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Our Affair with El Niño

Author: S. George Philander

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0691187924

Until 1997, few people had heard of the seasonal current that Peruvians nicknamed El Niño. But when meteorologists linked it to devastating floods in California, severe droughts in Indonesia, and strange weather everywhere, its name became entrenched in the common parlance faster than a typhoon making landfall. Bumper stickers appeared bearing the phrase "Don't blame me; blame El Niño." Stockbrokers muttered "El Niño" when the market became erratic. What's behind this fascinating natural phenomenon, and how did our perceptions of it change? In this captivating book, renowned oceanographer George Philander engages readers in lucid and stimulating discussions of the scientific, political, economic and cultural developments that shaped our perceptions of this force of nature. The book begins by outlining the history of El Niño, an innocuous current that appears off the coast of Peru around Christmastime--its name refers to the Child Jesus--and originally was welcomed as a blessing. It goes on to explore how our perceptions of El Niño were transformed, not because the phenomenon changed, but because we did. Philander argues persuasively that familiarity with the different facets of our affair with El Niño--our wealth of experience in dealing with natural hazards such as severe storms and prolonged droughts--can help us cope with an urgent and controversial environmental problem of our own making--global warming. Intellectually invigorating and a joy to read, Our Affair with El Niño is an important contribution to the debate about the relationship between scientific knowledge and public affairs.

El Niño in World History

Author: Richard Grove

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-12-11

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1137457406

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This book examines the role of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in society. Throughout human history, large or recurrent El Niños could cause significant disruption to societies and in some cases even contribute to political change. Yet it is only now that we are coming to appreciate the significance of the phenomenon. In this volume, Richard Grove and George Adamson chart the dual history of El Niño: as a global phenomenon capable of devastating weather extremes and, since the 18th century, as a developing idea in science and society. The chapters trace El Niño’s position in world history from its role in the revolution in Australian Aboriginal Culture at 5,000 BP to the 2015-16 ‘Godzilla’ event. It ends with a discussion of El Niño in the current media, which is as much a product of the public imagination as it is a natural process.

La Niña and the Making of Climate Optimism

Author: Julia Miller

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-07-12

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 3319761412

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This book examines the deep connection Australians have with their climate to understand contemporary views on human-induced climate change. It is the first study of the Australian relationship with La Niña and it explains how fundamental this relationship is to the climate change debate both locally and globally. While unease with the Australian environment was a hallmark of early settler relations with a new continent, this book argues that the climate itself quickly became a source of hope and linked to progress. Once observed, weather patterns coalesced into recognizable cycles of wet and dry years and Australians adopted a belief in the certainty of good seasons. It was this optimistic response to climate linked to La Niña that laid the groundwork for this relationship with the Australian environment. This book will appeal to scholars and students of the environmental humanities, history and science as well as anyone concerned about climate change.

Marine Sciences, Revised Edition

Author: Kyle Kirkland

Publisher: Infobase Holdings, Inc

Published: 2020-05-01

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1438195893

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Marine Sciences, Revised Edition details the explorers and scientists who are expanding the frontiers of marine science. This comprehensive resource includes the study of the geology of the sea floor, the chemical and physical properties of the water, and the life that teems in and around it. This revised edition now covers the role humans play in polluting marine life and water supplies, and ultimately accelerating climate change, making this edition a must read. It also ties in a selection of various reports, offering students insightful information on the methods and applications of oceanography. Chapters include: The Ocean Depths—Exploring the Seabed Mid-Ocean Ridge—The Largest Single Volcanic Feature on the Planet Creatures of the Deep Sea Tsunami—Killer Waves El Niño and Weather Harmful Algal Blooms—"Red Tides" Human Impacts: Pollution and Climate Change.

