Stratospheric Control of the Madden–Julian Oscillation

Interannual variation of seasonal-mean tropical convection over the Indo-Pacific region is primarily controlled by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). For example, during El Niño winters, seasonal-mean convection around the Maritime Continent becomes weaker than normal, while that over the central...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of climate 2017-03, Vol.30 (6), p.1909-1922
Main Authors: Son, Seok-Woo, Lim, Yuna, Yoo, Changhyun, Hendon, Harry H., Kim, Joowan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplitude
Atmospheric sciences
Biennial
Circulation
Convection
Convective activity
Cyclones
Datasets
El Nino
El Nino phenomena
El Nino-Southern Oscillation event
Environmental science
Global positioning systems
GPS
La Nina
Madden-Julian oscillation
Precipitation
Quasi-biennial oscillation
R&D
Research & development
Seasonal variations
Seasonality
Southern Oscillation
Teleconnections
Tropical climate
Tropical convection
Tropospheric circulation
Variability
Winter
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Summary:Interannual variation of seasonal-mean tropical convection over the Indo-Pacific region is primarily controlled by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). For example, during El Niño winters, seasonal-mean convection around the Maritime Continent becomes weaker than normal, while that over the central to eastern Pacific is strengthened. Similarly, subseasonal convective activity, which is associated with the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), is influenced by ENSO. The MJO activity tends to extend farther eastward to the date line during El Niño winters and contract toward the western Pacific during La Niña winters. However, the overall level of MJO activity across the Maritime Continent does not change much in response to the ENSO. It is shown that the boreal winter MJO amplitude is closely linked with the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) rather than with ENSO. The MJO activity around the Maritime Continent becomes stronger and more organized during the easterly QBO winters. The QBO-related MJO change explains up to 40% of interannual variation of the boreal winter MJO amplitude. This result suggests that variability of the MJO and the related tropical–extratropical teleconnections can be better understood and predicted by taking not only the tropospheric circulation but also the stratospheric mean state into account. The seasonality of the QBO–MJO link and the possible mechanism are also discussed.
ISSN:0894-8755
1520-0442
DOI:10.1175/jcli-d-16-0620.1