El Niño-Southern Oscillation

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major climate pattern centered on the tropical Pacific Ocean. El Niño refers to a high-sea temperature phase in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (the opposite, low-sea temperature phase is known as La Niña). The Southern Oscillation is the corresponding atmospheric component of the pattern. Together, these cycles impact the climate of much of the world, so developing a better understanding of the patterns of ENSO and its underlying mechanisms is a major focus of oceanographic and atmospheric research. With Argo, scientists are able to look below the sea surface at the temperature and salinity trends associated with ENSO. Below are plots created using Argo data, showing average temperature and salinity anomalies at 100 meters below the surface during positive and negative ENSO phases from 2004-2018.