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A Three-Dimensional View of the El Niño/La Niño Cycle in the Ocean -
This animation from the NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center is based on a numerical model simulation that captures the essence of the circulations
occurring in the upper ocean during an ENSO cycle. Note that sea level rises when the warmer water “sloshes” to either side of the equatorial Pacific
Ocean, much as water sloshes in a bathtub when pushed to one end and then left free to move on its own. Unlike the bathtub analogy, the strengthening
and relaxation of the westward wind stress on the ocean surface are the keys to the forcing of the cycle of sea level in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
In reality, the entire cycle over the Pacific Ocean occurs over a period of several years rather than several seconds as in the animation.
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