NOAA Site Offers ENSO Information
(Reprinted from EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union Volume 83, No. 37, 10 September 2002, p407).

The Web site of the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) (http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/) provides a comprehensive overview of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation Phenomenon (ENSO) and information about the TAO project in general, as well as real-time data display and delivery for the TAO/TRITON deep ocean moorings array.

Technical Requirements

The site is designed so that users with low-bandwidth Internet access and low technical standards, such as small-screen monitors, can navigate efficiently through the site. On the other hand, the display might look a bit odd to users with large screens because of the fixed size of the page. Some special parts of the site require Javascript and applications like Flash. The only browser-specific problems, using Internet Explorer 5 and Netscape 4.7, were found in the data delivery section. The non-java script option provided an acceptable alternative. Overall, the navigation from the home page is easy, and a site map and search function facilitate specific requests.

Contents

The TAO Web site provides information for both scientists and non-scientists. The site’s home page has four main sections: a project overview, data display, data delivery, and El Niño/La Niña. Scientists and non-scientists alike will especially appreciate the part on El Niño and La Niña, where basics about the. ENSO phenomenon are included along with many other links to related sites. For instance, links to most recent ENSO advisories and forecast are provided. In contrast, the information provided under the project overview is mainly addressed to an audience that would be more specifically interested in the TAO/ TRITON buoy program. In addition, the TAO site offers an online data display and data delivery from the TAO/TRITON measurements. The data presentation allows a wide range of graphical display of different physical parameters measured by TAO/TRITON buoys. The graphic, generated and displayed online, can also be downloaded in compressed and uncompressed postscript format. This option is especially attractive for scientific users.

Through the data policy of the TAO project, open and free access to the TAO/TRITON mooring data is guaranteed. The TAO site provides easy access in different formats to user-specified data sets for many variables such as sea-surface temperature, winds, and currents. According to users’ specifications, data sets can be specified and downloaded. Note that the standard data delivery page requires JAVA-to-JAVAScript communication that is not possible under Internet Explorer 5. This tool is extremely valuable for many scientific applications.

Overall, the TAO Web site provides useful information about the ENSO phenomenon for both scientists and the general public. Information is provided on different levels with many links to other relevant sites. This site is highly recommended to anyone interested in ENSO science. Bookmark this site and visit it frequently!

Author

Andreas Villwock
International CLIVAR Project Office, c/o Institut für Meereskunde, Universität Kiel, Germany.