>May 2009 SST Anomaly Update

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MONTHLY SST ANOMALY MAP

The map of Global OI.v2 SST anomalies for May 2009 provided by NOMADS is shown below.
http://i39.tinypic.com/2roreo8.jpg
May 2009 SST Anomalies Map (Global SST Anomaly = +0.196 deg C)

MONTHLY OVERVIEW

Global SST anomalies rose approximately 0.037 deg C in May, with the two biggest contributors being the South Pacific with a rise of 0.081 deg C and the South Atlantic with a rise of 0.062 deg C. In fact, the South Atlantic is showing record high SST anomalies. (I’ll have to cross check the OI.v2 South Atlantic anomalies with ERSST.v2, ERSST.v3b, and HADISST data as soon as they become available.) The equatorial Pacific shows neutral ENSO conditions (Monthly NINO3.4 SST Anomaly = +0.265 deg C), but NINO3.4 SST anomalies rose 0.446 deg C in May.
http://i42.tinypic.com/2v167et.jpg
Global
Monthly Change = +0.037 deg C
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http://i43.tinypic.com/28arfo5.jpg
NINO3.4 SST Anomaly
Monthly Change = +0.446 deg C

AMO

My Usual AMO Blurb: The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation as calculated by the NOAA ESRL is North Atlantic SST anomalies that have been detrended. Since OI.v2 SST data begins in November 1981, it does not seem appropriate to use a 28-year trend on a cycle that lasts about 60 years, so I am NOT presenting the AMO. Using North Atlantic SST anomalies as a reference, the AMO will have continued its drop in April. Scroll down for the North Atlantic SST anomalies.

NOTE ABOUT THE DATA

The MONTHLY graphs illustrate raw monthly OI.v2 SST anomaly data from November 1981 to May 2009.

MONTHLY INDIVIDUAL OCEAN AND HEMISPHERIC SST UPDATES
http://i40.tinypic.com/t8xkba.jpg
Northern Hemisphere
Monthly Change = -0.026 deg C
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http://i42.tinypic.com/29zrddj.jpg
Southern Hemisphere
Monthly Change = +0.085 deg C
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http://i41.tinypic.com/xmnbkm.jpg
North Atlantic (0 to 75N, 78W to 10E)
Monthly Change = -0.070 deg C
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http://i39.tinypic.com/291jo6o.jpg
South Atlantic (0 to 60S, 70W to 20E)
Monthly Change = +0.062 deg C
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http://i41.tinypic.com/2rypumh.jpg
North Pacific (0 to 65N, 100 to 270E, where 270E=90W)
Monthly Change = -0.056 Deg C
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http://i40.tinypic.com/14j0q4k.jpg
South Pacific (0 to 60S, 145 to 290E, where 290E=70W)
Monthly Change = +0.081 deg C
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http://i42.tinypic.com/n5gc9z.jpg
Indian Ocean (30N to 60S, 20 to 145E)
Monthly Change = +0.013 deg C
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http://i39.tinypic.com/2zr3h5f.jpg
Arctic Ocean (65 to 90N)
Monthly Change = +0.194 deg C
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http://i43.tinypic.com/2yvwe3r.jpg
Southern Ocean (60 to 90S)
Monthly Change = +0.079 deg C

WEEKLY NINO3.4 SST ANOMALIES

The weekly NINO3.4 SST anomaly data illustrate OI.v2 data centered on Wednesdays. The latest weekly NINO3.4 SST anomalies are +0.039 deg C.
http://i41.tinypic.com/j0zg5k.jpg
Weekly NINO3.4 (5S-5N, 170W-120W)

SOURCE

The Optimally Interpolated Sea Surface Temperature Data (OISST) are available through the NOAA National Operational Model Archive & Distribution System (NOMADS).
http://nomad3.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/pdisp_sst.sh?lite

About Bob Tisdale

Research interest: the long-term aftereffects of El Niño and La Nina events on global sea surface temperature and ocean heat content. Author of the ebook Who Turned on the Heat? and regular contributor at WattsUpWithThat.
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8 Responses to >May 2009 SST Anomaly Update

