Abstract
Monthly fields of shortwave radiation (SR) and latent heat flux (LE) over the central and eastern tropical Pacific between 1980 and 1983 have been computed using satellite data. They are the dominant variable components of surface thermal forcing on the ocean in this time scale. During the 1982-1983 ENSO episode, surface-wind convergence and cloudiness associated with the displacement of equatorial organized convection caused a reduction in both the SR into the ocean and the LE out of the ocean. The lag-correlation coefficients between the forcing (SR-LE) and the sea surface temperature are found to be significantly high outside the equatorial region, showing that surface thermal forcing is the dominant factor in sea surface temperature change. In the narrow equatorial wave guide, ocean dynamics play a more important role, and surface heat flux is a consequence rather than the cause of sea surface temperature change.
Published Version
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