GEOSAT sea level anomalies in the Western equatorial Pacific during the 1986-87 El Nino, elucidated as equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves Western Pacific international meeting and workshop on Toga Coare : proceedings /Delcroix, Thierry /Eldin, Gérard /Picaut, Joël NIVEAU MARIN ANOMALIE EL NINO ONDE ROSSBY 1986 1987 Thanks to the GEOSAT altimeter data set, information on sea level changes during the 1986-87 El Nino is presented. Special emphasis is placed on the warm pool area, with an evaluation, a detailed description and tentative explanation of the observed Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) changes. Near the 165°E longitude,the onset of the 1986-87 El Nino is characterized by a rapid development of a positive (> 14 cm) equatorial SLA in november-december 1986. This feature occurs in response to an eastward wind anomaly appearing between 140°E-170°W along the equator. The wind induces a downwelling equatorial Kelvin wave with phase speed of about 2.3 m.s.-1. Thereafter, equatorial SLA remains quite constant from january to april/may 1987. In june 1987, equatorial SLA decreases to a minimum value, just after an abrupt change of the zonal wind stress anomaly, west of 165°E. Such anomaly seems to force an upwelling equatorial Kelvin wave propagating at about 2.3. m.s-1. ORSTOM /Picaut, Joël (ed.) Lukas, R. (ed.) /Delcroix, Thierry (ed.) 1989 text https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:30213 fdi:30213 Delcroix Thierry, Eldin Gérard, Picaut Joël, . GEOSAT sea level anomalies in the Western equatorial Pacific during the 1986-87 El Nino, elucidated as equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves. In : Picaut Joël (ed.), Lukas R. (ed.), Delcroix Thierry (ed.), . Western Pacific international meeting and workshop on Toga Coare : proceedings ORSTOM, 1989, 259-268 Western Pacific International Meeting and Workshop on Toga Coare, Nouméa (NCL), 1989/05/24-30 EN PACIFIQUE EQUATORIAL OUEST