Central Equatorial Pacific

Here we show that in the central equatorial Pacific ENSO subsurface temperature correlates poorly with thermocline but well with sea surface height. This observed difference occurs commonly in almost all climate models. We demonstrate that it arises from a unique vertically slanted distribution of the subsurface temperature in the central Pacific in response to winds associated with ENSO. Our findings may have implications for better understanding diverse behaviors of ENSO events occurring in central and eastern equatorial Pacific.

Apr 6, 2021