Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II

In convection, thermal energy is carried by the large-scale flow of matter. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation, which result from the buoyancy of warm air and water, transfer hot air from the tropics toward the poles and cold air from the poles toward the tropics. The Earth’s rotation interacts with those flows, causing the observed eastward flow of air in the temperate zones. Convection dominates heat transfer by air, and the amount of available space for the airflow...

Variability: Analysis

Variability: Analysis

Measures of variability are statistical metrics that reveal the dispersion pattern within a dataset. They are pivotal in biostatistics, providing insights into the heterogeneity within health and biological data. Variability signifies the degree to which data points diverge from one another, helping researchers understand the potential range of values and associated uncertainty within the data.
The range is a simple measure of variability, indicating the difference between the highest and...

Isothermal Processes

Isothermal Processes

A thermodynamic process that occurs at constant temperature is called an isothermal process. Heat slowly flows into the system or out of the system to maintain thermal equilibrium. Processes involving phase changes like water evaporation into steam or freezing water into ice at a constant temperature are examples of Isothermal Processes.
An ideal gas can also undergo isothermal expansion or compression.
For example, consider 1 mole of an ideal gas inside an isolated cylinder at initial volume V...

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

Heat transfer between the human body and its environment occurs through four main mechanisms: conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant heat.

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I

Just as interesting as the effects of heat transfer on a system are the methods by which the heat transfer occur. Whenever there is a temperature difference, heat transfer occurs. It may occur rapidly, such as through a cooking pan, or slowly, such as through the walls of a picnic ice box. So many processes involve heat transfer that it is hard to imagine a situation where no heat transfer occurs. Yet, every heat transfer takes place by only three methods: conduction, convection, and radiation.

Precipitation Processes

Precipitation Processes

The experimental conditions in a gravimetric analysis should be optimized to maximize the particle size and purity of the obtained precipitate. Ideally, the concentration of the precipitating reagent should be low with effective stirring to maintain low relative supersaturation for the growth of large crystals. In homogeneous precipitation, the precipitant is slowly generated by a chemical reaction in the solution to avoid local reagent excesses. For example, urea decomposes gradually to...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Tropical impacts of the Southern Ocean underestimated by mean-state biases.

Science advances·2026

Same author

In Science Journals.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Challenges and alternatives to empirical orthogonal functions for earth system data.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Present-day tropical precipitation and cloud feedbacks determine future equatorial Pacific trends.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Middle East dust as an important external driver of the Indian Ocean Dipole.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Causes and consequences of Arctic amplification elucidated by coordinated multimodel experiments.

Communications earth & environment·2026

Same journal

Stoichiometric, Isotopic, and Modeling Tracers of Marine Autotrophic Dissolved Organic Nutrient Production and Consumption.

Annual review of marine science·2026

Same journal

Introduction.

Annual review of marine science·2026

Same journal

Wind, Waves, and Surface Currents: Interactions at Mesoscales and Submesoscales.

Annual review of marine science·2025

Same journal

The Marine Organic Sulfur Cycle.

Annual review of marine science·2025

Same journal

Uncovering the Structural Space of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter.

Annual review of marine science·2025

Same journal

The Changing Baltic Sea: Between Nutrient Load Reduction and a Warming Climate.

Annual review of marine science·2025

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Published on: June 13, 2020

Sea surface temperature variability: patterns and mechanisms.

Clara Deser¹, Michael A Alexander, Shang-Ping Xie

¹Climate Analysis Section, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA. cdeser@ucar.edu

Annual Review of Marine Science

|December 15, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sea surface temperature (SST) variability arises from atmospheric and oceanic processes. Key drivers include atmospheric circulation modes like the Southern Annular Mode and coupled phenomena such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

More Related Videos

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton

Published on: July 28, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Published on: June 13, 2020

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton

Published on: July 28, 2023

Area of Science:

Climate Science
Oceanography
Atmospheric Science

Background:

Sea surface temperature (SST) variability on interannual and longer timescales is driven by complex atmospheric and oceanic interactions.
Understanding these patterns is crucial for climate modeling and prediction.
Various intrinsic and coupled modes influence global SST anomalies.

Purpose of the Study:

To delineate the primary drivers of sea surface temperature variability.
To categorize the different modes influencing SST anomalies.
To provide a comprehensive overview of SST variability mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Analysis of atmospheric and oceanic processes influencing SST.
Identification of intrinsic modes of atmospheric circulation variability (e.g., Southern Annular Mode, North Atlantic Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation).
Examination of coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation, tropical Atlantic Niño, meridional modes) and intrinsic oceanic modes (e.g., Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation).

Main Results:

SST anomaly patterns are shaped by surface energy fluxes from atmospheric circulation variability.
Coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomena significantly impact tropical SST patterns.
Intrinsic oceanic modes, like the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, also contribute to SST variability.

Conclusions:

SST variability is a product of diverse, interacting atmospheric and oceanic mechanisms.
Recognizing these distinct modes is key to understanding global climate dynamics.
Both intrinsic and coupled modes play vital roles in shaping climate variability.