Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale

Abstract While no significant long‐term trend in the propagation speed of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) in boreal winter is found during the past decades, pronounced year‐to‐year variability of the MJO phase speed is illustrated by analyzing a century‐long record data set. During the winters w...

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Main Authors: Mengxia Lyu, Xianan Jiang, Zhiwei Wu, Daehyun Kim, Ángel F. Adames
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091239
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author Mengxia Lyu
Xianan Jiang
Zhiwei Wu
Daehyun Kim
Ángel F. Adames
author_facet Mengxia Lyu
Xianan Jiang
Zhiwei Wu
Daehyun Kim
Ángel F. Adames
author_sort Mengxia Lyu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract While no significant long‐term trend in the propagation speed of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) in boreal winter is found during the past decades, pronounced year‐to‐year variability of the MJO phase speed is illustrated by analyzing a century‐long record data set. During the winters when fast MJO propagation is observed, the MJO exhibits a much larger zonal‐scale than that during the winters with slow propagation. A broader extension in MJO circulation effectively induces stronger and broader lower‐tropospheric moistening (drying) to the east (west) of MJO through horizontal moisture advection, prompting a faster MJO phase speed. The larger MJO zonal‐scale during the fast MJO propagation winters is coincident with anomalously increased background sea surface temperatures and precipitable water over both the western Indian Ocean and central/eastern Pacific, reminiscent of an expansion of the Indo‐Pacific warm pool. A fundamental question remains open regarding the key processes that determine the zonal‐scale of MJO organization.
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issn 0094-8276
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-8f24eeebc1804fdf9d949fd1e64ee9402025-08-20T03:11:04ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072021-03-01486n/an/a10.1029/2020GL091239Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐ScaleMengxia Lyu0Xianan Jiang1Zhiwei Wu2Daehyun Kim3Ángel F. Adames4College of Atmosphere Sciences Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Nanjing ChinaJoint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering University of California Los Angeles CA USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences / Institute of Atmospheric Sciences Fudan University Shanghai ChinaDepartment of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Wisconsin Madison WI USAAbstract While no significant long‐term trend in the propagation speed of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) in boreal winter is found during the past decades, pronounced year‐to‐year variability of the MJO phase speed is illustrated by analyzing a century‐long record data set. During the winters when fast MJO propagation is observed, the MJO exhibits a much larger zonal‐scale than that during the winters with slow propagation. A broader extension in MJO circulation effectively induces stronger and broader lower‐tropospheric moistening (drying) to the east (west) of MJO through horizontal moisture advection, prompting a faster MJO phase speed. The larger MJO zonal‐scale during the fast MJO propagation winters is coincident with anomalously increased background sea surface temperatures and precipitable water over both the western Indian Ocean and central/eastern Pacific, reminiscent of an expansion of the Indo‐Pacific warm pool. A fundamental question remains open regarding the key processes that determine the zonal‐scale of MJO organization.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091239Indo‐Pacific warm poolMadden‐Julian OscillationMJO phase speedmoisture mode theory
spellingShingle Mengxia Lyu
Xianan Jiang
Zhiwei Wu
Daehyun Kim
Ángel F. Adames
Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale
Geophysical Research Letters
Indo‐Pacific warm pool
Madden‐Julian Oscillation
MJO phase speed
moisture mode theory
title Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale
title_full Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale
title_fullStr Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale
title_full_unstemmed Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale
title_short Zonal‐Scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation and Its Propagation Speed on the Interannual Time‐Scale
title_sort zonal scale of the madden julian oscillation and its propagation speed on the interannual time scale
topic Indo‐Pacific warm pool
Madden‐Julian Oscillation
MJO phase speed
moisture mode theory
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091239
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AT xiananjiang zonalscaleofthemaddenjulianoscillationanditspropagationspeedontheinterannualtimescale
AT zhiweiwu zonalscaleofthemaddenjulianoscillationanditspropagationspeedontheinterannualtimescale
AT daehyunkim zonalscaleofthemaddenjulianoscillationanditspropagationspeedontheinterannualtimescale
AT angelfadames zonalscaleofthemaddenjulianoscillationanditspropagationspeedontheinterannualtimescale