Solar forcing of the stream flow of a continental scale South American river

MAUAS, P. J. D.; FLAMENCO, E.; BUCCINO, A. P.

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Año: 2008 vol. 101 p. 165801 - 165804

0031-9007

    Solar  forcing on climate has been reported in several studies although the evidence so far remains inconclusive. Here, we analyze the  stream flow of one of the largest rivers in the  world, the Paraná in southeastern South America. For the last century, we find a strong correlation with the sunspot number, in multidecadal time scales, and with larger solar activity corresponding  to larger stream flow. The correlation coefficient is r=0.78, significant  to a 99% level. In shorter time scales we find a strong correlation with El Niño. These results are a step  toward flood prediction, which might have great social and economic  impacts. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.168501