Ning Zeng et al 2008 Environ. Res. Lett. 3 014002 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/3/1/014002
Ning Zeng1,2,7, Jin-Ho Yoon1, Jose A Marengo3, Ajit Subramaniam4, Carlos A Nobre3, Annarita Mariotti2,5 and J David Neelin6
Show affiliationsA rare drought in the Amazon culminated in 2005, leading to near record-low streamflows, small Amazon river plume, and greatly enhanced fire frequency. This episode was caused by the combination of 2002–03 El Niño and a dry spell in 2005 attributable to a warm subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. Analysis for 1979–2005 reveals that the Atlantic influence is comparable to the better-known Pacific linkage. While the Pacific influence is typically locked to the wet season, the 2005 Atlantic impact concentrated in the Amazon dry season when its hydroecosystem is most vulnerable. Such mechanisms may have wide-ranging implications for the future of the Amazon rainforest.
92.60.Jq Water in the atmosphere (humidity, clouds, evaporation, precipitation)
Issue 1 (January-March 2008)
Received 19 November 2007, accepted for publication 21 January 2008
Published 30 January 2008
Ning Zeng et al 2008 Environ. Res. Lett. 3 014002
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