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Title: An oceanic pathway for Madden–Julian Oscillation influence on Maritime Continent Tropical Cyclones

Abstract

While the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) has been shown to affect tropical cyclones (TCs) worldwide through its modulation of large-scale circulation in the atmosphere, little or no role for the ocean has been identified to date in this influence of MJO on TCs. Using observations and numerical model simulations, we demonstrate that MJO events substantially impact TCs over the Maritime Continent (MC) region through an oceanic pathway. While propagating across the MC region, MJO events cause significant sea surface cooling with an area-averaged value of about 0.35 ± 0.12 °C. Hence, TCs over the MC region immediately following the passage of MJO events encounter considerably cooler sea surface temperatures. Consequently, the enthalpy fluxes under the storms are reduced and the intensification rates decrease by more than 50% on average. These results highlight an important role played by the ocean in facilitating MJO-induced sub-seasonal variability in TC activity over the MC region.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division
OSTI Identifier:
1830743
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1908805
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-161677
Journal ID: ISSN 2397-3722
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830; AC02-05CH11231; SC0019495
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 4; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2397-3722
Publisher:
Springer Nature
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Atmospheric dynamics; Physical oceanography

Citation Formats

Balaguru, Karthik, Leung, Lai Ruby, Hagos, Samson M., and Krishnakumar, Sujith. An oceanic pathway for Madden–Julian Oscillation influence on Maritime Continent Tropical Cyclones. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. doi:10.1038/s41612-021-00208-4.
Balaguru, Karthik, Leung, Lai Ruby, Hagos, Samson M., & Krishnakumar, Sujith. An oceanic pathway for Madden–Julian Oscillation influence on Maritime Continent Tropical Cyclones. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-021-00208-4
Balaguru, Karthik, Leung, Lai Ruby, Hagos, Samson M., and Krishnakumar, Sujith. 2021. "An oceanic pathway for Madden–Julian Oscillation influence on Maritime Continent Tropical Cyclones". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-021-00208-4. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1830743.
@article{osti_1830743,
title = {An oceanic pathway for Madden–Julian Oscillation influence on Maritime Continent Tropical Cyclones},
author = {Balaguru, Karthik and Leung, Lai Ruby and Hagos, Samson M. and Krishnakumar, Sujith},
abstractNote = {While the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) has been shown to affect tropical cyclones (TCs) worldwide through its modulation of large-scale circulation in the atmosphere, little or no role for the ocean has been identified to date in this influence of MJO on TCs. Using observations and numerical model simulations, we demonstrate that MJO events substantially impact TCs over the Maritime Continent (MC) region through an oceanic pathway. While propagating across the MC region, MJO events cause significant sea surface cooling with an area-averaged value of about 0.35 ± 0.12 °C. Hence, TCs over the MC region immediately following the passage of MJO events encounter considerably cooler sea surface temperatures. Consequently, the enthalpy fluxes under the storms are reduced and the intensification rates decrease by more than 50% on average. These results highlight an important role played by the ocean in facilitating MJO-induced sub-seasonal variability in TC activity over the MC region.},
doi = {10.1038/s41612-021-00208-4},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1830743}, journal = {npj Climate and Atmospheric Science},
issn = {2397-3722},
number = 1,
volume = 4,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Wed Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}

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