The monitoring of El Nino during 1997-98 in activity layer of Pacific ocean near the west coast of Mexico

Authors: Filonov A.E., Tereshchenko I.E.

Year: 2008

Issue: 06

Pages: 170-180

Abstract

The work presents an analysis of the monthly oceanographic surveys performed during the period of 1996-98 on the Polygon, situated near the west coast of Mexico. Based on the results of these surveys, monthly average temperature and salinity profiles were calculated. There was noticed that the profiles for summer-fall period of the 1997 and for the winter period of 1998, were very different from the same period profiles for the year 1996. It was caused by the transfer of huge amounts of water with higher temperature and lower salinity, and with T,S characteristics of the Pacific Tropical Surface Water and Pacific Equatorial Surface Water into the Polygon area. By the January 1998, these water masses had filled the whole 80m layer. An increase of 150m heat storage from 10.1 to 15.3 GJ/m^2, in comparison to its January 1996 level, was also registered. The processes that caused temperature anomalies (SST) in B region of the Pacific Ocean (4°N-4°S; 90°W-150°W), were one month ahead of the processes of temperature increase and salinity lowering.

Tags: heat storage; Mexico; phase of process; polygon; salinity; Эль-Ниньо

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