Earth
ID: 30975
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The warmer water associated with El Niño displaces colder water in the upper layer of the ocean causing an increase in sea surface height because of thermal expansion.
This visualization, created using a sea surface height anomaly product produced by AVISO, shows sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) from January 1, 2015 to January 22, 2016. The maps have been processed to highlight the interannual signal of SSH, i.e., the mean signal, seasonal signal, and the trend have been removed. Red and orange shades indicate high sea surface heights relative to the reference state, while blue and green shades indicate sea surface heights lower than the reference state. Neutral conditions appear yellow.
After five consecutive months with sea surface temperatures 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term mean, NOAA issued an El Niño Advisory to declare the arrival of the phenomenon. A statement issued by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center on March 10, 2016, states that "A transition to ENSO-neutral is likely during late Northern Hemisphere spring or early summer 2016, with close to a 50 percent chance for La Niña conditions to develop by the fall.”
Sea Surface Height Anomaly, 2014-2016
There is a newer version of this story located here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31232
This visualization, created using a sea surface height anomaly product produced by AVISO, shows sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) from January 1, 2015 to January 22, 2016. The maps have been processed to highlight the interannual signal of SSH, i.e., the mean signal, seasonal signal, and the trend have been removed. Red and orange shades indicate high sea surface heights relative to the reference state, while blue and green shades indicate sea surface heights lower than the reference state. Neutral conditions appear yellow.
After five consecutive months with sea surface temperatures 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term mean, NOAA issued an El Niño Advisory to declare the arrival of the phenomenon. A statement issued by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center on March 10, 2016, states that "A transition to ENSO-neutral is likely during late Northern Hemisphere spring or early summer 2016, with close to a 50 percent chance for La Niña conditions to develop by the fall.”
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Credits
Marit Jentoft-Nilsen: Visualizer
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Sea Surface Height
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators >> Teleconnections >> El Nino Southern Oscillation
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
SVS >> Sea Surface Height Anomaly
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
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30975
Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Sea Surface Height
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators >> Teleconnections >> El Nino Southern Oscillation
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
SVS >> Sea Surface Height Anomaly
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
