Monthly anomalies of sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration in the Khanh Hoa waters of Vietnam related to ENSO phenomenon

Based on the monthly averaged sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration data continuously for more than 17 years (Jul. 2002–Dec. 2019), the analyzed results show that the averaged chlorophyll-a concentration in Khanh Hoa waters was 0.58 mg/m3, and the monthly average variation was ± 0.14 mg/m3 (that is equivalent to about ± 24%). Under the impact of ENSO phenomena, in the years when the double La Niña events occurred (two consecutive years in the La Nina event occurs), the chlorophyll-a anomaly index fluctuated from -0.99 mg/m3 to 1.62 mg/m3. These are very strong fluctuation levels, corresponding to the decrease or increase in chlorophyll-a concentration from 86% to 279%. In the El Niño years, the fluctuations of chlorophyll-a concentration were little affected unless the two previous years in which the double La Niña event occurred. These fluctuations have significantly impact nutritional resources and water quality because chlorophyll-a concentration is one of the key indices in studying the health status of any natural marine ecosystem. In addition, chlorophyll-a concentration in Khanh Hoa waters often varies between seasons. The averaged chlorophyll-a concentration reaches its maximum value in the winter, then decreases gradually in the spring and usually reaches the minimum value in the summer, then rises gradually again in the autumn.

Differences in the Reaction of North Equatorial Countercurrent to the Developing and Mature Phase of ENSO Events in the Western Pacific Ocean

The North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) is an eastward zonal current closely related to an El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. This paper investigated the variations of NECC in the Western Pacific Ocean over 25 years (1993–2017) using satellite data provided by the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) and the Remote Sensing System (RSS). The first mode of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis showed that the NECC strengthened or weakened in each El Niño (La Niña) event during the developing or mature phase, respectively. We also found that the NECC shifting was strongly coincidental with an ENSO event. During the developing phase of an El Niño (La Niña) event, the NECC shifted southward (northward), and afterward, when it entered the mature phase, the NECC tended to shift slightly northward (southward). Moreover, the NECC strength was found to have undergone a weakening during the 2008–2017 period.