Zonal and Vertical Structure of the Madden–Julian Oscillation

Abstract

A statistical study of the three-dimensional structure of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is carried out by projecting dynamical fields from reanalysis and radiosonde data onto space–time filtered outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data. MJO convection is generally preceded by low-level convergence and upward motion in the lower troposphere, while subsidence, cooling, and drying prevail aloft. This leads to moistening of the boundary layer and the development of shallow convection, followed by a gradual and then more rapid lofting of moisture into the middle troposphere at the onset of deep convection. After the passage of the heaviest rainfall, a westerly wind burst region is accompanied by stratiform precipitation, where lower tropospheric subsidence and drying coincide with continuing upper tropospheric upward motion. The evolution of the heating field leads to a temperature structure that favors the growth of the MJO. The analysis also reveals distinct differences in the vertical structure of the MJO as it evolves, presumably reflecting changes in its vertical heating profile, phase speed, or the basic-state circulation that the MJO propagates through. The dynamical structure and the evolution of cloud morphology within the MJO compares favorably in many respects with other propagating convectively coupled equatorial waves. One implication is that the larger convective envelopes within the Tropics tend to be composed of more shallow convection along their leading edges, a combination of deep convection and stratiform rainfall in their centers, and then a preponderance of stratiform rainfall along their trailing edges, regardless of scale or propagation direction. While this may ultimately be the factor that governs the dynamical similarities across the various wave types, it raises questions about how the smaller-scale, higher-frequency disturbances making up the MJO conspire to produce its heating and dynamical structures. This suggests that the observed cloud morphology is dictated by fundamental interactions with the large-scale circulation.