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West Coast warming linked to naturally occurring changes - LA Times
The LA Times? Wow.
The earth warms, it cools, back and forth, as it has for thousands upon thousands of years.
Natural, wind-driven climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean, such as El Niño and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, are already known to exert a powerful influence on sea and land temperatures over years and even decades.
This latest research shows that similar changes in atmospheric and ocean circulation can drive trends that last a century or longer, overshadowing the effects of human-generated increase in greenhouse gases, the study's authors said.
"Changing winds appear to explain a very large fraction of the warming from year to year, decade to decade and the long-term," said study leader James Johnstone, an independent climatologist who did most of the work when he was at the University of Washington's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean.
When coastal wind speeds weaken, they result in less evaporation from the sea surface and unusually low pressure that alters ocean currents and causes temperatures to rise over time.
The LA Times? Wow.
The earth warms, it cools, back and forth, as it has for thousands upon thousands of years.