News
Search into News content.- By category.
- Rss feeds.
- Events.
- Ocean indicators.
- Images of the Month.
- 2013.
- 2012.
- 2011.
- 2010.
- 2009.
- 2008.
- 2007.
- Dec. 2007: What will next season be like?.
- Nov. 2007: The ocean is going up and down around the Solomon Islands.
- Oct. 2007: South Atlantic Anomaly as seen by Doris.
- Sep. 2007: Altimetry on eddies' tracks.
- Aug. 2007: Altimetric views of a typhoon.
- Jul. 2007: Cruising speed measurements.
- Jun. 2007: Water flowing under the ice.
- May 2007: Turns of the seasons in the Ocean.
- Apr. 2007: Discovering a current in the 21st century.
- Mar. 2007: Malaria and altimetry in the Amazon.
- Feb. 2007: Ierapetra gyre pops in and out.
- Jan. 2007: El Niño on time for Christmas.
- 2006.
- 2005.
- 2004.
- 2003.
- 2002.
- 2001.
- 2000.
- 1999.
- 1998.
- Operational News.
Turns of the seasons in the Ocean
Image of the month - May 2007
Sea level variations averaged over 15 years over Northern Hemisphere Spring, Fall, Summer and Winter (from left to right and top to bottom). The water warms in Summer, and cools in Winter, thus explaining a difference of about + or - 10 cm in the sea level between the seasons, with the seasons being inversed in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
Moreover, ocean stays warm or cold for some time, with a roughly two months delay with the calendar seasons, thus explaining the highs or lows in Fall or Spring.
The ocean is responding to the seasons, as the atmosphere. Just now, in May, it is beginning to warm in the Northern Hemisphere, and to cool in the Southern. The amplitude of the variations in sea level due to the seasons is one of Topex/Poseidon's discoveries. This shows the quantity of heat kept in stock in the ocean, and thus its impact on the climate.
See also:
- Applications: Seasons