Abstract
Abstract. Indices of the interannual and interdecadal variability at Tumaco Island (2° N; 79° W; Colombia), based on time series of sea surface temperature (SST), air temperature (AT) and precipitation (P) from a coastal station, are presented regarding the period 1960–2010. These indices are derived from the first two EOF (empirical orthogonal function) modes of the normalized time series, which grasp 84% of the explained variance. The first EOF represents the interannual variability closely correlated with the ENSO-related SST variability of region Niño 1+2 (r = 0.74; lag = 1), Niño 3 (r = 0.71; lag = 1), and the well-known period band 2–8 yr. Furthermore, the first EOF also accounts for the extreme warm events in the eastern equatorial Pacific due to them being well correlated with the E index (r = 0.70). The second EOF represents a much longer variability dominated by the ENSO-like mode or Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), represented by two interdecadal modes (8–16 yr and 20–30 yr), and may account also with moderate warm events and cool events, being more sensitive to cool events.
Highlights
Introduction a coastal station located oDnTautmaacSoyIssltaendminsthe ColombianPacific for the period 1960–2010 were used and analyzed us-The Colombian Pacific ocean is located in the Panama Bight ing statistical methods focusing on the interannual to interand is described as part of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean decadal variability.Geoscientific delimited by the Isthmus of Panama (9◦ N) and Puntilla Santa Elena (2◦ S) (Fig. 1)
It extends westward from the coasts of Panama, Colombia and Ecuador to about 81◦ W, and is sub- 2 Data and methodology ject to pronounced seasonal variations in oceanic conditions related to changes in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the development of the low wind jet event usually referred to as the Panama Jet
These interannual modes can be interpreted as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal in the air–sea variables in Tumaco and show the ENSO history between 1961 to 2010 in the Colombian Pacific Ocean
Summary
Introduction a coastal station located oDnTautmaacSoyIssltaendminsthe ColombianPacific for the period 1960–2010 were used and analyzed us-The Colombian Pacific ocean is located in the Panama Bight ing statistical methods focusing on the interannual to interand is described as part of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean decadal variability.Geoscientific delimited by the Isthmus of Panama (9◦ N) and Puntilla Santa Elena (2◦ S) (Fig. 1). Several studies have documented warm events in the eastern equatorial Pacific due to them being well correlated with the E index (r = 0.70).
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