The 2015/2016 El Nino Event in Context of the MERRA-2 Reanalysis: A Comparison of the Tropical Pacific with 1982/1983 and 1997/1998.

ABSTRACT: The 2015/2016 El Niño is analyzed using atmospheric/oceanic analysis produced using the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) data assimilation systems. As well as describing the structure of the event, a theme of the work is to compare and contrast it with two other strong El Niños, in 1982/1983 and 1997/1998. These three El Niño events are included in the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and in the more recent MERRA-2 reanalyses. MERRA-2 allows a comparison of fields derived from the underlying GEOS model, facilitating a more detailed comparison of physical forcing mechanisms in the El Niño events. Various atmospheric/oceanic structures indicate that the 2015/2016 El Niño maximized in the Niño3.4 region, with the large region of warming over most of

SUBMITTER: Lim YK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6021759 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature