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The Multi-Scale Ultra-High Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Data Set Animation
(Jan 01, 2010 - Dec 31, 2011)

The Multi-Scale Ultra-High Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Data Set combines data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua, and Advanced Microwave Spectroradiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) instruments in an optimal way to produce 1km global maps of SST.  Noticeable in the animation from January 1 2010 to December 31, 2011 are the high energy regions associated with the Western Boundary Currents of the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio.  Additionally one can see the major upwelling areas of the world's oceans associated with the California, Peruvian/Chilean and South African Coasts.
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The animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSSH) anomalies in early 2011.
La Niña: Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Surface Height Anomalies
(Jun 01, 2010 - Feb 07, 2011)

The animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies (relative to the respective normal state, i.e., seasonal climatology) associated with the 2010-11 La Niña in the Pacific Ocean.  SST and SSH anomalies reflect the heat content in the mixed layer (approximately upper 50 m) and the upper ocean (approximately upper 150 m) respectively.  Warm/cold SST anomalies often are associated with high/low SSH anomalies. They provide complimentary views of the oceanic signature of climate variability such as El Niño and La Niña . La Niña is the cooling phase (in contrast to the warming phase, the El Niño) of an interannual mode of climate variability called El Nino-Southern Oscillation.  Initial cooling appeared in the eastern to central equatorial Pacific around June 2010 and grew into a relatively strong La Niña event in late 2010. The event persists beyond February 2011. >> MORE

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The animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSSH) anomalies between 2009 and 2010.
El Niño: Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Surface Height Anomalies

(Jan 01, 2009 - May 21, 2010)
 

The animation illustrates the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSSH) anomalies* (relative to the respective normal state, i.e., seasonal climatology) associated with the 2009-10 El Nino in the Pacific Ocean.  SST and SSH anomalies reflect the heat content in the mixed layer (approximately upper 50 m) and the upper ocean (approximately upper 150 m) respectively.
They provide complimentary views of the oceanic signature of climate variability El Nino. In April 2009, initial warming appeared in the eastern equatorial Pacific and grew into a moderate warming event by the end of the year. The event decays somewhat during the first two months of 2010, but later strengthens so that it now ranks in the top ten of the strongest events observed to date.  The latest data shows the surface warming extending farther westward across the dateline than was seen in most of the El Nino events in the past few decades. >> MORE


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