The Relationships between Variations of Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in the Key Ocean Areas and the Precipitation and Surface Air Temperature in China

The relationships between variations of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTVA) in the key ocean areas and the precipitation / temperature anomalies in China are studied based on the monthly mean sea surface temperature data from January 1951 to December 1998 and the same stage monthly mean precipitation/ temperature data of 160 stations in China. The purpose of the present study is to discuss whether the relationship between SSTVA and precipitation / temperature is different from that between sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) and precipitation/ temperature, and whether the uncertainty of prediction can be reduced by use of SSTVA. The results show that the responses of precipitation anomalies to the two kinds of tendency of SSTA are different. This implies that discussing the effects of two kinds of tendency of SSTA on precipitation anomalies is better than just discussing the effects of SSTA on precipitation anomalies. It helps to reduce the uncertainty of prediction. The temperature anomalies have more identical re-sponses to the two kinds of tendency of SSTA than the precipitation except in the western Pacific Ocean. The response of precipitation anomalies to SSTVA is different from that to SSTA, but there are some similarities. Key words Variations of sea surface temperature anomalies - Precipitation anomalies - Temperature anomalies - Statistical significance test Sponsored jointly by the “ National Key Developing Program for Basic Sciences” (G1998040900) Part I and the Key Program of National Nature Science Foundation of China “ Analyses and Mechanism Study of the Regional Climatic Change in China” under Grant No.49735170.

Characteristics of Tropical Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies and Their Influences on the Onset of South China Sea Summer Monsoon

The characteristics of sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） in the tropical oceans and their influences on the onset of South China Sea summer monsoon （SCSSM） have been studied.The anomaly of SST in tropical Pacific Ocean exerts persistence impact for one to three months on atmospheric circulations.If the warm pool becomes anomalously warmer during an earlier period from February to April,the SCSSM breaks out earlier,and vice versa.Singular value decomposition （SVD） and composite analysis have shown that,in La Ni（n）a pattern,the convection over Western Pacific will occur earlier and be stronger than normal,which favors the convergence at a lower layer over Western Pacific,as well as the strengthening of upwelling branch of Walker circulation,leading to an earlier burst of westerly in the southern South China Sea.Moreover,the convection in Sumatra appears earlier than normal and favors the westerly evolution in eastern Indian Ocean,resulting in the splitting of the subtropical high belt and an early onset of SCSSM.However,the atmospheric circulation anomaly is reversed in El Ni（n）o pattern.

Sea surface temperature anomalies in the South China Sea during mature phase of ENSO

Based on the 18-year （1993-2010） National Centers for Environmental Prediction optimum interpolation sea surface temperature （SST） and simple ocean data assimilation datasets, this study investigated the patterns of the SST anomalies （SSTAs） that occurred in the South China Sea （SCS） during the mature phase of the E1 Nifio/Southem Oscillation. The most dominant characteristic was that of the out- of-phase variation between southwestern and northeastern parts of the SCS, which was influenced primarily by the net surface heat flux and by horizontal thermal advection. The negative SSTA in the northeastern SCS was caused mainly by the loss of heat to the atmosphere and because of the cold-water advection from the western Pacific through the Luzon Strait during E1 Nifio episodes. Conversely, it was found that the anomalous large-scale atmospheric circulation and weakened western boundary current during E1 Nifio episodes led to the development of the positive SSTA in the southwestern SCS.

Forecasts of South China Sea surface temperature anomalies using the Nio indices and dipole mode index as predictors

