The pictorial representation and data for the cells are derived from TOPEX satellite altimetry data for November 16, 1997. The white portion is the highest part of the ocean compared to normal conditions (see color key) . Warm water is less dense than cool water and floats above the surrounding cooler water.
The cell data and the pictorial representation of the relative TOPEX altimetry data of the Pacific basin were very kindly provided by the TOPEX/POSEIDON Project conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology under contract with NASA.
For additional data and pictorial representations visit NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, TOPEX Web site and NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) Web site. (Links are provided on the previous page, Blanck's Home Page.)
