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Article: New findings on the western equatorial Pacific's warm pool.
- Article from:
- Oceanus
- Article date:
- March 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The warmest open ocean waters in the world are found in the western equatorial Pacific. In an area the size of Australia, annual average upper ocean temperatures exceed 29 [degrees] C. This warm pool is closely associated with a combination of intense upward transport in the atmosphere, cloud cover, and rainfall that constitutes a major driving force for global atmospheric circulation. Eastward displacement of this warm pool system during El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events every 3 to 5 years results in pronounced midlatitude weather pattern changes. Understanding the processes that couple the ocean and atmosphere in the warm pool is a crucial step toward improving ...