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Diagrams showing sea-surface temperatures and the position of the thermocline in the equatorial Pacific during normal conditions and during El Nino conditions

Figure 15. Depiction of sea-surface temperatures and the position of the thermocline in the equatorial Pacific during normal conditions and during El Niño conditions. Modified from diagrams on the web site (accessed 5/25/2001) for the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean Project, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; see http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino/nino_normal.html. La Niña is an extreme case of the normal configuration with enhanced upwelling and even cooler sea-surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific.
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U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior
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Contact: Harry Dowsett (hdowsett@usgs.gov)
Last modified 09.07.01 (krw)