Klaus Wyrtki: El Niño—The Dynamic Response of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean to Atmospheric Forcing

BLOGGER'S NOTE: Lest we forget:

Journal of Physical Oceanography, Vol. 5, No. 4

Article: pp. 572–584.

El Niño—The Dynamic Response of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean to Atmospheric Forcing

Klaus Wyrtki

Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822

(Manuscript received February 18, 1975, in final form May 19, 1975)

DOI: 10.1175/1520-0485(1975)005<0572:entdro>2.0.CO;2

ABSTRACT

El Niño is the occasional appearance of warm water off the coast of Peru; its presence results in catastrophic consequences in the fishing industry. A new theory for the occurrence of El Niño is presented. It is shown that El Niño is not due to a weakening of the southeast trades over the waters off Peru, but that during the two years preceding El Niño, excessively strong southeast trades are present in the central Pacific. These strong southeast trades intensify the subtropical gyre of the South Pacific, strengthen the South Equatorial Current, and increase the east-west slope of sea level by building up water in the western equatorial Pacific. As soon as. the wind stress in the central Pacific relaxes, the accumulated water flows eastward, probably in the form of an internal equatorial Kelvin wave. This wave leads to the accumulation of warm water off Ecuador and Peru and to a depression of the usually shallow thermocline. In total, El Niño is the result of the response of the equatorial Pacific Ocean to atmospheric forcing by the trade winds.

Link to abstract: http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0485(1975)005%3C0572%3AENTDRO%3E2.0.CO%3B2