El Ni̱o, Sea Surface Height, 1998
El Ni̱o is the warm phase of the El Ni̱o Southern Oscillation (commonly called ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific, including off the Pacific coast of South America. ENSO refers to the cycle of warm and cold temperatures, as measured by sea surface temperature, SST, of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Sea-surface height (SSH) is the height (or topography or relief) of the ocean's surface. On a daily basis, SSH is most obviously affected by the tidal forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the Earth. Over longer timescales, SSH is influenced by ocean circulation. The slowest and largest variations are due to changes in the Earth's gravitational field (geoid) due to the rearrangement of continents, formation of sea mounts and other redistribution of rock.
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Keywords: 1998, atmospheric, climate, climatology, cyclical, el, enso, global, height, heights, meteorological, meteorology, nino, ni̱, ocean, oceanographic, oceanographical, oceanography, oscillation, pacific, pattern, phenomena, phenomenon, research, science, sea, southern, surface, weather
