The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), also known as the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO), is a planetaryscale mode of variation in the tropical Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Basic questions about the MJO are why it propagates eastward at;5 m s, why it lasts for intraseasonal time scales, and how it interacts with the fine structure that is embedded in it. This study will test the hypothesis ...

A better understanding of multiscale interactions within the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), including momentum exchanges, is critical for improved MJO prediction skill. In this study, convective momentum transport (CMT) associatedwith theMJO is analyzed based on theNOAAClimate Forecast SystemReanalysis (CFSR). A three-layer vertical structure associated with the MJO, as previously suggested i...

The moisture budget associated with the eastward-propagating Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) was diagnosed using 1979–2001 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data. A marked zonal asymmetry of the moisture relative to the MJO convection appears in the planetary boundary layer (PBL, below 700 hPa), creating a potentially more unstable stratification to the east of the MJO convection and favoring th...

5 This work studies the significance of asymmetry in systems of organized convection asso6 ciated with the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO). Satellite infrared brightness temperature 7 data for the period 1983–2006 were decomposed into subsets symmetric and antisymmetric 8 about the equator. Using a recent nonlinear objective method called nonlinear Laplacian 9 spectral analysis, modes of variab...

The barrier layer, the layer between the bottom of the density-defined mixed layer and the isothermal layer in the upper ocean, may play a role in air-sea dynamics. In the present study, data from Argo profiling floats in the tropical Indian Ocean and a mooring at 90 E, 0 N are used to examine subseasonal variations in upper ocean salinity and barrier-layer thickness (BLT) during boreal winter....

Broadly speaking, the influence of the MJO on precipitation over the tropics occurs by eastward propagation of Rossby wave trains from the tropical Pacific Ocean (Muza et al. 2009). Previous observational and modeling studies generally indicated that MJO and ENSO has a decadal variation and seasonal dependence (Tang and Yu, 2008; Hendon et al. 2007), however, them has not been well identified d...

A kinetic energy budget for the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is established in a three-scale framework. The three scales are the zonal mean, the MJO scale with wavenumbers 1–4, and the small scale with wavenumbers larger than 4. In the composite budget, the dominant balance at the MJO scale is between conversion from potential energy and work done by the pressure gradient force (PGF). This b...