Wara, Michael W.; Ravelo, Ana Christina; Delaney, Margaret L. (2005): Permanent El Nino-like conditions during the Pliocene warm period. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, United States, Science, 309 (5735), 758-761, georefid:2005-063680

Abstract:
During the warm early Pliocene ( approximately 4.5 to 3.0 million years ago), the most recent interval with a climate warmer than today, the eastern Pacific thermocline was deep and the average west-to-east sea surface temperature difference across the equatorial Pacific was only 1.5 + or - 0.9 degrees C, much like it is during a modern El Nino event. Thus, the modern strong sea surface temperature gradient across the equatorial Pacific is not a stable and permanent feature. Sustained El Nino-like conditions, including relatively weak zonal atmospheric (Walker) circulation, could be a consequence of, and play an important role in determining, global warmth.
Coverage:
West: -95.1914 East: 159.2142 North: .1907 South: .1134
Relations:
Expedition: 130
Site: 130-806
Expedition: 138
Site: 138-847
Data access:
Provider: SEDIS Publication Catalogue
Data set link: http://sedis.iodp.org/pub-catalogue/index.php?id=10.1126/science.1112596 (c.f. for more detailed metadata)
Data download: application/pdf
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