The nature and causes for the delayed atmospheric response to El Nino

From: Journal of Climate | Date: May 1, 2003| Author: Kumar, Arun; Hoerling, Martin P | Copyright information

ABSTRACT

Remarkable among the atmospheric phenomena associated with El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the lag in the zonal mean tropical thermal anomalies relative to equatorial east Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs). For the period 1950-99, the maximum correlation between observed zonal mean tropical 200-mb heights and a Nino-3.4 (5[degrees]N-5[degrees]S, 120[degrees]-170[degrees]W) SST index occurs when the atmosphere lags by 1-3 months, consistent with numerous previous s...

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