Abstract
The spatial and temporal features of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) meridional scales are investigated using the Hadley Center Global Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature (HadISST) data for the period of 1950–2007. The results show that the meridional scales of the ENSO warm and cold events are asymmetric and exhibit interdecadal changes. The meridional extent of the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) during La Niña years is wider than that during El Niño years. This is because strengthened trades and thus strengthened upwelling and meridional currents during La Niña events more effectively spread SSTA away from the equator. With the Walker Circulation weakening in recent decades, which tends to reduce upwelling and meridional currents over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, the meridional scales of both El Niño and La Niña events also decrease.
Published Version
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