Across the edges of the Indian Ocean, the amount of rainfall
differs greatly. If it rains particularly hard in the Sumatran rain forest, the
already arid region of East Africa is onset with drought. Researchers from the
Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), the California Institute of
Technology, the Univerity of Southern California and the University of Bremen
found that this cyclic, bipolar climate phenomenon has likely been around for
10,000 years. The pilot study, published today in "Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences," sheds light on the climate system of a
region whose rainfall patterns have a major impact on global climate. Therefore, this study is of special interest
to climate researchers.