SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE (SST)

By the end of September 2005, equatorial SST anomalies greater than +0.5ºC were found between 160ºE and 170ºE (in the vicinity of Kapingamarangi), while negative anomalies cooler than –0.5ºC were observed at most locations between 130ºW and the South American coast.

Accompanying the warmer than normal SST in the region of Kapingamarangi, the subsurface water was about 1° C warmer than normal to a depth of 100 meters. In the eastern equatorial Pacific, the slightly cooler SST was underlain by water up to 2º C cooler than normal to a depth of 150 meters.