POSSIBLE INFLUENCES OF THE TROPICAL INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE ON THE EASTWARD PROPAGATION OF MJO

Based on multiple datasets, correlation and composite analyses, and case studies, this paper investigated possible influences of the Indian Ocean dipole(IOD) mode on the eastward propagation of intraseasonal oscillation in the tropical atmosphere. The results showed that(1) the 30-60 day outgoing longwave radiation anomalies in the southeastern Indian Ocean and the 30-60 day 850-hPa zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial central Indian Ocean were significantly correlated with the IOD index;(2) during positive IOD years, the anomalously cold water in the southeastern Indian Ocean and the 850-hPa anomalous easterlies over the equatorial central Indian Ocean might act as barriers to the continuously eastward propagation of the intraseasonal convection, which interrupts the Madden-Julian oscillation(MJO) propagation in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and western Pacific; and(3) during negative IOD years, the anomalously warm water in the southeastern Indian Ocean and the low-level westerly anomalies over the equatorial central Indian Ocean favor the eastward movement of MJO.

Intensified Eastward and Northward Propagation of Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillation over the Equatorial Indian Ocean in a Global Warming Scenario

Northward propagation in summer and eastward propagation in winter are two distinguished features of tropical intraseasonal oscillation （TISO） over the equatorial Indian Ocean. According to numerical modeling results, under a global warming scenario, both propagations were intensified. The enhanced northward propagation in summer can be attributed to the enhanced atmosphere-ocean interaction and the strengthened mean southerly wind; and the intensified eastward propagation in winter is associated with the enhanced convection-wind coupling process and the strengthened equatorial Kevin wave. Future changes of TISO propagations need to be explored in more climate models.

Propagation and influence on tropical precipitation of intraseasonal variation over mid-latitude East Asia in boreal winter

The authors investigate the characteristics of propagation and the influence on tropical precipitation of 9–29-day intraseasonal variation over midlatitude East Asia during boreal winter, and find that the intraseasonal wind signal can propagate both eastward and southward. In the case of eastward propagation, the intraseasonal wind signal is mainly confined to the midlatitudes, featuring eastward migration of anomalous cyclones and anticyclones. In the case of southward propagation, intraseasonal meridional wind perturbations may extend from the mid to the low latitudes, and even the equatorial region. The accompanying wind convergence/divergence induces anomalous precipitation in the near-equatorial regions, forming a north–south dipole precipitation anomaly pattern between the southern South China Sea and the eastern China– Japan region. An anomalous meridional overturning circulation plays an important role in linking tropical and midlatitude intraseasonal wind and precipitation variations.

The Influence of El Ni?o on MJO over the Equatorial Pacific

In this paper, the influence of E1 Nino event on the Madden-Julian Oscillation （MJO） over the equatorial Pacific is stud- ied by using reanalysis data and relevant numerical simulation results. It is clearly shown that E1 Nino can reduce the intensity of MJO. The kinetic energy of MJO over the equatorial Pacific is stronger before the occurrence of the E1 Nino event, but it is reduced rapidly after E1 v event outbreak, and the weakened MJO even can continue to the next summer. The convection over the cen- tral-western Pacific is weakened in E1 Nino winter. The positive anomalous OLR over the central-western Pacific has opposite variation in E1 Nino winter comparing to the non-ENSO cases. The vertical structure of MJO also affected by E1 Nino event, so the opposite direction features of the geopotential height and the zonal wind in upper and lower level troposphere for the MJO are not remarkable in the E1 Nino winter and tend to be barotropic features. El Nino event also has an influence on the eastward propa- gation of the MJO too. During E1 Nino winter, the eastward propagation of the MJO is not so regular and unanimous and there exists some eastward propagation, which is faster than that in non-ENSO case. Dynamic analyses suggest that positive SSTA （El Nino case） affects the atmospheric thickness over the equatorial Pacific and then the excited atmospheric wave-CISK mode is weakened, so that the intensity of MJO is reduced; the combining of the barotropic unstable mode in the atmosphere excited by external forcing （SSTA） and the original MJO may be an important reason for the MJO vertical structure tending to be barotropic during the E1 Nino.

