Climate.gov Data Snapshots: SST - ENSO Region, Monthly Difference from Average
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Version: View help for Version V2
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| data | 06/24/2025 08:32:PM | ||
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application/pdf | 4.9 MB | 06/17/2025 05:49:PM |
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application/pdf | 2.1 MB | 06/17/2025 05:49:PM |
Project Citation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Climate.gov Data Snapshots: SST - ENSO Region, Monthly Difference from Average. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-06-24. https://doi.org/10.3886/E233228V2
Project Description
Project Title:
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Climate.gov Data Snapshots: SST - ENSO Region, Monthly Difference from Average
Summary:
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Q: Do sea surface temperatures suggest El Niño or La Niña conditions?
A: Colors
on this map show where and by how much monthly sea surface temperature
differed from long-term average (1985-1993, details from Coral Reef Watch).
Red areas were warmer than average, and blue areas were cooler than
average. The darker the color, the larger the difference from the
long-term average. White and very light areas were near average. [Editor's
note: All maps are based on the 1985-1993 climatology. Due to a
processing glitch, maps prior to September 2021 are incorrectly labelled
as using a base period of 1981-2010. If correcting this date is
important for your use, you can rebuild the image with the assets in the
full-resolution zip file.]
Warmer-than-average sea surface temperature across the central and
eastern tropical Pacific is one of the indicators of El Niño conditions.
El Niño is the name for the warm phase of a major climate pattern
called the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
Conversely, cooler-than-average sea surface temperature across this
region is one indicator of La Niña conditions. La Niña is the name for
the cool phase of ENSO.
Q: Where do these measurements come from?
A: These monthly measurements are made from NOAA's CoralTemp sea
surface temperature (SST) data. Every day, instruments on eight
satellites in two different orbits (geostationary and polar) measure sea
surface temperature by checking how much energy is radiated by the
ocean at different wavelengths. Computer programs plot these
measurements on a gridded map and then merge and smooth the data into a
gap-free product using mathematical filters. Each grid point covers an
area approximately 5 x 5 km. Daily temperatures at each grid point are
averaged together to calculate monthly average temperature.
To calculate the difference-from-average temperatures shown here, a
computer program takes the monthly average temperature at each grid
point, and subtracts the long-term average for that month. If the result
is a positive number, the sea surface was warmer than the long-term
average. A negative result from the subtraction means the sea surface
was cooler than usual.
Q: What do the colors mean?
A: Shades
of blue show locations where sea surface temperature was cooler than
its long-term average. Locations shown in shades of orange and red are
where the sea’s surface was warmer than the long-term average. The
darker the shade of red or blue, the larger the difference from the
long-term average or “usual” sea surface temperature. Locations that are
white or very light show where sea surface temperature was the same as
or very close to its long-term average.
Q: Why do these data matter?
A: Water
covers more than 70% of our planet's surface. Tracking the temperature
of the sea’s surface helps scientists understand how much heat energy is
in the ocean and how it changes over time. In the tropical Pacific
Ocean, differences from normal sea surface temperatures serve as one of
the major indicators as to whether ENSO is in an El Niño or La Niña
phase. These phases can have dramatic impacts on weather across the
tropics and the mid-latitudes. Sea surface temperature anomalies give
scientists a way to monitor the evolution of ENSO phases, enabling them
to predict potential impacts in the Pacific region and around the world
weeks in advance.
Q: How did you produce these snapshots?
A: Data
Snapshots are derivatives of existing data products: to meet the needs
of a broad audience, we present the source data in a simplified visual
style. NOAA's Environmental Visualization Laboratory (NNVL) produces the
Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly files. Maps are centered over the
central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, the area scientists monitor
for the oceanic development of El Niño and La Niña events.
References
Original Distribution URL:
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https://www.climate.gov/data/Ocean--Monthly--Difference-from-average-Sea-Surface-Temperature--Pacific/
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
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climate;
climate change;
sea temperature;
ocean
Geographic Coverage:
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Global
Time Period(s):
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4/2013 – 5/2025 (Monthly images from 2013 to present)
Data Type(s):
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images: photographs, drawings, graphical representations
Collection Notes:
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Data is divided in to folders by image resolution -- full size (zip), kml (zip), broadcast (png), small (png), and large (png). Occasionally there may be one image missing in a particular size but available in another size.
Data downloaded from climate.gov 6/15/2025 - 6/16/2025 (small, large, and full resolution) and 6/21/2025 (others).
Data downloaded from climate.gov 6/15/2025 - 6/16/2025 (small, large, and full resolution) and 6/21/2025 (others).
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