Based on an empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis of the monthly NCEP Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature （OISST） data in the South China Sea （SCS） after removing the climatological mean and trends of SST, over the period of January 1982 to October 2003, the corresponding TCF correlates best with the Dipole Mode Index （DMI）, Nino1＋2, Nino3.4, Nino3, and Niflo4 indices with time lags of 10, 3, 6, 5, and 6 months, respectively. Thus, a statistical hindcasts in the prediction model are based on a canonical correlation analysis （CCA） model using the above indices as predictors spanning from 1993/1994 to 2003/2004 with a 1-12 month lead time after the canonical variants are calculated, using data from the training periods from January 1982 to December1992. The forecast model is successful and steady when the lead times are 1-12 months. The SCS warm event in 1998 was successfully predicted with lead times from 1-12 months irrespective of the strength or time extent. The prediction ability for SSTA is lower during weak ENSO years, in which other local factors should be also considered as local effects play a relatively important role in these years. We designed the two forecast models： one using both DMI and Nino indices and the other using only Nino indices without DMI, and compared the forecast accuracies of the two cases. The spatial distributions of forecast accuracies show different confidence areas. By turning off the DMI, the forecast accuracy is lower in the coastal areas off the Philippines in the SCS, suggesting some teleconnection may occur with the Indian Ocean in this area. The highest forecast accuracies occur when the forecast interval is five months long without using the DMI, while using both of Nino indices and DMI, the highest accuracies occur when the forecast interval time is eight months, suggesting that the Nino indices dominate the interannual variability of SST anomalies in the SCS. Meanwhile the forecast accuracy is evaluated over an independent test period of more than 11 years （1993/94 to October 2004） by comparing the model performance with a simple prediction strategy involving the persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies over a 1-12 month lead time （the persisted prediction）. Predictions based on the CCA model show a significant improvement over the persisted prediction, especially with an increased lead time （longer than 3 months）. The forecast model performs steadily and the forecast accuracy, i.e., the correlation coefficients between the observed and predicted SSTA in the SCS are about 0.5 in most middle and southern SCS areas, when the thresholds are greater than the 95% confidence level. For all 1 to 12 month lead time forecasts, the root mean square errors have a standard deviation of about 0.2. The seasonal differences in the prediction performance for the 1-12 month lead time are also examined.

Experiments in numerical modelling of the Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies

By using the atmosphere-ocean coupled model (CGCM) which is composed of a 2-level global atmospheric general circulation model and a 4-layer Pacific oceanic general circulation model developed in the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and two model climatological fields got from the two independent models' numerical integrations respectively, the Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) from 1988 to 1989 are simulated in this paper with observed atmospheric general circulation data and sea surface temperature fields as initial conditions and monthly coupling scheme. In order to remove systematic biases of the model climatological fields, interaction variables between atmosphere and ocean are also corrected simultaneously. The experiments show that the simulation results can be improved effectively if these interaction variables are corrected in spite of the fact that there always exist systematic biases in independent numerical simulations of atmospheric part and oceanic part within CGCM. The basic characteristics of the observed Pacific SSTA in September and October 1988 have been simulated by using the correction scheme, such as the negative SSTA domain in the whole E-quatorial Pacific east to 150°E and the positive SSTA domain in the Western Pacific, the northern subtropical Pacific and nearly the whole Southern Pacific. Further numerical simulations show that the model can simulate not only the SSTA in the Pacific and its seasonal variations but also its interannual changes (for example, La Nino event in the Equatorial Pacific terminated after May 1989) to a certain degree. Furthermore, some problems existing in experiment processes and what we shoud do in the following stage are also discussed and analysed in this paper.

Study of relationship between wave transport and sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) in the tropical Pacific

Large-scale water transport is one of the key factors that affect sea surface temperature anomaly（SSTA） in the eastern equatorial Pacific（EEP）.The relationship between the wave transport in the tropical Pacific and the SSTA in the EEP is examined by different methods,including band-pass filtering,period analysis,correlation analysis,significant analysis,and empirical orthogonal function（EOF） analysis.We have found that the eastward shift of the wave transport anomaly in the tropical Pacific,with a period of 2 a and enhancing the transport of warm waters from the western Pacific warm pool,precedes the increase of sea surface temperature（SST） in the EEP.The wave transport and the SSTA in the EEP have a maximum correlation of 0.65 with a time-lag of 6 months（transport variation precedes the temperature）.The major periods（3.7 a and 2.45 a） of the wave transport variability,as revealed by the EOF analysis,appear to be consistent with the SSTA oscillation cycle in the EEP.Based on the first occurrence of a significant SSTA in the Ni？o 3 region（5°S–5°N,90°–150°W）,two types of warm events are defined.The wave transport anomalies in two types present predominantly the west anomaly in the tropical Pacific,it is that the wave transport continues transport warm water from west to east before the onset of the warm event.The impact of wave-induced water transport on the SSTA in the EEP is confirmed by the heat flux of the wave transport.The wave transport exerts significant effect on the SSTA variability in the EEP and thus is not neglectable in the further studies.

