Characteristics of the El Niño Costero 2017 through satellite observations

Abstract

A study of the “El Niño Costero 2017” event is presented through the analysis of satellite information on Sea Surface Temperature (SST), its anomalies (SSTA), and surface winds of the Peruvian sea from December 2016 to April 2017 as well as the extraordinary El Niño events of 1982-1983 and 1997-1998. The analysis of the variables showed that from December 2016 until early February 2017 the thermal conditions of the sea did not present conditions for the development of an El Niño event; however, in March 2017, SST reached historical values >28 °C at 10 nm off Chimbote, temperatures that did not occur during the El Niño events of 1982-83 and 1997-98. El Niño Costero was characterized by a rapid increase in SST in a short period of time (approximately one month), which was influenced by the high variability of surface winds. SSTA recorded values of +4 °C in the entire northern coastal region from Chimbote to Paita up to more than 100 nm and +5 °C off Trujillo in March, which demonstrates the scale of the event. These values were associated to the decrease in the intensity of the surface wind that presented values <4 m/s between 0° and 11°S from January to March 2017, which favored the approximation of Surface Equatorial Waters (SEW) masses towards the coast and the subsequent anomalous sea surface warming.