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Understanding and predicting ENSO
Author(s) -
Battisti D. S.,
Sarachik E. S.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/95rg00933
Subject(s) - climatology , geology , sea surface temperature , oceanography , walker circulation , el niño southern oscillation , pacific decadal oscillation , pacific ocean , indian ocean , structural basin , ocean current , atmospheric circulation , convection , geography , meteorology , paleontology
Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, oceanographers referred to the large‐scale warming of the equatorial eastern and central Pacific as El Niño. This anomalous warming was later shown to be associated with anomalies in the upper ocean thermal structure throughout the equatorial Pacific Ocean. At about the same time, scientists realized that the Southern Oscillation was intimately related to the large‐scale changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In brief, the Southern Oscillation represents the variability in the Indo‐Pacific Walker circulation in the tropics, and is manifest as a displacement of the convection over the maritime continent, and is associated with large‐scale anomalies in the surface wind and sea level pressure throughout the tropical Pacific (and into the Indian Ocean) basin.