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El Niño and Antarctica
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
This information was extracted from the following website:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/earth/antarctica/antarctica_30402_caption.html
This surface temperature map shows the average pattern of warming and cooling of the southern ocean around Antarctica associated with El Niño episodes. Warming is represented by red and cooling by blue. The intensity of the warming is strongest in the Amundsen and Ross Seas, located in the pacific sector of the southern ocean. In contrast, the cooling is strongest in the Bellingshausen and Weddell Seas in the Atlantic Sector. Record decreases in the ice coverage between 1982-1999 in the Amundsen and the Ross Seas are associated with this warming. Similarly, increases in the ice coverage in the Weddell Sea can be seen during the same period.
The behavior of the southern ocean climate and ice cover is strongly linked to the tropical El Niño phenomenon. The far-reaching connections between tropical and polar climate is clearly demonstrated here.
The surface temperature field shown here is derived from infrared data from the AVHRR (A Very High Resolution Radiometer) sensor on a NOAA satellite.
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