Gridded SST datasets are available for monthly means and for daily. Values can be mean or anomalies. Gaps usually exist in SST dataets both in space and time. Different datasets use different models to fill in gaps.
| Datasets | Areal Coverage | Grid Size | Time Step | Time Coverage | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRU Air Temperature and Combined Air Temperature/Marine Anomalies V4 | Global | 5.0°x5.0° | Monthly | 1850-2013 | None |
| ICOADS | Global | 2.0°x2.0°,1.0°x1.0° | Monthly | 1800-present | None |
| Kaplan SST | Global | 5.0°x5.0° | Monthly | 1856-present | None |
| NCEP GODAS ocean analysis | Global | .3°x.3° | Monthly | 1980-present | 40 |
| NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis | Global | 2.5°x2.5°, T42 Gaussian, T62 spectral | 4X Daily, Daily, Monthly | 1948-present | 17 pressure levels, 28 spectral |
| NOAA Extended Reconstructed SST V4 | Global | 1.0°x1.0° | Monthly | 1854-present | None |
| NOAA High-resolution Blended Analysis of Daily SST and Ice. | Global | .25°x.25° | Daily | 1981-present | None |
| NOAA Global Surface Temperature (NOAAGlobalTemp) | Global | 5.0°x5.0° | Daily | 1880-present | None |
| NOAA Optimum Interpolation (OI) SST V2 | Global | 1.0°x1.0° | Monthly,Weekly | 1981-present | None |
| COBE-SST | Global | 1.0°x1.0° | Monthly | 1891-present | None |
| COBE-SST2 Sea Surface Temperature | Global | 1.0°x1.0° | Monthly | 1850-2012 | None |
| NODC (Levitus) World Ocean Atlas 1994 | Global | 1.0°x1.0° | Monthly,Annual | Climo | None |
| NODC (Levitus) World Ocean Atlas 1998 | Global | 1.0°x1.0° | Monthly,Annual | Climo | None |
OLR is a measure of tropical convection and has been available via satellite observations since the early 1970's. We make available gridded interpolated values as well as the provided directly from NCEP (which are more recent).
| Datasets | Areal Coverage | Grid Size | Time Step | Time Coverage | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interpolated OLR | Global | 2.5°x2.5° | Daily,Monthly | 1979-near present | None |
| Uninterpolated OLR | Global | 2.5°x2.5° | Daily | 1991-present | None |
While ENSO is a process that varies both in space and time, it can be convenient to use single time series to represent in monitoring and analysis. Some of these time series are SST averages in a specific region of the tropical Pacific while others use more than 1 variable to attempt to capture more of the dynamical processes that occur in ENSO.
| Name | Region | Date Range |
|---|---|---|
| Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) | SST 5N-5S, 170W-120W | 1950-present |
| Niño 1.2 | SST 0-10S, 90W-80W | 1870-present |
| Niño 3 | SST 5N-5S, 150W-90W | 1870-present |
| Niño 3.4 | SST 5N-5S, 170W-120W | 1870-present |
| Niño 4 | SST 5N-5S, 160E-150W | 1870-present |
| Multivariate ENSO index: MEI | Tropical Pacific | 1979-present |
| Extended Multivariate ENSO index: MEI.ext | Tropical Pacific | 1871-2005 |
| Trans-Niño Index (TNI) | Difference Niño 1.2 and Niña 4 | 1870-present |
| Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) | Difference of Surface Pressure of Tahiti and Darwin | 1870-present |
As ENSO impacts weather and climate in general, researchers need to potentially look at all atmospheric and ocean variables. PSL maintains an extensive collection of gridded datasets including our 20th Century Reanalysis(1851-2014). Other dataset can be found from links on PSL's data information webpage. Some other NOAA sites also link to ENSO related datasets: for example, NOAA/CPC has an ENSO data/info list.