The response of the Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO) to ocean feedbacks is studied with coupled and uncoupled simulations of four general circulation models (GCMs). Monthly mean sea surface temperature (SST) from each coupled model is prescribed to its respective uncoupled simulation, to ensure identical SST mean‐state and low‐frequency variability between simulation pairs. Consistent with previous studies, coupling improves each model's ability to propagate MJO convection beyond the Maritime Continent. Analysis of the MJO moist static energy budget reveals that improved MJO eastward propagation in all four coupled models arises from enhanced meridional advection of column water vapor (CWV). Despite the identical mean‐state SST in each coupled and uncoupled simulation pair, coupling increases mean‐state CWV near the equator, sharpening equatorward moisture gradients and enhancing meridional moisture advection and MJO propagation. CWV composites during MJO and non‐MJO periods demonstrate that the MJO itself does not cause enhanced moisture gradients. Instead, analysis of low‐level subgrid‐scale moistening conditioned by rainfall rate (
With widespread influence on global climate and weather extremes, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) plays a crucial role in subseasonal prediction. Our latest global climate models (GCMs), however, have great difficulty in realistically simulating the MJO. This model inability is largely due to problems in representation of MJO’s cumulus organization. This study, based on a series of idealized aqua-planet model experiments using an atmospheric-only GCM, clearly demonstrates that MJO propagation is strongly modulated by the large-scale background state in which the lower-tropospheric mean moisture gradient and zonal winds are critical. Therefore, when tuning climate models to achieve improved MJO simulations, particular attention needs to be placed on the model large-scale mean state that is also significantly affected by cumulus parameterizations. This study indicates that model biases in representing MJO propagation may be related to the widely reported double-ITCZ (intertropical convergence zone) problem in climate models.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1841754
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10176268
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2397-3722
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract R ) and SST anomaly reveals that coupling enhances low‐level convective moistening forR > 5 mm day−1; this enhancement is most prominent near the equator. The low‐level moistening process varies among the four models, which we interpret in terms of their ocean model configurations, cumulus parameterizations, and sensitivities of convection to column relative humidity. -
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Abstract Recent observations have indicated significant modulation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) by the phase of the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) during boreal winter. Composites of the MJO show that upper-tropospheric ice cloud fraction and water vapor anomalies are generally collocated, and that an eastward tilt with height in cloud fraction exists. Through radiative transfer calculations, it is shown that ice clouds have a stronger tropospheric radiative forcing than do water vapor anomalies, highlighting the importance of incorporating upper-tropospheric–lower-stratospheric processes into simple models of the MJO. The coupled troposphere–stratosphere linear model previously developed by the authors is extended by including a mean wind in the stratosphere and a prognostic equation for cirrus clouds, which are forced dynamically and allowed to modulate tropospheric radiative cooling, similar to the effect of tropospheric water vapor in previous formulations. Under these modifications, the model still produces a slow, eastward-propagating mode that resembles the MJO. The sign of zonal mean wind in the stratosphere is shown to control both the upward wave propagation and tropospheric vertical structure of the mode. Under varying stratospheric wind and interactive cirrus cloud radiation, the MJO-like mode has weaker growth rates under stratospheric westerlies than easterlies, consistent with the observed MJO–QBO relationship. These results are directly attributable to an enhanced barotropic mode under QBO easterlies. It is also shown that differential zonal advection of cirrus clouds leads to weaker growth rates under stratospheric westerlies than easterlies. Implications and limitations of the linear theory are discussed.
Significance Statement Recent observations have shown that the strength of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), a global-scale envelope of wind and rain that slowly moves eastward in the tropics and dominates global-weather variations on time scales of around a month, is strongly influenced by the direction of the winds in the lower stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere that lies above where weather occurs. So far, modeling studies have been unable to reproduce this connection in global climate models. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms through which the stratosphere can modulate the MJO, by using simple theoretical models. In particular, we point to the role that ice clouds high in the atmosphere play in influencing the MJO.
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