The effects of different sea surface temperature distributions over the western Pacific on the summer monsoon properties

A modified and improved primitive equation numerical model with p-sigma incorporated vertical coordinates is used to simulate the effects of different sea surface temperature distributions over the western Pacific on the summer monsoon properties. The different sea surface temperature (SST) distributions are automatically generated in the time integrations by using two different SST models, one of which is called the deep ocean model (DOM) and the other the shallow ocean model (SOM). The SST generated by the DOM has the distribution pattern of the initial SST which is similar to the pattern in the cold water years over the western Pacific, while the SST generated by the SOM has the pattern similar to that in the warm water years. The differences between the experimental results by using DOM and SOM are analyzed in detail. The analyses indicate that the most basic and important characteristics of the summer monsoon climate can be simulated successfully in both experiments, that means the climatic properties in the monsoonal climate regions are mainly determined by the seasonal heating, the contrast between the land and the sea, the topography, and the physical properties of the underlying surfaces. However, the differences between the two experiments tell us that the climatic properties in the summer monsoon regions in the cold water year and the warm water year do differ from each other in details. In the warm water year, the thermal contrast between the land and the sea becomes weaker. Over the warm water area, the upward motions are induced and the dynamical conditions favorable for the convective activities are formed, the Somali low-level cross equatorial current is somewhat weakened, while the cross equatorial currents, east of 90°E, are strongly strengthened, the precipitation amount in the tropical regions largely increases, and the precipitation over the coastal regions increases, too. However the precipitation over the southeast China and its coastal area decreases. The precipitation amount mainly depends on the strength of the convective activity.

Long-term changes in sea surface temperature(SST)within the southern Levantine Basin

Knowledge of sea surface temperature(SST)behaviour is vital for long-term climate scenarios.This study highlights essential outcomes about the distinguishable and unsurprising warming of the SST along the southern border of the Levantine Basin.The analysis is based on monthly SST data for the period 1948-2018.The southern Levantine Basin has undergone SST increase,during the last 71 years.In this study,a consistent warming trend has been found for the analysed SST data series,with a rate of 0.04℃/a,i.e.,0.4℃/(10 a).From 1975 to 1991 the mean annual SST was 17.1℃,and this increased to be 19.2℃,over the period 2002-2018.Results revealed two opposite trends of variability:a decreasing trend(−0.06℃/a)over the period 1975-1991,and an increasing trend(0.2℃/a)from 2002 to 2018.Over the period 1948-2018,positive mean annual SST anomalies had an average of 1.8℃,and negative anomalies had an average of−1.1℃.The lowest SST total increase was found from January to April,with values about 0.03℃,while the highest warming appeared from June to September.The driving mechanisms behind the SST changes need to be more investigated,to understand the future trends and impacts of climate change in the Levantine Basin.

Sea surface temperature anomaly in the tropical North Atlantic during El Nino decaying years

Based on reanalysis data from 1979 to 2016,this study focuses on the sea surface temperature(SST)anomaly of the tropical North Atlantic(TNA)in El Nino decaying years.The TNA SST exhibits a clear warm trend during this period.The composite result for 10 El Nino events shows that the TNA SST anomaly reaches its maximum in spring after the peak of an El Nino event and persists until summer.In general,the anomaly is associated with three factors-namely,El Nino,the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO),and a long-term trend,leading to an increase in local SST up to 0.4℃,0.3℃,and 0.35℃,respectively.A comparison between 1983 and 2005 indicates that the TNA SST in spring is affected by El Niño,as well as the local SST in the preceding winter,which may involve a long-term trend signal.In addition,the lead-lag correlation shows that the NAO leads the TNA SST by 2-3 months.By comparing two years with an opposite phase of the NAO in winter(i.e.,1992 and 2010),the authors further demonstrate that the NAO is another important factor in regulating the TNA SST anomaly.A negative phase of the NAO in winter will reinforce the El Nino forcing substantially,and vise versa.In other words,the TNA SST anomaly in the decaying years is more evident if the NAO is negative with El Nino.Therefore,the combined effects of El Nino and the NAO must be considered in order to fully understand the TNA SST variability along with a long-term trend.

