In: Journal of Marine Systems. Elsevier: Tokyo; Oxford; New York; Amsterdam. ISSN 0924-7963; e-ISSN 1879-1573, more
Also appears in:
Nihoul, J.C.J. (Ed.) (1990). Coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling: proceedings of the 21th International Liège Colloquium on Ocean Hydrodynamics, Liège, May 8-12, 1989. Journal of Marine Systems, 1(1-3). Elsevier Scientific: Amsterdam. 313 pp., more
Using surface marine wind and sea surface temperature data from the period 1950-1987, together with sea surface temperature and sea level pressure data from several stations in the Pacific, the authors have identified two dominant time scales of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. One is a biennial mode, with periods near 24 months, the other a lower frequency concentration of variance in periods of four to five years. The problem of understanding biennial variability seems to be intimately linked with an understanding of the mean annual cycle. The observational results point to be annual cycle as a fundamental pacemaker of the ENSO cycle. They strongly suggest that coupled mode theory must be developed in the context of the annual cycle. They also indicate that the ENSO cycle cannot be fully described and understood without consideration of the entire Indian Ocean-Pacific Ocean sector and thus raise questions regarding the limitations of modeling the tropical Pacific as an isolated coupled ocean/atmospheric system.
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