The coefficient is positive and significant for temperature at both depths (Fig. 12) with no time lag between observations and the SOI. This correlation agrees with the assimilation of inter-annual variability to ENSO-variability. A negative correlation is found for salinity but is not statistically significant at both depths. In addition, it is neither significant for precipitation nor for precipitation anomalies (with no time lag or a 1–6 month one). The lack of a significant correlation, in this case, can be attributed to three causes.