Climate Impacts of South Atlantic Waves in an El Niño Year

Due to the relevance of the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon to the global economy, maritime transport, the oil industry and possible environmental impacts in coastal areas, we assessed possible changes in the wave climate in the South Atlantic in a year when ENSO occurred, based on analyses of basic wave parameters, namely: significant height, peak period and meteorological parameters such as wind intensity. The variables were acquired from the NCEP/NOAA for the years 2013, the year considered neutral in this study, and 2015, the year of the El Niño - Southern Oscillation. The results presented for the two years analysed revealed that the El Niño - Southern Oscillation event potentially alters the wave climate of the South Atlantic Ocean. This process seems to be associated with an increase in wind intensity in some regions of the ocean basin, which is considered to contribute to the occurrence of significantly higher heights in the autumn and winter months.