1. Data source¶
In this lab, we will use a reanalysis product of ocean and atmosphere data to investigate how the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects oceanographic conditions. A reanalysis product is one that takes many sources of data—from ships, autonomous floats, weather stations, satellites, etc.—and uses an ocean-atmosphere model to make a best guess for the complete global state of the ocean and/or atmosphere at any given time based on those data (Fig. 1.1).
Here we will use the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, which provides gridded global data fields for the atmosphere and ocean surface from 1979–present, and the ECMWF ORAS5 reanalysis, which provides gridded global data fields for the subsurface ocean from 1979–present.
