MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Mary Hardin (818) 354-0344
INTERNET ADVISORY
February 19, 1998
NEW EL NIÑO IMAGE SHOWS WARM WATER POOL IS THINNING
The most recent image from the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite
shows the large, warm water pool, commonly referred to as El
Niño, has thinned in volume along the central tropical Pacific,
indicating that sea level is slowly beginning to return to a more
normal state along the equator.
The image shows sea surface height relative to normal ocean
conditions on Feb. 5, 1998 and sea surface height is an indicator
of the heat content of the ocean. The area and volume of the El
Niño warm water pool that is affecting global weather patterns
remains extremely large, but the pool has thinned along the
equator and near the coast of South America. This 'thinning'
means that the warm water is not as deep as it was a few months
ago. Oceanographers indicate this is a classic pattern, typical
of a mature El Niño condition that they would expect to see
during the ocean's gradual transition back to normal sea level.
Sea surface temperatures, as measured by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA), are still well
above normal throughout the tropical Pacific Ocean and are
expected to remain that way into April and May.
Using satellite imagery, buoy and ship data, and a
forecasting model of the ocean-atmosphere system, NOAA has
continued to issue an advisory indicating the so-called El Niño
weather conditions that have impacted much of the United States
and the world are expected to continue through the spring.
The Feb. 5 image is now available online at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/elnino
The U.S./French TOPEX/Poseidon mission is managed by NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology.
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