DEEP-LAVA THEORY

(Geophysics and Climatology) A theory first espoused by a geophysicist from the University of Hawaii whose research found a strong Correlation between periodic patterns of undersea volcanoes (and related seismic activity) within what is known as the East Pacific Rise and the onset of El Niño, a phenomenon characterized by a warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the Equator. While the causes surrounding the arrival of the El Niño effect are complex and not fully understood, it is generally recognized that the event is accompanied by a stall in the trade winds that normally blow from west to east across the southern Pacific. The Deep-Lava Theory postulates that heated seawater (from increased undersea lava flow activity) weakens a normally high-pressure area in the eastern Pacific. This, in turn, reduces air pressure and slows the trade winds. Subsequently, warm water in the western Pacific is released, along with warm unstable air above it, by the absence of the trade winds, thereby producing the El Niño effect along the western coast of South America, along with changes to other weather patterns elsewhere. For example, also see Hurricane Forecasting.