meaning
Source: Yahoo El Nino Article
Example:
"If [PDO] transitions back into positive, we'd see a resumption in these more rapid rates of global warming," said Gerald Meehl, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. "Having that shift in the background base state means that the peaks of the El Nino are going to be higher."
What exactly does "base state" mean?
According the "Harvard College Writing Center"
When you write an academic essay, you make an argument: you propose a thesis and offer some reasoning, using evidence, that suggests why the thesis is true. When you counter-argue, you consider a possible argument against your thesis or some aspect of your reasoning... it can be a persuasive and (in both senses of the word) disarming tactic. It allows you to anticipate doubts and pre-empt objections that a skeptical reader might have
According to Wikipedia:
... a counter argument is an objection to an objection
The same source gives this useful schematic (Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement):
EDIT: I’ve just realised that I haven’t used the exact phrase counter-reasoning. The explanation involving these exact words is difficult to come by on the internet. To support the claim that the above does answer the question:
Counter (as an adjective) MW defines as:
marked by or tending toward or in an opposite direction or effect
There are not many examples of usage (about 825 on Google Books, and some false positive), but this example conveys the same meaning for counter-reasoning as the term counter-argument (explained above). It is a note in a translation of Plato’s Protagoras talking about Bonitz using counter-reasoning by Socrates as a proof of a certain statement being refuted. It’s the most direct explanation I managed to dig up.
Fuel as a verb means:
Supply or power (an industrial plant, vehicle, or machine) with fuel: power stations fueled by low-grade coal.
[Oxford Online Dictionary]
Funk is a kind of music:
music that combines elements of rhythm and blues and soul music and that is characterized by a percussive vocal style, static harmonies, and a strong bass line with heavy downbeats
[Merriam-Webster]
Funk-fueled in the sentence means the alternative rock music was characterized, powered, or influenced by a funky music style.
Edit: Fuel has always been used metaphorically unless used for vehicles, planes, power generators, etc. Please refer to the 1.3 meaning of its noun definition.
Best Answer
Base state is a term used in statistics.
We have a measurable quantity, in this case the temperature of the sea.
We have an effect upon that quantity, El Nino increases the temperature and therefore the rainfall.
Each El Nino event may raise the temperature by a different amount. However, if the starting point from which the temperature is being raised - the Base State - is higher (due to global warming) then the peak caused by El Nino will be higher.
In effect, put very simply, the whole temperature graph goes up a bit.
The base state is the value of a variable before it is altered before an external event and to which it returns after that event.