A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene?
Difficulties remain with theoretical explanations of the apparent reduced zonal sea surface temperature gradient in the tropical Pacific of the Pliocene. One favored hypothesis is that it was a “permanent El Niño” state, with the warm phase of ENSO remaining fixed over millions of years. Here, an al...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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American Meteorological Society
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52345 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6808-3664 |
| _version_ | 1826191431579992064 |
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| author | Wunsch, Carl Isaac |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Wunsch, Carl Isaac |
| author_sort | Wunsch, Carl Isaac |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Difficulties remain with theoretical explanations of the apparent reduced zonal sea surface temperature gradient in the tropical Pacific of the Pliocene. One favored hypothesis is that it was a “permanent El Niño” state, with the warm phase of ENSO remaining fixed over millions of years. Here, an alternative is suggested—that there was a “perpetually running ENSO” with a shorter return time than is observed today, and that the apparently reduced zonal gradient is an alias–rectification of a high-frequency signal governed by the growth patterns of the foraminifera used to provide proxy temperatures. The hypothesis is probably testable in the modern ocean with comparatively modest measurements of foraminifera behavior in time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:55:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/52345 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:55:45Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | American Meteorological Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/523452024-05-31T20:47:50Z A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? Wunsch, Carl Isaac Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Wunsch, Carl Wunsch, Carl Difficulties remain with theoretical explanations of the apparent reduced zonal sea surface temperature gradient in the tropical Pacific of the Pliocene. One favored hypothesis is that it was a “permanent El Niño” state, with the warm phase of ENSO remaining fixed over millions of years. Here, an alternative is suggested—that there was a “perpetually running ENSO” with a shorter return time than is observed today, and that the apparently reduced zonal gradient is an alias–rectification of a high-frequency signal governed by the growth patterns of the foraminifera used to provide proxy temperatures. The hypothesis is probably testable in the modern ocean with comparatively modest measurements of foraminifera behavior in time. National Science Foundation (Grant OCE-0645936) 2010-03-05T16:55:49Z 2010-03-05T16:55:49Z 2009-01 2008-11 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52345 Wunsch, Carl. “A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene?.” Journal of Climate (2009): 3506-3510. © 2009 American Meteorological Society https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6808-3664 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jcli2925.1 Journal of Climate Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Meteorological Society American Meteorological Society |
| spellingShingle | Wunsch, Carl Isaac A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? |
| title | A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? |
| title_full | A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? |
| title_fullStr | A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? |
| title_short | A Perpetually Running ENSO in the Pliocene? |
| title_sort | perpetually running enso in the pliocene |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52345 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6808-3664 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wunschcarlisaac aperpetuallyrunningensointhepliocene AT wunschcarlisaac perpetuallyrunningensointhepliocene |