McPhaden MJ
The author is at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA. E-mail:
Science. 1999 Feb 12;283(5404):950-4. doi: 10.1126/science.283.5404.950.
The 1997-98 El Nino was, by some measures, the strongest on record, with major climatic impacts felt around the world. A newly completed tropical Pacific atmosphere-ocean observing system documented this El Nino from its rapid onset to its sudden demise in greater detail than was ever before possible. The unprecedented measurements challenge existing theories about El Nino-related climate swings and suggest why climate forecast models underpredicted the strength of the El Nino before its onset.
从某些衡量标准来看，1997 - 1998年的厄尔尼诺现象是有记录以来最强的一次，全球都感受到了其重大的气候影响。一个新建成的热带太平洋大气 - 海洋观测系统，以前所未有的详细程度记录了这次厄尔尼诺现象，从其迅速形成到突然结束。这些前所未有的测量结果对现有的关于与厄尔尼诺相关的气候波动的理论提出了挑战，并揭示了气候预测模型在此次厄尔尼诺现象形成之前为何低估其强度的原因。
