Scientists Are Investigating Unexplained Wind Pattern Change In Earth's Stratosphere
- 8 years ago
Scientists are intrigued about an unexpected change in a wind pattern which has been fairly consistent for the past 60-plus years.
Scientists are intrigued about an unexpected change in a wind pattern which has been fairly consistent for the past 60-plus years.
The phenomenon is called the quasi-biennial oscillation which a NASA news release describes as “Winds in the tropical stratosphere...about 10 to 30 miles above Earth’s surface [which] circulate the planet in alternating easterly and westerly directions...”
While this interchanging pattern has repeated every 28 months since recordings began in 1953, scientists observed the westerly winds behaving differently late last year.
Instead of descending as usual, they “appeared to move upwards and block the downward movement of the easterlies.”
The NASA release reports that “This new pattern held for nearly half a year, and by July 2016 the old regime seemed to resume.”
A team is studying the causes and potential effects of the change which members believe could be the result of “the particularly strong El Niño in 2015-16 or the long-term trend of rising global temperatures.”
Scientists are intrigued about an unexpected change in a wind pattern which has been fairly consistent for the past 60-plus years.
The phenomenon is called the quasi-biennial oscillation which a NASA news release describes as “Winds in the tropical stratosphere...about 10 to 30 miles above Earth’s surface [which] circulate the planet in alternating easterly and westerly directions...”
While this interchanging pattern has repeated every 28 months since recordings began in 1953, scientists observed the westerly winds behaving differently late last year.
Instead of descending as usual, they “appeared to move upwards and block the downward movement of the easterlies.”
The NASA release reports that “This new pattern held for nearly half a year, and by July 2016 the old regime seemed to resume.”
A team is studying the causes and potential effects of the change which members believe could be the result of “the particularly strong El Niño in 2015-16 or the long-term trend of rising global temperatures.”