November 2009 SST Anomaly Update

I’ve moved to WordPress.  This post can now be found at November 2009 SST Anomaly Update

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NINO3.4 SST Anomalies Rose Well Into Strong El Nino Territories, but Global SST Anomalies Have Not Responded Yet.

MONTHLY SST ANOMALY MAP
The map of Global OI.v2 SST anomalies for November 2009 downloaded from the NOMADS website is shown below.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2mq9idk.png
November 2009 SST Anomalies Map (Global SST Anomaly = +0.261 deg C)

MONTHLY OVERVIEW

Global SST anomalies dropped slightly (- 0.013 deg C) between October and November, with the rise in the Southern Hemisphere (+0.022 deg C) overwhelmed by the drop in the Northern Hemisphere (-0.059 deg C). The equatorial Pacific has now reached strong El Nino conditions (Monthly NINO3.4 SST Anomaly = +1.67 deg C and Weekly NINO3.4 SST Anomaly = +1.68 deg C). Monthly NINO3.4 SST anomalies rose +0.63 in November, while the weekly data shows NINO3.4 SST anomalies have been flat for the past few weeks. (This does NOT mean NINO3.4 SST Anomalies have reached their peak for the year.)
http://i49.tinypic.com/245k95i.png
Global
Monthly Change = -0.013 deg C
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http://i50.tinypic.com/dpxnr5.png
NINO3.4 SST Anomaly
Monthly Change = +0.63 deg C

EAST INDIAN-WEST PACIFIC

I’ve added the East Indian-West Pacific SST Anomaly data well in advance of when any evidence of a step change would occur. (I’m trying to draw attention to the atypical response.) Using the 1986/87/88 and 1997/98 El Nino events as references, East Indian-West Pacific SST Anomalies peak about 7 to 9 months after the peak of the NINO3.4 SST anomalies, so we shouldn’t expect any visible sign of a step change for almost 18 to 24 months. We’ll just have to watch and see.
http://i46.tinypic.com/2lsw3ev.png
East Indian-West Pacific (60S-65N, 80E-180)
Monthly Change = +0.017 deg C

NOTE ABOUT THE DATA

The MONTHLY graphs illustrate raw monthly OI.v2 SST anomaly data from November 1981 to November 2009.

MONTHLY INDIVIDUAL OCEAN AND HEMISPHERIC SST UPDATES
http://i49.tinypic.com/10r4k1j.png
Northern Hemisphere
Monthly Change = -0.059 deg C
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http://i49.tinypic.com/2z3p11x.png
Southern Hemisphere
Monthly Change = +0.022 deg C
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http://i48.tinypic.com/sqhj.png
North Atlantic (0 to 75N, 78W to 10E)
Monthly Change = -0.054 deg C
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http://i45.tinypic.com/r033ep.png
South Atlantic (0 to 60S, 70W to 20E)
Monthly Change = -0.011 deg C
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http://i47.tinypic.com/jt6gx1.png
North Pacific (0 to 65N, 100 to 270E, where 270E=90W)
Monthly Change = -0.039 Deg C
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http://i45.tinypic.com/vddo4.png
South Pacific (0 to 60S, 145 to 290E, where 290E=70W)
Monthly Change = +0.076 deg C
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http://i48.tinypic.com/2n1aqu9.png
Indian Ocean (30N to 60S, 20 to 145E)
Monthly Change = -0.02 deg C
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http://i45.tinypic.com/wjtf0n.png
Arctic Ocean (65 to 90N)
Monthly Change = -0.107 deg C
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http://i47.tinypic.com/2nld5ww.png
Southern Ocean (60 to 90S)
Monthly Change = -0.055 deg C

WEEKLY NINO3.4 SST ANOMALIES

The weekly NINO3.4 SST anomaly data illustrate OI.v2 data centered on Wednesdays. The latest weekly NINO3.4 SST anomalies are +1.68 deg C.
http://i48.tinypic.com/14l0gft.png
Weekly NINO3.4 (5S-5N, 170W-120W)

SOURCE
The Optimally Interpolated Sea Surface Temperature Data (OISST) are available through the NOAA National Operational Model Archive & Distribution System (NOMADS).
http://nomad3.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/pdisp_sst.sh?lite

Animations of AVISO Tropical Pacific Sea Level and SST Anomaly Maps

I’ve moved to WordPress.  This post can now be found at Animations of AVISO Tropical Pacific Sea Level and SST Anomaly Maps

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UPDATE December 6, 2009: Keep in mind when watching the videos that the field of view captures only small portions of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The vast majority is the tropical Pacific Ocean. The images stretch from 100E to 70W, or 190 degrees longitude, or more than half way around the equator. Note that there is another update at the bottom of the page, too.
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The AVISO website provides monthly maps of tropical Pacific Sea Level and Sea Surface Temperature anomalies from January 1993 to present (SLA maps start in November 1992):
http://bulletin.aviso.oceanobs.com/html/produits/indic/enso/welcome_uk.php3

I’ve combined the Sea Level and SST anomaly maps, with the Sea Level Anomalies in the upper cell. The example below (April 1998) shows the start of the Rossby wave that returns warm waters from the eastern to the western Tropical Pacific.

http://i50.tinypic.com/dccy2w.png
Example of Combined AVISO Sea Level and SST Anomaly Maps

And then I animated them, creating two versions, and posted them on YouTube. The difference is the speed, the number of frames per second. I prefer to watch them full screen and in “High Quality”. The slow version:


YouTube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PoC5qVgovE

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And the faster version:


YouTube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e7S_WBknUY

Refer to my post...
"More Detail On The Multiyear Aftereffects Of ENSO - Part 2 – La Nina Events Recharge The Heat Released By El Nino Events AND...
...During Major Traditional ENSO Events, Warm Water Is Redistributed Via Ocean Currents"

...for a further discussion on the impacts of ENSO on the Tropical Pacific.

UPDATE December 6, 2009: For those trying to determine why I picked the above April 1998 maps as an example, I’ve created the following .gif animation.

http://i46.tinypic.com/i4e5qs.gif

Met Office Involved In Different Type Of Cover-Up

I’ve moved to WordPress.  This post can now be found at Met Office Involved In Different Type Of Cover-Up

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This morning I opened the Met Office’s HADCRUT3 webpage…
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climatechange/science/monitoring/hadcrut3.html
…scrolled down to the graph of the annual data, then shifted to the right. What I saw caused me to laugh. They’ve got an advertisement covering the last 5 to 6 years of data, and you can’t close the ad.

http://i45.tinypic.com/vq4k9h.png

Here’s the graph without the ad:
http://i49.tinypic.com/68y2x3.png