Forty years ago, Klaus Wyrtki (1975) of University of Hawaii discovered that E1 Nifio warming off South America is not a result of local wind change but a response to the relaxed equatorial trade winds some 10 000 k...Forty years ago, Klaus Wyrtki (1975) of University of Hawaii discovered that E1 Nifio warming off South America is not a result of local wind change but a response to the relaxed equatorial trade winds some 10 000 km away near the international dateline. The Kelvin wave mechanism was quickly verified from wind-forced ocean model simulations. Consequent develop- ments show that the dance between the fast-reacting atmosphere and slow-evolving ocean sets the pace of E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO; Philander, 1990). The concept of ocean-atmosphere interaction has revolutionized our view of the climate system and led to operational climate prediction.展开更多
文摘Forty years ago, Klaus Wyrtki (1975) of University of Hawaii discovered that E1 Nifio warming off South America is not a result of local wind change but a response to the relaxed equatorial trade winds some 10 000 km away near the international dateline. The Kelvin wave mechanism was quickly verified from wind-forced ocean model simulations. Consequent develop- ments show that the dance between the fast-reacting atmosphere and slow-evolving ocean sets the pace of E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO; Philander, 1990). The concept of ocean-atmosphere interaction has revolutionized our view of the climate system and led to operational climate prediction.