The low frequency oscillations of the sea surface temperature in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific and El Nino formation

-In this paper the variations of the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific are analysed. The results show that there are two peaks in the spectrum. One is the low frequency oscillation with a period of 3 - 5 years, and the other is the quasi-biennial oscillation. The former shows a westward migration in the warm episode of SSTA and the latter has the opposite trend. The El Nino events will be formed while the two frquency bands are in phase in the warming stage of SSTA in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly and Precipitation Distribution in the Alagoas State of the Brazilian Northeast

Precipitation data of 17 pluviometrical stations in the Alagoas State of the Brazilian Northeast and global spatial distribution of the Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly (SSTA) were analyzed for the period of 1981-2007. Techniques of constructing composite charts for SSTA fields are used to study the interrelation between the ocean thermal state with precipitation more than 50 mm/24 h, 20 mm/24 h or without precipitation for six ambient regions of the state. The student test is used for estimating statistical characteristics of the composites. Synoptic-scale pattern analyses of the composites reveal strikingly different spatial distribution of SSTA within each composite. The El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle refers to the coherent, large-scale fluctuation of ocean temperatures. At the highest ambient regions during heavy precipitation days, more intensive SSTA was observed. The lowest anomalies were observed for all types of precipitation in the semi-arid region. Quantile analyses of NCEP/NCAR indexes of SSTA distribution, such as NATL, SATL, TROP and RNASA were used too. Positive SSTA values in tropical regions are associated with the highest possibility of precipitation formation. The SST interhemispheric north-south gradient in equatorial regions of the North and South Atlantic has direct influence on the precipitation formation in the Alagoas State.

Effects of Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies off the East Coast of Japan on Development of the Okhotsk High

The study examined effects of sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） off the east coast of Japan on the blocking high over the Okhotsk Sea in June by diagnostic analysis and numerical simulation. Firstly, based on 500-hPa geopotential height fields, the Okhotsk high index （OKHI） for June from 1951 to 2000 is calculated and analyzed. The result indicates that the OKHI has obvious inter-annual and inter-decadal vaxiations, and there are 9 yr of high OKHI and 8 yr of low OKHI in 50 yr. Secondly, by using the OKHI, the relationship between the Okhotsk high and the 500-hPa geopotential height anomaly is investigated. The results indicate that the ＂＋-＋＂ pattern of geopotential height anomaly crossing Eurasia in the mid-high latitudes and the ＂＋-＂ pattern of geopotential height anomaly from high to low latitudes over East Asia are in favor of the formation and maintenance of the Okhotsk high. The relationship between the OKHI and the SSTA over the North Pacific is investigated in early summer by using correlation and composite analysis. We found that when the blocking circulation over the Okhotsk Sea occurs, there is an obvious negative SSTA off the east coast of Japan in early summer. We simulated the effects of the negative SSTA of east coast of Japan on the atmospheric circulation anomaly over East Asia through the control and sensitivity experiments using NCAR CAM3 model in order to confirm our analysis results. The simulation shows that the negative SSTA off the east coast of Japan results in the significant positive 40 gpm 500-hPa geopotential height anomaly over the Okhotsk Sea and the negative anomalies off the east coast of Japan which might contribute to the formation and development of the Okhotsk high in June.

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS OF THE EFFECTS OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES OVER THE PACIFIC ON PRECIPITATION IN 1991

A zonal domain,primitive equation model is used in this paper to study the influences of the main sea surface tem- perature anomaly(SSTA)areas over the Pacific on precipitation in 1991.Some numerical experiments are made and the mechanisms of the influences are discussed.The results show that the influences of the SSTA are mainly confined within the tropical and the subtropical regions.The direct effect of the SSTA is to change the exchanges of the sensible heat and the water vapour between the air and the sea,through the consequent changes of temperature and the flow fields and the feedback process of condensation,the SSTA finally affects precipitation.

