Traditional El Nino and El Nino Modoki Revisited: Is El Nino Modoki Linearly Independent of Traditional El Nino?

The present study revisited the first two leading modes of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) during the period of 1979-2008. It is suggested that the so-called El Nino Modoki, which is captured by the second mode, exists objectively and exhibits obvious differences from traditional El Nino, which is captured by the first mode, in terms of its spatial characteristics. Furthermore, the authors found that El Nino Modoki is linearly independent of traditional El Nino; hence, it cannot be described as part of the traditional El Nino evolution, and vice versa.