Washington: A study suggested that Upper ocean heating in the equatorial Pacific – a key oceanographic region in Earth’s climate system – is likely to make the East Asian monsoon season wetter. The study was published in the journal, ‘Nature’. Recent increases in ocean heat content – where energy is absorbed by the waters – have been implicated in the intensification of tropical storms that draw their energy from the surface of the ocean. The link between ocean heating and rainfall on land is, however, less clear.
Our study suggests variations in ocean thermal structure affect the delivery of moisture, latent heat, and what happens when they arrive on land, said Yair Rosenthal, a professor of marine and coastal sciences in the Rutgers’ School of Art and Sciences and School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
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Mr. Rosenthal said the changes in the latitudinal temperature gradient – the difference in sea-surface temperature between low and high latitudes – not only control how energy is absorbed by the equatorial upper ocean but how winds carry the moisture from the ocean onto land.
The study, led by Zhimin Jian of Tongji University in China, found that over the past 360,000 years, increases in monsoonal rain in eastern China correlated with increases in the heat content of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool-a region where sea surface temperatures remain above ~82°F year-round-likely due to enhanced transport of moisture and latent heat absorbed in the water vapor from the ocean to the continent.
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According to the study, the changes in upper ocean heat content follow shifts in the Earth’s orbit that occur about every 23,000 years and change the distribution of incoming solar radiation at each latitude.
By using two foraminifera species, calcareous marine organisms, one a surface dweller and the other that lives approximately 200 meters below the sea surface, the scientists reconstructed how the upper ocean thermal structure gets its heat and energy. They compared their results with climate model simulations and reconstructions of the monsoonal precipitation in eastern China for the same period.
The coupling of ocean heat content and monsoon variations, both coordinated by insolation changes at astronomical timescales, is critical for regulating the global hydroclimate, the researchers said.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