Atmospheric Anomalies Related to Interdecadal Variability of SST in the North Pacific

Anomalous patterns of the atmospheric circulation and climate are studied corresponding to the two basic interdecadal variation modes of sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific, namely, the 25-35-year mode and the 7-10-year mode. Results clearly indicate that corresponding to the positive and negative phases of the interdecadal modes of SST anomaly (SSTA) in the North Pacific, the anomalous patterns of the atmospheric circulation and climate are approximately out of phase, fully illustrating the important role of the interdecadal modes of SST. Since the two interdecadal modes of SSTA in the North Pacific have similar horizontal structures, their impacts on the atmospheric circulation and climate are also analogous. The impact of the interdecadal modes of the North Pacific SST on the atmospheric circulation is barotropic at middle latitudes and baroclinic in tropical regions.

Impacts of SST and SST Anomalies on Low-Frequency Oscillation in the Tropical Atmosphere

Considering the multiscale character of LFO effects of SST on LFO in the tropical atmosphere （low-frequency oscillation） in the tropical atmosphere, the are discussed by using an absolute ageostrophic, baroclinic model. Here, SST effects include sea surface heating and forcing of SST anomalies （SSTAs）. Studies of the influences of sea surface heating on LFO frequency and stability show that sea surface heating can slow the speed of waves and lower their frequency when SST is comparatively low; while higher SST leads to unstable waves and less periods of LFO. Since the impact of a SSTA on ultra-long waves is more evident than that on kilometer-scale waves, long-wave approximation is used when we continue to study the effect of SSTAs. Results indicate that SSTAs can lead to a longer period of LFO, and make waves unstable. In other words, positive （negative） SSTAs can make waves decay （grow）.

Two Northward Jumps of the Summertime Western Pacific Subtropical High and Their Associations with the Tropical SST Anomalies

Based on the pentad mean ridgeline index of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), the authors identified the two northward jumps of the WPSH from 1979 to 2008 and revealed their associations with the tropical SST anomalies. The authors show that the northward jumps, especially the second jump, exhibited remarkable interannual variability. In addition, the authors find that the two northward jumps were mutually independent and were influenced by the SST anomalies in the different regions of the tropical Pacific. The first jump was positively correlated with the SST anomalies in the tropical central Pacific from the preceding winter to June. In contrast, the second jump was positively related to ENSO in the preceding winter, but this correlation tended to weaken with the decay of ENSO and disappeared in July. Instead, a positive correlation was found in the Indian Ocean. We therefore suggest that ENSO plays an indirect role in the second jump through the capacitor effect of the Indian Ocean.

COMPARISONS OF CIRCULATION ANOMALIES BETWEEN THE DAILY PRECIPITATION EXTREME AND NON-EXTREME EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE AND LOWER REACHES OF YANGTZE RIVER IN BOREAL SUMMER

Based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset and in situ meteorological observations of daily precipitation in boreal summer from 1979 to 2008, the features of circulation anomalies have been investigated using the composite analysis for the extreme events and non-extreme events of regional mean daily rainfall(RMDR) occurring over the midand lower- Yangtze valley(MLYV). The extreme RMDR(ERMDR) events are the events at and above the percentile99 in the rearranged time-series of the RMDR with ascending order of rainfall amount. The non-extreme RMDR events are those at the percentiles 90-85 and 80-75 separately. Our results suggest that the threshold value is 25 mm/day for the ERMDR at percentile 99. Precipitation at all the percentiles is found to occur more frequently in the Meiyu rainfall season in MLYV, and the ERMDR events have occurred with higher frequency since the 1990 s. For the percentiles-associated events, the MLYV is under the control of an anomalous cyclonic circulation in the mid- and lower- troposphere with vastly different anomalous circulation at higher levels. However, at both low and high levels, the ERMDR events-related anomalous circulation is stronger compared to that linked to the non-ERMDR events. The dominant sources of water vapor differ between the ERMDR and non-ERMDR events. During the ERMDR events plentiful water vapor is transported from the Bay of Bengal into the MLYV directly by divergence while there is distinctly increased water vapor from the South China Sea(SCS) in non-RMERMDR episodes. The diabatic heating rates < Q1>, < Q2> and< Q1>- < Q2> have their anomalous patterns and are consistent with each other for these percentiles but their strength decreases markedly with the drop of rainfall intensity. For the precipitation at percentiles 99 and 90-85, the sea surface temperature anomalies(SSTA) in the Pacific distribute positively(negatively) in the south(north), and are stronger when the ERMDR emerges, with little or no SSTA as the events at percentile 80-75 occur. Besides, these results suggest that the genesis of the ERMDR event is directly related to intense local circulation anomalies and the circulation anomalies over the Pacific and SCS in tropical to mid-latitudes, and probably linked with the Pacific SSTA closely while the non-ERMDR events are mainly associated with the anomalous circulation on a local basis. The findings here help understand and predict the happening of ERMDR events over the MLYV.