IMPACT OF TROPICAL INTRASEASONAL OSCILLATIONS ON THE PRECIPITATION OF GUANGDONG IN JUNES

The impact of tropical intraseasonal oscillations on the precipitation of Guangdong in Junes and its physical mechanism are analyzed using 30-yr(1979 to 2008), 86-station observational daily precipitation of Guangdong and daily atmospheric data from NCEP-DOE Reanalysis. It is found that during the annually first rainy season(April to June),the modulating effect of the activity of intraseasonal oscillations propagating eastward along the equator(MJO) on the June precipitation in Guangdong is different from that in other months. The most indicative effect of MJO on positive(negative) anomalous precipitation over the whole or most of the province is phase 3(phase 6) of strong MJO events in Junes. A Northwest Pacific subtropical high intensifies and extends westward during phase 3. Water vapor transporting along the edge of the subtropical high from Western Pacific enhances significantly the water vapor flux over Guangdong, resulting in the enhancement of the precipitation. The condition is reverse during phase 6. The mechanism for which the subtropical high intensifies and extends westward during phase 3 is related to the atmospheric response to the asymmetric heating over the eastern Indian Ocean. Analyses of two cases of sustained strong rainfall of Guangdong in June 2010 showed that both of them are closely linked with a MJO state which is both strong and in phase 3, besides the effect from a westerly trough. It is argued further that the MJO activity is indicative of strong rainfall of Guangdong in June. The results in the present work are helpful in developing strategies for forecasting severe rainfall in Guangdong and extending, combined with the outputs of dynamic forecast models, the period of forecasting validity.

Performance of FGOALS-s2 in Simulating Intraseasonal Oscillation over the South Asian Monsoon Region

The capability of the current version of the air-sea coupled climate model, the Flexible Global Ocean- Atmosphere-Land System model, Spectral Version 2 （FGOALS-s2）, in simulating the boreal summer in- traseasonal oscillation （ISO） over the south Asian monsoon （SAM） region is diagnosed, in terms of dominant period, propagation direction, and vertical structure. Results show that the coupled model can reasonably simulate the main features of observed ISO propagation compared to the chosen AGCM. These features in- clude the eastward movement of intraseasonal 850-hPa zonal wind over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, the vertical structure in active phases, and the realistic phase relationship between ISO and underlying SST. However, the eastward propagation cannot be reproduced in the uncoupled model. This suggests that air- sea interaction is important in generating intraseasonal variability over the SAM region. Nevertheless, some deficiencies remain in the coupled model, which may relate to physical processes depicted by the cumulus parameterization and PBL schemes within its atmospheric component.

Evaluation of the Madden-Julian oscillation in HiRAM

The aim of this study was to understand the cause of Madden–Julian oscillation(MJO)bias in the High Resolution AtmosphericModel(HiRAM)driven by observed SST through process-oriented diagnosis.Wavenumber-frequency power spectrum and composite analyses indicate that HiRAM underestimates the spectral amplitude over theMJO band and mainly produces non-propagating rather than eastward-propagating intraseasonal rainfall anomalies,as observed.Column-integrated moist static energy(MSE)budget analysis is conducted to understand the MJO propagation bias in the simulation.It is found that the bias is due to the lack of a zonally asymmetric distribution of the MSE tendency anomaly in respect to the MJO convective center,which is mainly attributable to the bias in vertical MSE advection and surface turbulent flux.Further analysis suggests that it is the unrealistic simulation of MJO vertical circulation anomalies in the upper troposphere as well as overestimation of the Rossby wave response that results in the bias.

VARIATIONS OF 30—60 DAY OSCILLATION IN ATMOSPHERE BEFORE AND DURING 1982 EL NINO

By using the upper-wind data from July 1980 to June 1983,the variations of the low-frequency oscillation (LFO)in the atmosphere before and during 1982 El Nino have been investigated.Before the El Nino,the LFO propagates from west to east over the equator of the Eastern Hemisphere and from east to west over 20°N. The eastward propagating LFO over the equator consists of zonal wavenumber 1 propagating eastward and zonal wavenumber 2 with a character of stationary wave.The oscillation of zonal wavenumber 2 can modulate the oscillation strength.After the onset of the El Nino,the propagating directions of the LFO over the equator and 20°N of the Eastern Hemisphere change to be westward and eastward,respectively.The LFO over the western Pacific weakens rapidly and one coming from middle and high latitudes propagates to the equator. From the phase compositions of streamline fields for the zonal wavenumber 1 of equatorial westward propa- gatirg LFO,it is found that the atmospheric heat source in the equator of the eastern Pacific(EEP)excites a series of the equatorial cyclones and anticyclones which move northward and westward and form the westward propagating LFO over the equator.With the wavelength of 20000km,this kind of equatorial wave is similar to the mixing Rossby-gravity wave.In its westward and northward movement,the circulation in East Asia is modified.This may be the mechanism of the influence of El Nino on the climate of China.

Recent Advance in Understanding the Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation

The Madden-Julian oscillation （MJO） is a dominant atmospheric low-frequency mode in the tropics. In this review article, recent progress in understanding the MJO dynamics is described. Firstly, the fundamental physical processes responsible for MJO eastward phase propagation are discussed. Next, a recent modeling result to address why MJO prefers a planetary zonal scale is presented. The effect of the seasonal mean state on distinctive propagation characteristics between northern winter and summer is discussed in a theoretical framework. Then, the observed precursor signals and the physical mechanism of MJO initiation in the western equatorial Indian Ocean are further discussed. Finally, scale interactions between MJO and higher- frequency eddies are delineated.