08 October, 2026
Research from the CLIMATics Research Group on the influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on Red Sea salinity has recently received attention from both KAUST Discovery and the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The study, “El Niño-Southern Oscillation Drives Interannual Extremes of Surface Salinity in the Red Sea,” led by Junchuan Sun and co-authored by Daquan Guo, Sivareddy Sanikommu, George Krokos, Peng Zhan, and Ibrahim Hoteit, was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans in 2026.
Using a high-resolution, validated simulation of the Red Sea, the study shows that ENSO drives significant year-to-year variations in surface salinity. The researchers identified atmospheric pathways through which ENSO-related changes in pressure and winds influence both the inflow of lower-salinity water from the Gulf of Aden and evaporation across the Red Sea. October was identified as a particularly important month for these ENSO-related impacts.
The findings contribute to a better understanding of how large-scale climate variability can influence regional ocean processes, with implications for Red Sea circulation, marine ecosystems, and environmental management.
The research has now been highlighted by KAUST Discovery in an article exploring the far-reaching influence of El Niño on the Red Sea, and has also been featured by Saudi Press Agency (SPA), bringing wider attention to the research and its relevance to the region.
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