Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly and Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly Comparison
Visualizations by
Alex Kekesi
Released on January 7, 2016
Every two to seven years, an unusually warm pool of water, sometimes two to three degrees Celsius higher than normal, develops across the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean to create a natural short-term climate change event. This warm condition, known as El Niño, affects the local aquatic environment, but also spurs extreme weather patterns around the world, from flooding in California to droughts in Australia.
Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies (SSTA) show ocean regions with warmer or colder temperatures than the long-term average for a given month. Globally, SSTA are an important driver of atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns. Climate modes such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropical Pacific Ocean, including El Niño (warm SSTA) and La Niña (cold SSTA) phases, give us rise to predictable changes in rainfall patterns. The strong El Niño event that developed in 2015 appears as warm SSTA in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Visualizer Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Visualizer Kel Elkins (USRA): Visualizer Doug C. Morton (NASA/GSFC): Lead Scientist Yang Chen (University of California, Irvine): Lead Scientist Jim Randerson (University of California, Irvine): Lead Scientist
Please give credit for this item to: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation:
Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0