New research may lead to better climate models for global
warming, El Nino One hundred fifty scientists from more than 40
universities in nine countries are starting a coordinated
program aimed at gaining new insights about the Earth's climate
and the complex, interconnected system involving the oceans, the
atmosphere and the land. The program will study the southeastern
Pacific Ocean, the marine area off South America's west coast —
a region where the interplay among low clouds, strong low-level
winds, coastal ocean currents, surfacing of deep water, the
Andes Mountains, aerosols and other factors shape the regional
climate and affect global weather in ways that are poorly
understood. "Our research should produce a better understanding
of the southeast Pacific Ocean system and improve our global
computer climate models, which would lead to more confidence in
climate forecasts, including predictions about global warming,"
said UCLA professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences C.
Roberto Mechoso, who chairs t