Climate Variability and the Global Harvest

Author: Cynthia Rosenzweig

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-01-07

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0190285931

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The Earth's climate is constantly changing. Some of the changes are progressive, while others fluctuate at various time scales. The El Niño-la Niña cycle is one such fluctuation that recurs every few years and has far-reaching impacts. It generally appears at least once per decade, but this may vary with our changing climate. The exact frequency, sequence, duration and intensity of El Niño's manifestations, as well as its effects and geographic distributions, are highly variable. The El Niño-la Niña cycle is particularly challenging to study due to its many interlinked phenomena that occur in various locations around the globe. These worldwide teleconnections are precisely what makes studying El Niño-la Niña so important. Cynthia Rosenzweig and Daniel Hillel describe the current efforts to develop and apply a global-to-regional approach to climate-risk management. They explain how atmospheric and social scientists are cooperating with agricultural practitioners in various regions around the world to determine how farmers may benefit most from new climate predictions. Specifically, the emerging ability to predict the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle offers the potential to transform agricultural planning worldwide. Biophysical scientists are only now beginning to recognize the large-scale, globally distributed impacts of ENSO on the probabilities of seasonal precipitation and temperature regimes. Meanwhile, social scientists have been researching how to disseminate forecasts more effectively within rural communities. Consequently, as the quality of climatic predictions have improved, the dissemination and presentation of forecasts have become more effective as well. This book explores the growing understanding of the interconnectedness of climate predictions and productive agriculture for sustainable development, as well as methods and models used to study this relationship.

To Follow the Water

Author: Dallas Murphy

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2008-07-31

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 0786721650

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In To Follow the Water, critically acclaimed author Dallas Murphy artfully recasts the story of human expansion and cultural development with the ocean playing the central role. Applying a novelist's eye for detail and a historian's drive for perspective, he connects the great ages of ocean exploration from Columbus, Magellan, and Cook to the development of modern oceanography. Taking the reader aboard the research vessels Oceanus and Ronald H. Brown, Murphy observes and participates in the practice of ocean science. Whether demonstrating the proper way to don a survival suit in an abandon-ship drill, actually operating oceanographic instruments, or just sitting down for a breakfast of Dramamine and blueberry pancakes, Murphy humorously evokes daily-life aboard these research vessels, unique amalgams of floating laboratories, heavy industry, delicate measurements, and brute force. By following the water, he and the reader discover that ocean currents, flowing on the surface and in the abyss like giant blood vessels, transport heat around the globe, thereby stabilizing and moderating our climate. The Gulf Stream, the best-known ocean current, is but one among many, each inseparable from the others and all inextricably linked to the atmosphere in determining the condition of our climate. There can be no sensible concept of climate that ignores the oceans, yet they have been largely left out of the climate and climate-change discussion. Letting scientists speak for themselves at sea and ashore, Murphy learns that oceanographers are not only observing and explaining the ocean's dynamic, global circulation, but also employing their skills, tools, and techniques to predict climate change. Their brilliant work is largely unknown outside of professional circles even though the role of the ocean is crucial to our understanding of global warming and climate change. To Follow the Water is an enlightening and entertaining voyage of discovery spanning the evolution of our relationship to the ocean, first as an impediment to human ambition, then as the pathway for Western expansion, and now, most important, as a subject of scientific study with immediate relevance to our future.

The Oxford Handbook of Environmental History

Author: Andrew C. Isenberg

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 801

ISBN-13: 0190673486

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The Oxford Handbook of Environmental History draws on a wealth of new scholarship to offer diverse perspectives on the state of the field.

Encyclopedia of Marine Science

Author: C. Reid Nichols

Publisher: Infobase Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 641

ISBN-13: 1438118813

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Presents an illustrated, A-Z encyclopedia with more than 600 entries providing information on topics related to marine science.

Floods, Famines, and Emperors

Author: Brian Fagan

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2009-02-10

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 0786727683

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In 1997 and early 1998, one of the most powerful El Ninos ever recorded disrupted weather patterns all over the world. Europe suffered through a record freeze as the American West was hit with massive floods and snowstorms; in the western Pacific, meanwhile, some island nations literally went bone dry and had to have water flown in on transport planes. Such effects are not new: climatologists now know the El Nino and other climate anomalies have been disrupting weather patterns throughout history. But until recently, no one had asked how this new understanding of the global weather system related to archaeology and history. Droughts, floods, heat and cold put stress on cultures and force them to adapt. What determines whether they adapt successfully? How do these climate stresses affect a people's faith in the foundations of their society and the legitimacy of their rulers? How vulnerable is our own society to climate change? In this dazzlingly original new book, archaeologist Brian Fagan shows that short-term climate shifts have been a major -- and hitherto unrecognized -- force in history. El Nino-driven droughts have brought on the collapse of dynasties in Egypt; El Nino monsoon failures have caused historic famines in India; and El Nino floods have destroyed whole civilizations in Peru. Other short-term climate changes may have caused the mysterious abandonment of the Anasazi dwellings in the American Southwest and the collapse of the ancient Maya empire, as well as changed the course of European history. This beautifully written, groundbreaking book opens a new door on our understanding of historical events.