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Updated 12 October, 2003

Images from
Our Changing Planet FY 2003

Figure 3.1
1997-98 El Niño event, water temperature and sea-surface topography in the equatorial Pacific Ocean -- (a) January 1997; (b) June 1997; (c) November 1997; (d) March 1998

Figure 3.1. 1997-98 El Nino event, water temperature and sea-surface topography in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, January 1997

(a) January 1997

Figure 3.1. 1997-98 El Nino event, water temperature and sea-surface topography in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, June 1997

(b) June 1997

Figure 3.1. 1997-98 El Nino event, water temperature and sea-surface topography in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, Nov 1997

(c) November 1997

(d) March 1998

The images show a combined perspective of the El Niño-induced change in sea temperature below the surface as measured by NOAA's Tropical Atmosphere/Ocean (TAO) moorings, the sea-surface topography as viewed from space by the NASA Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX) radar altimetry satellite, and sea-surface temperature observed by NOAA's Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor, for the period from January 1997 to March 1998.

The sea temperature below the surface as measured by NOAA's TAO moorings illustrates how the thermocline (the boundary between warm and cold sea water at 20o C) is flattened out by El Niño. The three-dimensional relief map shows a sea-level rise along the Equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean of up to 34 centimeters, with the red colors indicating an associated change in sea-surface temperature of up to 5.4o C. Also shown is a combined perspective of the the weakening of the trade winds across the Pacific Ocean and the associated increase in sea-surface temperature. The convergence of the surface wind field into the anomalous warm water regions indicates a continued strengthening of this El Niño event.

Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Scientific Visualization Studio; NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

 

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