Oceanic heat content variability in the tropical Pacific during the 1982-1983 El Nino

Anomalous heat transport and storage during the 1982-1983 El Nino are investigated using a linear, multimode model forced by observed winds. Heat transport is decomposed into symmetric (about the equator) and antisymmetric components. The former was dominated by anomalous northward Ekman transport which represented an enhancement of the usual seasonal cycle. The latter involved both Ekman and geostrophic transports. Near-equatorial wind anomalies forced Kelvin and Rossby waves usually associated with El Nino; together these waves set up antisymmetric, geostrophic transport which tended to oppose direct Ekman transport. Because the opposition was imperfect, there was net heat convergence which caused variations in heat content in bands of latitude centered on the equator. -from Authors