According to new research, the warming of the Atlantic has lead to increased sea levels and trade winds in the Pacific coast.
According to Discovery News, the increased warming of the Atlantic Ocean has turbocharged the Pacific equatorial trade winds. Scientists from the University of New South Wales and the University of Hawaii claim that these have been the most powerful trade winds ever since the recording started in the 1860s.
"The increase in these winds has ... amplified the Californian drought, accelerated sea level rise three times faster than the global average in the Western Pacific and has slowed the rise of global average surface temperatures since 2001," the study's authors report. The increased warming of the Atlantic Ocean has lead to pressure differences between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The pressure difference has lead to intensifying Pacific trade winds because of wind anomalies.
Shayne McGregor, from the University of New South Wales, said,"We were surprised to find the main cause of the Pacific climate trends of the past 20 years had its origin in the Atlantic Ocean. It highlights how changes in the climate in one part of the world can have extensive impacts around the globe."
Business Insider notes that their findings from the studies have been published in the journal of National Climate Change.
The increase of the Pacific trade winds has lead to the cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific, amplified Californian drought, increased sea levels more than 3 times of the global average in the Western Pacific and slowed the rise of the global average surface temperatures since 2001.