Tropical Dynamics and Climate (TDC)

Climate Dynamics and El Niño: Trans-Pacific Wind Profiler Network Monitors Atmospheric Effects

Global weather patterns are linked to El Niño, an anomalous (but natural) warming of surface water in the equatorial Pacific that influences agriculture, the fishing industry, and other life-sustaining activities on Earth. El Niño occurs at irregular intervals in association with the Southern Oscillation, a massive variation of atmospheric pressure between the southeastern and the western tropical Pacific.

NOAA's network of tropical Pacific wind profilers is examining the response of the atmosphere to El Niño ocean warming, so that insight can be gained into the changes in U.S. weather that are strongly influenced by the El Niño. This will contribute to the scientific basis for a more "global" weather forecast, so that societal impacts of the major multi-year weather variations can be better anticipated.

The Trans-Pacific Profiler Network map of equitorial sites in the Pacific... TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites TPPN Sites San Cristobal Data TPPN Sites

The Trans-Pacific Profiler Network

TPPN: Observations to Improve the Analysis and Prediction of El Niño, Global Weather and Climate

The Tropical Dynamics and Climate Program of ESRL operates a network of wind-measuring instruments at tropical island sites that span the Pacific Ocean basin. Developed in collaboration with the NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory (ETL), the instruments are highly sophisticated and do much more than measure the wind at the surface-- they measure a "profile" of both vertical and horizontal winds at heights from the surface to about 5 - 15 kilometers, depending upon the frequency of the instrument. Briefly, wind profilers are Doppler radars that observe winds from the Doppler shifts of "clear air" atmospheric echoes. In addition to wind measurements, the instruments give insights into atmospheric turbulence and stability and are used to study precipitating convective systems.

TPPN profilers include 50 MHz profilers that measure winds to a height of 15 kilometers and 915 MHz profilers that measure winds to a height of 5 kilometers. The combined data set yields important information about large-scale atmospheric circulation associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (a natural climate phenomenon that affects weather and impacts human activities around the globe). A technical description of TPPN profilers is available.

The TPPN has contributed to several international field programs to study the atmosphere of the tropical Pacific. Among them are:

  • the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program to study the evolution of El Niño and its relationship to the Southern Oscillation;
  • the Global Ocean Atmosphere Land System (GOALS) program designed to improve numerical modeling and prediction of the ocean-atmosphere-land surface system on a regional to global scale;
  • the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) designed to improve the understanding of the hydrological cycle;
  • and the Pan American Climate Study (PACS) designed to provide a better understanding of regional climate in the Americas and its dependence on equatorial air-sea interactions over the eastern Pacific.

Most recent pacific profiler wind observations are available for viewing. During cruises, near real-time profiler wind observations from the R/V Ka'imimoana may also be viewed. The Ka'imimoana services the TOGA TAO array of moored atlas buoys maintained by the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL).

REAL-TIME PACIFIC PROFILER DATA DISPLAY

Profiler wind observations from the above listed sites are maintained by NOAA ESRL to support tropical dynamics and climate research. The data presented are obtained via satellite from remote Pacific Island sites. Data flow on these links is occasionally interrupted, but more detailed data are recorded on site and are available to the climate research community from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory.

Interested users can use the following links to access:

Profiler Data from other sites:

Other sites with tropical and climate data: