Indo-Pacific Ocean response to atmospheric intraseasonal variability: 1. Austral summer and the Madden-Julian Oscillation

Author(s):  
Duane E. Waliser
2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1105-1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eriko Nishimoto ◽  
Shigeo Yoden

Abstract Influence of the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) and its statistical significance are examined for austral summer (DJF) in neutral ENSO events during 1979–2013. The amplitude of the OLR-based MJO index (OMI) is typically larger in the easterly phase of the QBO at 50 hPa (E-QBO phase) than in the westerly (W-QBO) phase. Daily composite analyses are performed by focusing on phase 4 of the OMI, when the active convective system is located over the eastern Indian Ocean through the Maritime Continent. The composite OLR anomaly shows a larger negative value and slower eastward propagation with a prolonged period of active convection in the E-QBO phase than in the W-QBO phase. Statistically significant differences of the MJO activities between the QBO phases also exist with dynamical consistency in the divergence of horizontal wind, the vertical wind, the moisture, the precipitation, and the 100-hPa temperature. A conditional sampling analysis is also performed by focusing on the most active convective region for each day, irrespective of the MJO amplitude and phase. Composite vertical profiles of the conditionally sampled data over the most active convective region reveal lower temperature and static stability around the tropopause in the E-QBO phase than in the W-QBO phase, which indicates more favorable conditions for developing deep convection. This feature is more prominent and extends into lower levels in the upper troposphere over the most active convective region than other tropical regions. Composite longitude–height sections show similar features of the large-scale convective system associated with the MJO, including a vertically propagating Kelvin response.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 4235-4256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph G. Hoffmann ◽  
Christian von Savigny

Abstract. The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is a major source of intraseasonal variability in the troposphere. Recently, studies have indicated that also the solar 27-day variability could cause variability in the troposphere. Furthermore, it has been indicated that both sources could be linked, and particularly that the occurrence of strong MJO events could be modulated by the solar 27-day cycle. In this paper, we analyze whether the temporal evolution of the MJO phases could also be linked to the solar 27-day cycle. We basically count the occurrences of particular MJO phases as a function of time lag after the solar 27-day extrema in about 38 years of MJO data. Furthermore, we develop a quantification approach to measure the strength of such a possible relationship and use this to compare the behavior for different atmospheric conditions and different datasets, among others. The significance of the results is estimated based on different variants of the Monte Carlo approach, which are also compared. We find indications for a synchronization between the MJO phase evolution and the solar 27-day cycle, which are most notable under certain conditions: MJO events with a strength greater than 0.5, during the easterly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation, and during boreal winter. The MJO appears to cycle through its eight phases within two solar 27-day cycles. The phase relation between the MJO and the solar variation appears to be such that the MJO predominantly transitions from phase 8 to 1 or from phase 4 and 5 during the solar 27-day minimum. These results strongly depend on the MJO index used such that the synchronization is most clearly seen when using univariate indices like the OLR-based MJO index (OMI) in the analysis but can hardly be seen with multivariate indices like the real-time multivariate MJO index (RMM). One possible explanation could be that the synchronization pattern is encoded particularly in the underlying outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data. A weaker dependence of the results on the underlying solar proxy is also observed but not further investigated. Although we think that these initial indications are already worth noting, we do not claim to unambiguously prove this relationship in the present study, neither in a statistical nor in a causal sense. Instead, we challenge these initial findings ourselves in detail by varying underlying datasets and methods and critically discuss resulting open questions to lay a solid foundation for further research.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 1190-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Bernie ◽  
S. J. Woolnough ◽  
J. M. Slingo ◽  
E. Guilyardi

Abstract The intraseasonal variability of SST associated with the passage of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is well documented; yet coupled model integrations generally underpredict the magnitude of this SST variability. Observations from the Improved Meteorological Instrument (IMET) mooring in the western Pacific during the intensive observing period (IOP) of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) showed a large diurnal signal in SST that is modulated by the passage of the MJO. In this study, observations from the IOP of the TOGA COARE and a one-dimensional (1D) ocean mixed layer model incorporating the K-Profile Parameterization (KPP) vertical mixing scheme have been used to investigate the rectification of the intraseasonal variability of SST by the diurnal cycle and the implied impact of the absence of a representation of this process on the modeled intraseasonal variability in coupled GCMs. Analysis of the SST observations has shown that the increase of the daily mean SST by the diurnal cycle of SST accounts for about one-third of the magnitude of intraseasonal variability of SST associated with the Madden–Julian oscillation in the western Pacific warm pool. Experiments from the 1D model forced with fluxes at a range of temporal resolutions and with differing vertical resolution of the model have shown that to capture 90% of the diurnal variability of SST, and hence 95% of the intraseasonal variability of SST, requires a 3-h or better temporal resolution of the fluxes and a vertical grid with an upper-layer thickness of the order of 1 m. In addition to the impact of the representation of the diurnal cycle on the intraseasonal variability of SST, the strength of the mixing across the thermocline was found to be enhanced by the proper representation of the nighttime deep mixing in the ocean, implying a possible impact of the diurnal cycle onto the mean climate of the tropical ocean.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2407-2440 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Moutin ◽  
D. M. Karl ◽  
S. Duhamel ◽  
P. Rimmelin ◽  
P. Raimbault ◽  
...  

Abstract. Due to the low atmospheric input of phosphate into the open ocean, it is one of the key nutrients that could ultimately control primary production and carbon export into the deep ocean. The observed trend over the last 20 years, has shown a decrease in the dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) pool in the North Pacific gyre, which has been correlated to the increase in di-nitrogen (N2) fixation rates. Following a NW-SE transect, in the Southeast Pacific during the early austral summer (BIOSOPE cruise), we present data on DIP, dissolved organic phosphate (DOP), and particulate phosphate (PP) pools and DIP turnover times (TDIP) along with N2 fixation rates. We observed a decrease in DIP concentration from the edges to the centre of the gyre. Nevertheless the DIP concentrations remained above 100 nmol L−1 and TDIP were more than a month in the centre of the gyre: DIP availability remained largely above the level required for phosphate limitation. This contrasts with recent observations in the western Pacific Ocean at the same latitude (DIAPALIS cruises) where lower DIP concentrations (<20 nmol L−1) and TDIP<50 h were measured during the summer season. During the BIOSOPE cruise, N2 fixation rates were higher within the cold water upwelling near the Chilean coast. This observation contrasts with recently obtained model output for N2 fixation distribution in the South Pacific area and emphasises the importance of studying the main factors controlling this process. The South Pacific gyre can be considered a High P Low Chlorophyll (HPLC) oligotrophic area, which could potentially support high N2 fixation rates, and possibly carbon dioxide sequestration, if the primary ecophysiological controls, temperature and/or iron availability, were alleviated.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document