Possible Causes for the Persistence Barrier of SSTA in the South China Sea and the Vicinity of Indonesia

The persistence barrier refers to the lag correlation of sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTA） showing a rapid and significant decline in a specific season, regardless of the starting month. This implies that there is a decrease in forecast skill for SSTA in this specific season. This paper investigates the possible causes for the persistence barrier of SSTA in the South China Sea （SCS） and its adjacent regions from the perspective of interannuallinterdecadal time scales. The results show that the persistence barrier of SSTA exists not only in the SCS, but also in the vicinity of Indonesia south of the equator. The SCS barrier occurs around October-November, while the occurrence of the barrier in the Indonesia region is around November-December. For these two regions, the occurrence of the persistence barrier is closely associated with the interdecadal variability of SSTA, as well as the interannual variability. The persistence barriers in the SCS and the Indonesia region do not exist alone if the interdecadal variability is not considered, because SSTA have a short memory of less than 4 months, regardless of the starting month. Moreover, the influence of the interdecadal variability of SSTA on the persistence barrier of SSTA in the SCS and the Indonesia region may be associated with SSTA in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, but is not closely associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. However, compared with the spring persistence barrier （SPB） of ENSO, the close relationship between the persistence barriers in the SCS and the Indonesia region and the interdecadal variability is unique, since the ENSO SPB is not significantly affected by such variability. In addition, although the persistence barriers in both the SCS and the Indonesia region are quite obvious in strong ENSO cases, the interdecadal variability of SSTA also plays a non-negligible role in this relationship.

A DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS OF AIR TEMPERATURE ANOMALY MODE OVER CHINA IN 2009/2010 WINTER BASED ON GENERALIZED EQUILIBRIUM FEEDBACK ASSESSMENT(GEFA) METHOD

By using the observed monthly mean data over 160 stations of China and NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data, the generalized equilibrium feedback assessment(GEFA) method, combined with the methods of EOF analysis, correlation and composite analysis, is used to explore the influence of different SST modes on a wintertime air temperature pattern in which it is cold in the northeast and warm in the southwest in China. The results show that the 2009/2010 winter air temperature oscillation mode between the northern and southern part of China is closely related to the corresponding sea surface temperature anomalies(SSTA) and its associated atmospheric circulation anomalies. Exhibiting warming in Northeast China and cooling in Southwest China, the mode is significantly forced by the El Nio mode and the North Atlantic SSTA mode, which have three poles. Under the influence of SSTA modes, the surface northerly flow transported cold air to North and Northeast China, resulting in low temperatures in the regions. Meanwhile, the mid-latitude westerlies intensify and the polar cold air stays in high latitudes and cannot affect the Southwest China, resulting in the warming there.

The Space and Time Features of Global SST Anomalies Studied by Complex Principal Component Analysis

In this paper, the variability characteristics of the global field of sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly are studied by complex principal component (c.p.c.) analysis, whose results are also compared with those of real p.c. analysis. The data consist of 40 years of global SST monthly averages over latitudes from 42 5°S to 67 5°N. In the spatial domain, it is found that the distribution of the first complex loading amplitude is characterized by three areas of large values: the first one in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean, the second one in the northern tropical Indian Ocean and South China Sea, the third one in the northern Pacific Ocean. As it will be explained, this pattern may be considered as representative of El Nio mode. The first complex loading phase pattern shows a stationary wave in the Pacific (also revealed by real p.c. analysis) superimposed to an oscillating disturbance, propagating from the Pacific to Indian or the opposite way. A subsequent correlation analysis among different spatial points allows revealing disturbances actually propagating westward from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, which could therefore represent reflected Rossby waves, i.e. the west phase of the signals that propagate disturbances of thermal structure in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In the time domain, a relation between the trend of the first complex principal component and the ENSO cycle is also established.