EnsoAmpl

ENSO_amplitude: standard deviation of SST anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific

Description:

Computes the standard deviation of central equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA; horizontal Niño3.4 average)

Reference observations:

TropFlux 1979-2018 (main)

20CRv2 1871-2012, ERA-Interim 1979-2018, ERSSTv5 1854-2018, HadISST 1870-2018, NCEP2 1979-2018

Region:

Niño3.4

Regridding:

None

Steps (computation):

Niño3.4 SSTA

seasonal cycle removed
detrending (if applicable)
spatial average

ENSO amplitude

standard deviation of Niño3.4 SSTA
abs((model-ref)/ref)*100

Time frequency:

monthly

Units:

% of error

Variable name:

sea surface temperature (SST)

Dive down Level 1:

The first level shows the diagnostic used to compute the metric and highlight the difference between the model and the reference. Figure 1: standard deviation of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the central equatorial Pacific (Niño3.4 averaged), showing the "amplitude" of SSTA (usually close to the reference but slightly weaker). The black and blue markers show respectively the reference and the model. The metric derived is the absolute value of the relative difference: abs((model-ref)/ref)*100.

Dive down Level 2:

The second level shows the zonal structure of the ENSO amplitude: the standard deviation of the anomalies along the equator in the Pacific. Figure 2: zonal structure of the standard deviation of the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the equatorial Pacific(5°S-5°N average), showing usually the too strong maximum variability in the central equatorial Pacific and a too strong variability west of the dateline. The black and blue curves show respectively the reference and the model.

Dive down Level 3:

The third level shows the broader picture to better understand the spatial pattern of ENSO amplitude: the map of the standard deviation of anomalies in the equatorial Pacific. Figure 3: spatial structure of the standard deviation of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the equatorial Pacific, showing usually a too weak variability off South America, a too strong maximum variability in the central equatorial Pacific and a too strong variability west of the dateline. The left and right maps show respectively the reference and the model.