Changes in oceanic precipitation during the 1997-98 El Nino

Abstract

The recent El Nino has been by most measures one of the most extreme, and there have been several papers on its thermal signature and associated wind field. There has also been wide coverage of the changes in terrestrial precipitation, with torrential rains in California and devastating fires in Borneo in response to the prolonged drought. Here we complete the picture by examining oceanic precipitation data derived from novel processing of dual-frequency altimetry. An increased area of precipitation, with more frequent and slightly more intense rainfall, is found to mirror the expansion of the western warm pool.