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Interannual‐to‐interdecadal sea surface temperature variability along the western coast of South America
Author(s) -
Montecinos A.,
Purca S.,
Pizarro O.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2003gl017345
Subject(s) - climatology , sea surface temperature , middle latitudes , latitude , pacific decadal oscillation , environmental science , el niño southern oscillation , amplitude , geology , oceanography , physics , geodesy , quantum mechanics
Interannual and interdecadal regional‐scale sea surface temperature (SST) variability along Peru and Chile are described based on 9 coastal stations and global SST in the period 1951–1999. ENSO‐related interannual variability dominates the low‐passed time series along the coast, with maximum amplitudes in the tropics decreasing southward. At tropical latitudes interdecadal variance is about one‐third of the interannual variance while they are of similar amplitude in the midlatitudes (36°S). The correlation between the low frequency coastal modes and the Pacific and Atlantic SST suggests that the coastal SST variability comprises two main large‐scale climate processes: the ENSO cycle at interannual timescale, and a basin‐wide, perhaps even a global‐scale, interdecadal oscillation.