Waves are speeding up thanks to global warming. This could affect weather patterns around the world. The waves are constantly generated by surface winds and pushed westward by the Earth's eastward rotation. They advance by between four and ten inches a second in the tropics, more slowly toward the poles. But that's about 10 percent faster than oceanic planetary waves traveled at the start of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, according to John C. Fyfe and Oleg A. Saenko. Global climate models point to the temperature increase in the upper ocean- a consequence of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. By 2100, the investigators add, if carbon dioxide levels rise as predicted, the waves will travel 35 percent faster than they did in preindustrial times. Oceanic planetary waves affect ocean currents, which strongly influence continental weather and climate. As the waves speed up, Fyfe and Saenko forecast big changes that may include more frequent El Niño events and heat waves across western North America and Europe.
The article I selected is hypothesis based. They make an assumption that due to global warming, waves are speeding up and due to that there will be more frequent El Niño events and heat waves across western North America and Europe. This research is important to humans, because we can prevent global warming which would prevent these frequent heat waves.
Author: Harvey Leifert
Title of Article: Heat Waves
Journal: Natural History Magazine
Date Published: September 2007
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