With all the news and attention given to El Nino by the media today, you would think climate scientists and meteorologists would have a better understanding of just how it works.  Unfortunately, this strange phenomenon puzzles the best climatologists and an exact understanding of it is still unknown.  That being said, it has recently come to light that El Nino may have aided Magellan cross the Pacific almost 500 years ago.

A new study suggests El Nino played a role in Magellan's historic trek.  The explorer dealt with rough waters for days south of the South American continent before the tides turned and fair weather was the rule beginning on November 28, 1520.  After this date, researchers now believe that El Nino may have helped calm the trip for the infamous explorer.

Tree ring data indicates that El Nino was in fact taking place during 1519 and 1520.  This could help explain the sudden shift in weather conditions along Magellan's journey.  According to anthropologists Scott M. Fitzpatrick of North Carolina State University and Richard Callaghan of the University of Calgary, Magellan's route may have been determined based upon these mild temperatures and favorable wind patterns created by an El Nino situation.

The two scientists thought something was amiss when they encountered data that indicated calm winds in the Pacific during the time when Magellan was sailing.  They had not considered El Nino up to that point, but the unusally calm winds helped them lean toward suggesting this phenomenon as a possibility.  Fitzpatrick and Callaghan were able to reproduce the wind and weather conditions across the Pacific during an El Nino using computer models; they then compared their findings to Magellan's route.

Magellan may have chosen to sail with the exisiting winds and currents because his journal entries indicate that most of his crew had died or were sick with scurvey.  If he chose to sail with the existing wind pattern, it would have limited the number of crew that he needed to operate the ship.

Fitzpatrick and Callaghan also note that Magellan chose a northerly route because of a famine in the spice islands; El Nino's usually result in a drought in that particular region...it seems to add up.

While the exact details of why Magellan chose this particular route will always be a mystery, these researchers believe that El Nino may have played a huge influence on what many consider to be the world's greatest voyage.  If the findings are accepted when they are published in August, then this would probably be the earliest record of an El Nino occurance.

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