ENSO SIGNALS IN THE VICINITY OF NEW-CALEDONIA, SOUTH WESTERN PACIFIC

Data collected in an area enclosing New Caledonia are analysed both fo r the open ocean (17 degrees S-27 degrees S, 169 degrees E-170 degrees E; 1972-1992) and for one point in its lagoon (1967-1993), in order t o improve our knowledge of the regional environment, with emphasis on seasonal and interannual (i.e. ENSO) variability. Long-term means and seasonal changes in surface wind, sea-surface temperature and salinity , and 0-400 m temperature, salinity and zonal geostrophic current are first described to Set the context. Through comparisons with the South ern Oscillation Index (SOI), it is demonstrated that there are signals in these parameters that are connected with ENSO. During the warm pha se of ENSO (SOI < 0, El Nino), we observed saltier-than-average anomal ies in sea-surface salinity (similar to 0.2), 0-50 m cold temperature anomalies (similar to 0.5 degrees C) contrasting with the well-known w arm eastern equatorial Pacific anomalies, together with westerly (simi lar to 10 m(2) s(-2)) and southerly (similar to 4 m(2) s-2) wind anoma lies over a large part of the studied area. Conversely, anomalies of s imilar magnitude but of opposite sign were detected during the cold ph ase of ENSO (SOI > 0; La Nina). The mechanisms which connect these reg ional anomalies to ENSO evolution at low-latitudes are qualitatively d iscussed.