Australia soaked up so much rain between early 2010 and late 2011 that global sea levels temporarily dropped.

John Fasullo of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and his colleagues used satellite measurements and tidal gauges to show that the mean global sea level — which had been rising by around 3 millimetres per year — fell by 7 mm. Using measurements of Earth's gravity field, the team found a parallel increase in the mass of water on land, particularly in Australia, where topography prevents most water from flowing into the ocean.

Australia's record rainfall and flooding (pictured; in Queensland) probably came from a triad of regional climate patterns, including La Niña surface cooling in the tropical Pacific.

Credit: JONATHAN WOOD/GETTY

Geophys. Res. Lett. http://doi.org/ngx (2013)