The Indian Ocean may be as important to Australia's climate and rainfall as the infamous Pacific 'el Niño', according to CSIRO climate scientists.
Winter rainfall in the south-west of the Western Australia has been declining for decades. It is to study this and other effects that the Western Australian Government has established the Indian Ocean Climate Initiative.
"We have learned so much in recent years about the impact that the Pacific Ocean has on climate of eastern Australia," said Dr Bryson Bates from the Perth laboratory of CSIRO Land and Water, who will lead the new research program.
"Now we need to establish the way in which the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean affect Western Australia," said Dr Bates.
In the past few years, scientists have learned much about the influence of the 'Indonesian Throughflow' on sea-surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean and hence rainfall over western and southern Australia. The 'Indonesian Throughflow' is the system of currents that drain the Pacific Ocean into the Indian Ocean.
Climatologists acknowledge the influence of the north-west cloud band, formed by tropical moisture in the Indian ocean, on rainfall in the west and south of the country, says Dr Bates.
"It is most fortuitous that the Western Australian Government made the announcement of the new research program in the same week that CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology are commissioning their powerful new super-computer facility," says Dr Bates. "The supercomputer will be critically important to the work of modelling and understanding climate change and variability, the el Niño Effect, and our Indian Ocean research."
The Indian Ocean Climate Initiative is a five-year research and development program, set to begin in January. The two participating Divisions of CSIRO are Land and Water, and Atmospheric Research.
Dr Bates said that both CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology warmly welcome
the announcement by Deputy Premier, The Hon. Hendy Cowan, of the formation
of the new Indian Ocean research project.
More information from:
Andrew Bell 02-6246-5717
Paul Holper 0419 894 427