Article

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-1165-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-1165-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

Research article

|

11 Nov 2016

Research article |

| 11 Nov 2016

El Niño, La Niña, and the global sea level budget

Christopher G. Piecuch and Katherine J. Quinn

Data sets

Altimetry AVISO http://www.aviso.altimetry.fr/en/data/products/ocean-indicators-products/

Altimetry Colorado http://sealevel.colorado.edu/

Altimetry NOAA http://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/lsa/SeaLevelRise/

Altimetry CSIRO http://www.cmar.csiro.au/sealevel/sl_data_cmar.html

Argo SIO http://sio-argo.ucsd.edu/RG_Climatology.html

Argo IPRC http://apdrc.soest.hawaii.edu/las/v6/dataset?catitem=3

GRACE CSR https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31563267/ocean_mass_orig.txt

GRACE JPL https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31563267/ocean_mass_orig.txt

GRACE GFZ https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31563267/ocean_mass_orig.txt

MEI NOAA http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/enso/

Short summary

We use satellite and in situ data to elucidate global-mean sea level (GMSL) changes related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over 2005–2015. Steric and mass effects make comparable contributions to the GMSL budget during ENSO, in contrast to previous interpretations based largely on hydrological models, which emphasize mass contributions. Results exemplify the usefulness of the Global Ocean Observing System for understanding the Earth's radiation imbalance and hydrological cycle.

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