Mean seasonal cycle: The first thing to note is the blue "scallops" in the eastern Pacific (in the left panel, these are on the right side of the temperature plot).
Mean seasonal cycle: The first thing to note is the blue "scallops" in the eastern Pacific (in the left panel, these are on the right side of the temperature plot). These indicate the cool water typically observed in the Eastern Pacific in a region called the "cold tongue". Cold tongue temperatures vary seasonally, being warmest in the northern hemisphere springtime and coolest in the northern hemisphere fall. The red color in the western Pacific (on the left side of the temperature plot in the left panel) is the warm pool of water typically observed in the western Pacific Ocean. The warm pool also exhibits a seasonal cycle though more muted than in the cold tongue.