Unusual summertime warming off California Coast (September, 2014)

Recently an episode of intensified coastal warming off California has been detected in satellite sea surface temperature (SST) imagery along many portions of central-to-southern California and down to Baja California.  This is an ongoing and highly unusual event during a seasonal period that is typically associated with strong coastal upwelling of cool subsurface water that chills the coastal zone.  The magnitude of the warming, up to 4-5 ºC, has not been seen in recent years. Coastal upwelling is driven by equatorward alongshore winds that push warmer surface water offshore and draw cooler subsurface water up to the surface layer.  Upwelling along central-to-southern California (and Baja) during the spring-summer period provides a seasonal ecological environment beneficial to the marine ecosystems from phytoplankton to fisheries.

Data in Action: Unusual summertime warming off California Coast

Recently an episode of intensified coastal warming off California has been detected in satellite sea surface temperature (SST) imagery along many portions of central-to-southern California and down to Baja California.  This is an ongoing and highly unusual event during a seasonal period that is typically associated with strong coastal upwelling of cool subsurface water that chills the coastal zone.

NASA's RapidScat to Unveil Hidden Cycles of Sea Winds (July, 2014)

Ocean waves, the hot sun, sea breezes -- the right combination makes a great day at the beach. A different combination makes a killer hurricane. The complex interactions of the ocean and the air above it that can create such different outcomes are not yet fully known. Scientists would especially like to understand the role that the daily heat of the sun plays in creating winds.

Data in Action: NASA's RapidScat to Unveil Hidden Cycles of Sea Winds

Winds contribute to motion in the ocean on every scale, from individual waves to currents extending thousands of miles. They affect local weather as well as large-scale, long-term climate patterns such as El Niño. Across the tropical Pacific, winds help or hinder local economies by allowing nutrient-rich water to well up from the ocean depths, nourishing marine life to the benefit of coastal fisheries, or blocking its upwelling.

Ocean Story: Is an El Niño developing in the tropical Pacific Ocean? (May, 2014)

A comparison of the current warming conditions to the pre-conditions of the 1997-98 El Niño.

Historically, every 2-7 years or so, the easterly trade winds relax or reverse abnormally, and the cold tongue is weakened or disappears. This abnormal warming in the cold tongue region (relative to the normal condition) is referred to as El Niño.

Is an El Niño developing in the tropical Pacific Ocean? A comparison of the current warming conditions to the pre-conditions of the 1997-98 El Niño (May, 2014)

The normal condition of the tropical Pacific Ocean and atmosphere system is characterized by a warm pool of water in the west and a cold tongue of water in the east (off the coast of Peru), maintained by easterly trade winds that induce upwelling of cold subsurface water in the cold-tongue region and that push the warm-pool water towards the west.

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