| Heat Storage Based on:
Monthly (Nov 1981-present) ocean potential temperature from the NCEP Global Ocean Data Assimilation System (GODAS) on a 1.0° lon. x 1/3° lat. grid with vertical
gridpoints at 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165,
175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 238, 262, and 303 meters below the surface.
Nino 3.4 Sea Surface Temperature Data: Monthly sea surface temperature (NCEP OIv2 SST) on a 1.0 x 1.0 deg. lat/lon grid (January 1982-present) Base Period (for both datasets above): 1982-present Data Source: NCEP, Environmental Monitoring Center, Climate Modeling Branch Description: The blue line indicates the ocean heat storage from the surface to 300 m depth averaged over the area 150°-170°W, 10°S-10°N in the central equatorial Pacific expressed as a percentile (from 0 to 1). The black line indicates the Nino 3.4 region (120°-170°W, 5°S-5°N) average sea surface temperature again expressed as a percentile. NOTE: The 0th percentile indicates the lowest value over the base period; the 100th percentile indicates the highest. NCEP is an acronym for the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction. |