Abstract
Abstract. Previous studies show that nonseasonal variations in global-mean sea level (GMSL) are significantly correlated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, it has remained unclear to what extent these ENSO-related GMSL fluctuations correspond to steric (i.e., density) or barystatic (mass) effects. Here we diagnose the GMSL budget for ENSO events observationally using data from profiling floats, satellite gravimetry, and radar altimetry during 2005–2015. Steric and barystatic effects make comparable contributions to the GMSL budget during ENSO, in contrast to previous interpretations based largely on hydrological models, which emphasize the barystatic component. The steric contributions reflect changes in global ocean heat content, centered on the Pacific. Distributions of ocean heat storage in the Pacific arise from a mix of diabatic and adiabatic effects. Results have implications for understanding the surface warming slowdown and demonstrate the usefulness of the Global Ocean Observing System for constraining Earth's hydrological cycle and radiation imbalance.
Highlights
Sea level is an informative index of climate and serious concern for coastal communities
As in earlier papers cited above, there is a tight relation between global-mean sea level (GMSL) and Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) curves, such that the GMSL is higher during El Niño periods and lower during La Niña periods
These results suggest that GMSL fluctuations tied to El Niño– Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and seen by satellite altimetry are independently corroborated by the other ocean observing platforms and that barystatic and steric terms both contribute to the significant relationship between GMSL and ENSO
Summary
Sea level is an informative index of climate and serious concern for coastal communities. The most apparent signals in the altimetric global-mean sea level (GMSL) data are the annual cycle and linear trend (e.g., Fig. 4 in Masters et al, 2012). On the one hand, based on satellite data and in situ observations, Boening et al (2012) and Fasullo et al (2013) conclude that the anomalous fall in GMSL during the 2010– 2011 La Niña was related to a decrease in global ocean mass. We exploit the growing record length of the Global Ocean Observing System, analyzing satellite gravity, radar altimetry, and in situ hydrographic observations using linear estimation (regression) to elucidate observationally the nature of the altimetric GMSL budget for ENSO events
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