  1. Anonymous says:

    >Bob, your doing great job.Why big(+) jump in southern oceansst's.Because heat transfer NH to SH,or less cold upwelling southernantarctic subsidence, or other reason.Seems a bit strange with low solarand low global TLT's.Please explain.regards KM

  2. Bob Tisdale says:

    >KM, you asked, "Why big(+) jump in southern ocean sst's."I presume you mean Southern Hemisphere, because the rise in Southern Ocean SST anomalies wasn't atypical and appeared to be in line with ENSO variability. As noted in my follow-up post here…http://bobtisdale.blogspot.com/2009/06/corrections-to-oiv2-sst-data-for-may.html…NOAA/CDC has updated the SST data for May 2009, decreasing SST anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere and raising them in the Northern Hemisphere. But the rise in the South Atlantic still appears unusual so I'll take a look at it in an upcoming post and try to isolate at least the area responsible for most of the rise. Regards

  3. MATT says:

    >BobLooking at the May MONTHLY SST ANOMALY MAP and the detail SST graphs , it is odd that only NORTH ATLANTIC and NORTH PACIFIC graphs show a +ve trend . Much of the oceans on lower half of the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE below say 30S have light blue or dark blue shades indicating a positive anomaly of 1 to 0.5 C. Can you clarify?

  4. Bob Tisdale says:

    >Matt, are we looking at the same temperature scale? The blues on the map above go from "darkest blue", covering a range of -2.5 to -2.0 deg C, to a very light blue, covering at range of 0 to +0.5 deg C.

  5. Anonymous says:

    >Bob thanks for your reply.Yes I ment Southern Hemisphere.You will investigate unusual jump in south atlantic sst's.Is all this heat transfered from North Central Pacific through Indian Ocean, dumped in South Atlantic via Agulhasrings and Benguela current ?Then we are looking at THC circulation here.Or is warm Southern Pacific ENSOinduced water flowing directly inSouth Atlantic by means of West Wind Drift/Antarctic Circumpolair and Malvinas/Falkland Current.I presume both in this case.Looking forward for a post on global oceanic heat distribution by means of currents and transfer to arctic and antarctica regions in specific.Kind regards KM.

  6. Bob Tisdale says:

    >KM: In my post "Animations of Ocean Heat Content, Depth-Averaged Temperature, and Sea Surface Height," I was hoping to illustrate the transport of heat from the South Pacific and southwest Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic and up into the North Atlantic. But the resolution on the Levitus OHC maps was very poor.

  7. Anonymous says:

    >Re;KM: In my post "Animations of Ocean Heat Content, Depth-Averaged Temperature, and Sea Surface Height," I was hoping to illustrate the transport of heat from the South Pacific and southwest Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic and up into the North Atlantic. But the resolution on the Levitus OHC maps was very poor.———————————–Bob, how can I find this post ?Resolution of ocean heat content maps poor, okay never mind, justgive me the link.I appreciate your work. Are you in oceanographics or engineer ?I used to make weatherreports for KNMI, when I sailed around the world.Bob are you aware of bimodal sunand phasecatastrophe ?We are experiencing phasecatastrophe now.Did you notice 50% reduction polar solar magnetic fied strength.Means strong reduction polar to toroïdal field conversion on the sun.Low toroïdal field means no orfew sunspots.We are in the middle of Dalton likeminimum.Minimum cycle 23/24 my projection 2010.9. Hence Cyclelength 23 willbe 14.5 years, perhaps longer.Maximum cycle 24 my projection 2016with 22>SSN<70, my guess cycle 24 only SSN=22.Impact on sst's and ice after couple of lagtime years will be huge.Global air temperatures dropping3.5 (14.5-11)x0.2=0.7 celsius.Can you post about low solar effecton sst's ?regards KM.

  8. Bob Tisdale says:

    >KM: My apologies. I should have provided a link to the post "Animations of Ocean Heat Content, Depth-Averaged Temperature, and Sea Surface Height." Here it is:http://bobtisdale.blogspot.com/2009/05/animations-of-ocean-heat-content-depth.htmlYou may have to cut and paste it to your browser.Also, there's a search window in the upper left-hand corner of the webpage. Just type in "animation".

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