This animation shows the evolution of sea-surface temperature
(SST)
anomalies at decadal-multidecadal timescales. It is constructed
using model-assimilated SST observations from the Simple Ocean Data
Assimilation (SODA) during 1950-2001. Annual-average SST anomalies
are low-pass filtered to remove timescales faster than 7.4 years and
then lag-correlated from -12 years to +12 years with a reference SST
anomaly time series averaged over 22°N-27°N,115°W-120°W;
this reference
box is chosen because decadal SST variance is significantly large there.
Simultaneous correlation coefficients (lag 0) are in the 13th image and
show a correlation coefficient of 1 in the reference box. Notice the clockwise
motion of SST anomalies in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.
