Abstract

Using forty years (1978–2017) of Ocean Reanalysis System 4 (ORAS4) dataset, the purpose of this study is to investigate the fluctuation of the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) to the east of the dateline in relation to the presence of three kinds of El Niño events. From spring (MAM) through summer (JJA), we found that the NECC was stronger during the Eastern Pacific El Niño (EP El Niño) and the MIX El Niño than during the Central Pacific El Niño (CP El Niño). When it comes to winter (DJF), on the other hand, the NECC was stronger during the CP and MIX El Niño and weaker during the EP El Niño. This NECC variability was affected by the fluctuations of thermocline depth near the equatorial Pacific. Moreover, we also found that the seasonal southward shift of the NECC occurred between winter and spring, but the shift was absent during the CP and MIX El Niño events. This meridional shift was strongly affected by the local wind stress.

Highlights

  • This region represented the mean pathway of the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC), which looked uni◦

  • Region represented the mean pathway of the NECC, which uniform to formN.toThis the east of the dateline

  • Reanalysis data examined the NECC variations east of the dateline and how they responded to the three types of El Niño

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Summary

Introduction

El Niño) and the MIX El Niño than during the Central Pacific El Niño (CP El Niño) When it comes to winter (DJF), on the other hand, the NECC was stronger during the CP and MIX El Niño and weaker during the EP El Niño. This NECC variability was affected by the fluctuations of thermocline depth near the equatorial Pacific. We found that the seasonal southward shift of the NECC occurred between winter and spring, but the shift was absent during the CP and MIX El Niño events.

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