4 May 2006Times of India
Climate scientists identified a likely new victim of global warming on Wednesday: The vast looping system of air currents that fuels Pacific trade winds and climate from South America to Indonesia. This could mean more El Nino-like weather patterns in the US, more rain in the western Pacific and less nourishment for marine life along the Equator and off the South American coast. Known as the Walker Circulation, this system of currents functions as a huge belt stretching across the tropical Pacific, with dry air moving eastward from Asia to South America and moist air flowing westward along the ocean's surface, pushing the prevailing trade winds. When the moist air gets to Asia, it triggers rains in Indonesia. Then it dries out, rises and starts the cycle again, heading east.
