NCAR News Release

Media Advisory: New Glossary, Experts Available to Explain El Niño, NAO, and Other Patterns that Influence the Weather

January 10, 2007

BOULDER—A new glossary provides reporters with context for recent headline-grabbing weather, from record-setting blizzards on the High Plains to persistent warmth in the Northeast to the lack of snow in northern Europe.

Much of this action is related to persistent patterns that shape weather and climate across large parts of the globe. These include El Niño warming of tropical Pacific waters, the pressure pattern known as the North Atlantic Oscillation, and a pair of polar cycles called the Northern and Southern Annular modes. Also part of the mix are rising global temperatures due to human-produced greenhouse gases.

What are these complex patterns, and how do they influence weather and climate? How is climate change affecting patterns such as El Niño and the North Atlantic Oscillation?

Find quick answers in a new online glossary from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR):

"Persistent Patterns that Shape Weather and Climate Variability"

NCAR researchers listed below are available to help put unusual weather and persistent patterns in context. In addition, this advisory ends with a summary of NCAR's online resources for journalists.

This major snowstorm, which crippled Denver on December 24, 1982, coincided with one of the strongest El Niños of the last century. Persistent patterns such as El Niño, a periodic warming of tropical Pacific waters, can affect local weather events around the globe. Click here or on image to enlarge. (©UCAR. News media terms of use*)

Patterns Experts at NCAR

James Hurrell
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Climate and Global Dynamics Division
303-497-1383
Home Page

Specialties: the North Atlantic Oscillation and its role in climate variability; global warming.

Kevin Trenberth
NCAR Senior Scientist and Head of the Climate Analysis Section
303-497-1318
Home Page

Specialties: El Niño/La Niña and other persistent patterns related to weather and climate variability; global warming and its influence on the water cycle (rain and snow, drought, hurricanes); climate observations.

Clara Deser
NCAR Senior Scientist
303-497-1359
Home Page

Specialties: historical observations of global climate; air-sea-ice interactions; upper-ocean dynamics; El Niño; Northern Annular Mode (also known as the Arctic Oscillation).

Other NCAR Resources for Journalists

Experts Directory
Scientists and technology developers available for interviews on a range of weather, climate, and societal issues

Digital Image Library
Free weather, climate, and environmental images at multiple resolutions for electronic and print media

Quick Facts
Our staffing and budget numbers, funding and sponsors, and other FAQs

Backgrounders

• Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones
• Nitrogen and Nitrogen Pollution in the Earth System
• Persistent Patterns that Shape Weather and Climate Variability
• Thunderstorm Glossary
• Wildfires and Weather

On the Record
Original material from our researchers to provide context for news stories

Tip Sheets
Background on key weather and climate topics with links to facts, experts, and Web resources

Press Clips
A roundup of recent news coverage of NCAR and UCAR

Related sites on the World Wide Web 

Resources for Journalists
Read archived releases or sign up for e-mail delivery

  http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/cosmicfacts.shtm
  http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu

*News media reproduction to illustrate this story and nonprofit use permitted with proper attribution as provided above and acceptance of UCAR's terms of use. Find more images in the UCAR Digital Image Library.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research and UCAR Office of Programs are operated by UCAR under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation and other agencies. Opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any of UCAR's sponsors.