Southern Oscillation (source code)

= Southern Oscillation
{c}

The <Southern Oscillation> is a large-scale variation of tropical <atmospheric pressure> and circulation, associated with the coupled <El Niño–Southern Oscillation>. Its <pressure> pattern is commonly monitored through the contrast between the eastern and western tropical Pacific.

Changes in <trade winds> affect ocean upwelling and <surface temperatures>; those <temperature> changes can feed back on convection and <pressure>. The atmospheric oscillation and the oceanic <El Niño> pattern are therefore <connected components> of a coupled system. A <pressure> index is an observational summary, not a complete dynamical model of the phenomenon.