National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
United States Department of Commerce

The Equatorial Pacific Ocean 'At a Glance'

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The Equatorial Pacific Ocean 'At a Glance'

5-day TAO/TRITON Anomalies 2S to 2N; latitude-time plot of zonal wind, SST, Z20

Click for annotated version of graphic explaining how it illustrates the evolution of El Niño.

Explanation

  • each panel is a time vs longitude plot near the equator (2ºN to 2ºS) in the Pacific Ocean
  • in each panel, Indonesia is on the left and South America is on the right
  • in each panel, time increases downwards, and  A M J etc. are the months April, May, June, etc.
  • panels show deviations from normal conditions for east-west wind (left panel), temperature (middle panel) and the depth of the water which is 20ºC (right panel)
  • read about Kelvin waves and their role in El Niño and La Niña from NASA Science News
  • read about Kelvin waves and their role in El Niño and La Niña from climate.gov

El Nino evolution in the tropical Pacific Ocean