Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that an independent ocean circulation system in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD), is partly responsible for driving climate variability of the surrounding landmasses. The IOD had traditionally been viewed as an artefact of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system although increasingly the evidence is amassing that it is separate and distinct phenomenon. We review the causes of the IOD, how it develops within the Indian Ocean, the relationships with ENSO, and the consequences for East African climate dynamics and associated impacts on ecosystems, in particular along the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. We evaluate current research initiatives focussed on characterizing and constraining the IOD and examine how effective these will be in determining climate change impacts on East African ecosystems and how such predictive capacity can be used in developing policy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4-16 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | African Journal of Ecology |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2007 |
Keywords
- Eastern Arc Mountains
- Indian Ocean dipole
- biodiversity pollen
- EL-NINO/SOUTHERN-OSCILLATION
- SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE
- LAST GLACIAL PERIOD
- PAST 2 CENTURIES
- ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE
- PALEOCLIMATE RECORD
- SEASONAL RAINFALL
- MONSOON RAINFALL
- SOUTHWEST UGANDA
- SOUTHERN AFRICA