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Nature 424, 261-262 (17 July 2003) | doi:10.1038/424261a

Open Innovation Challenges

Global change: The past and future of El Niño

Sandy Tudhope1 & Mat Collins2

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A new study of past variations in El Niño behaviour provides a much improved record from pre-instrumental times. It will be a valuable resource for testing the models used in climate prediction.

Droughts, floods, forest fires and changed patterns of storms and ocean conditions — these are some of the hallmarks of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate cycle. On page 271 of this issue, Cobb et al.1 describe how their analysis of fossil corals provides new evidence of how the ENSO cycle can strengthen and weaken without an obvious external driving force.

  1. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
    e-mail: Email: sandy.tudhope@ed.ac.uk
  2. Centre for Global Atmospheric Research, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6BB, UK.
    e-mail: Email: matcollins@met.rdg.ac.uk