USGS

The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Effects on Sea-Level Heights Near the Mouth of San Francisco Bay

Part of a paper entitled,
"The Role of Climate in Estuarine Variability"

David Peterson, Daniel Cayan, Jeanne DiLeo, Marlene Noble and Michael Dettinger
USGS

Summary of another Web site.

  • An ENSO event can cause changes in sea level, but so can winds along the central California coast.
  • During some years, the two phenomena reinforce one another, whereas in other years they oppose one another.
  • The 1983 ENSO event was accompanied by large sea-level height anomalies. Shown here are waves topping the breakwater at Capitola, CA and battering Venetian Courts.

Visit this site to learn more about the ENSO effect on sea-level heights in San Francisco, and how it interrelates with climate and the effects on the salinity of San Francisco Bay.

 Waves crashing in Capitola

 

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Last modified: 8 August 2002 (lzt)
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