The Age of El Nino

Now that he and other NASA Goddard scientists have a way to read the patterns the phytoplankton make, they should be able to detect the end of the next El Niño a month before other, more conventional detection devices do. In the future the team plans to look at what happens to the algae leading up to an El Niño. "It’s quite likely that some of the biological signatures will appear before the next El Niño. This time we will keep an eye out for them. With ocean color data we should be able to see certain things you cannot see with other measurements," Murtugudde said.

His long-term goal is to gather enough data on events like El Niño and La Niña to improve weather forecasting systems. Today, scientists can predict El Niños up to a year in advance, using complex computer simulations and data from other satellites and buoys. However, estimates of the exact months when El Niños and La Niñas begin and end are often very rough. By observing phytoplankton, scientists can track both the motion of the water on the surface and just beneath the surface. This should allow for more comprehensive models and more accurate predictions.

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