in Nature shows that extreme El Niño events also impact rainfall patterns and erosion in the western Peruvian Andes. More intense and more frequent rainfall events are observed during extreme El Niño events in the Peruvian Andes, especially in the Northern area. Catastrophic floods in Northern Peru and Ecuador are observed. In-situ river measurements and sediment accumulation measurements show greater erosion trends during the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niño events.

Further information:

• Applications, Climate: <link internal-link>El Niño
• Article on Nature, Scientific Reports: <link https: www.nature.com articles s41598-017-12220-x _blank external-link-new-window>The impact of extreme El Niño events on modern sediment transport along the western Peruvian Andes (1968–2012)