WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Reseachers say they have established a tie between solar activity and La Nina and El Nino events in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

    The new study, published Thursday by the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, may pave the way for better predictions of temperature and precipitation patterns at certain times during the sun's approximately 11-year cycle.

    Building on previous work, the NCAR researchers used computer models to answer longstanding questions about the connection between solar activity and global climate.

    "When the sun's output peaks, it has far-ranging and often subtle impacts on tropical precipitation and on weather systems around much of the world," said NCAR scientist Gerald Meehl, the lead author of the report.

    The study shows that as the sun reaches maximum activity, it heats cloud-free parts of the Pacific Ocean enough to increase evaporation, intensify rainfall and cool the eastern tropical Pacific.

    The result is similar to a La Nina event, although the cooling is focused further east and is only about half as strong as for a typical La Nina.

    Over the following year or two, the La Nina-like pattern triggered by the solar maximum tends to evolve into an El Nino-like pattern, as slow-moving currents replace the cool water over the eastern tropical Pacific with warmer-than-usual water.

    True La Nina and El Nino events are associated with changes in the temperatures of surface waters of the eastern Pacific. They can affect weather patterns worldwide.