skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Moist Process Biases in Simulations of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Episodes Observed during the AMIE/DYNAMO Field Campaign

Abstract

Two Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) episodes observed during the 2011 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program MJO Investigation Experiment (AMIE)/DYNAMO field campaign are simulated using a regional model with various cumulus parameterizations, a regional cloud-permitting model, and a global variable-resolution model with a high-resolution region centered over the tropical Indian Ocean. Model biases in relationships relevant to existing instability theories of MJO are examined and their relative contributions to the overall model errors are quantified using a linear statistical model. The model simulations capture the observed approximately log-linear relationship between moisture saturation fraction and precipitation, but precipitation associated with the given saturation fraction is overestimated especially at low saturation fraction values. This bias is a major contributor to the excessive precipitation during the suppressed phase of MJO. After accounting for this bias using a linear statistical model, the spatial and temporal structures of the model-simulated MJO episodes are much improved, and what remains of the biases is strongly correlated with biases in saturation fraction. The excess precipitation bias during the suppressed phase of the MJO episodes is accompanied by excessive column-integrated radiative forcing and surface evaporation. A large portion of the bias in evaporation is related to biases in wind speed, which aremore » correlated with those of precipitation. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the precipitation bias sustains itself at least partly by cloud radiative feedbacks and convection–surface wind interactions.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1243178
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-110414
Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755; KP1701000
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Climate
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 29; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755
Publisher:
American Meteorological Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Circulation/ Dynamics; Deep convection; Madden-Julian oscillation; Models and modeling; Cloud parameterizations; Cloud resolving models; Convective parameterization

Citation Formats

Hagos, Samson M., Feng, Zhe, Burleyson, Casey D., Zhao, Chun, Martini, Matus N., and Berg, Larry K. Moist Process Biases in Simulations of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Episodes Observed during the AMIE/DYNAMO Field Campaign. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0349.1.
Hagos, Samson M., Feng, Zhe, Burleyson, Casey D., Zhao, Chun, Martini, Matus N., & Berg, Larry K. Moist Process Biases in Simulations of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Episodes Observed during the AMIE/DYNAMO Field Campaign. United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0349.1
Hagos, Samson M., Feng, Zhe, Burleyson, Casey D., Zhao, Chun, Martini, Matus N., and Berg, Larry K. 2016. "Moist Process Biases in Simulations of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Episodes Observed during the AMIE/DYNAMO Field Campaign". United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0349.1. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1243178.
@article{osti_1243178,
title = {Moist Process Biases in Simulations of the Madden–Julian Oscillation Episodes Observed during the AMIE/DYNAMO Field Campaign},
author = {Hagos, Samson M. and Feng, Zhe and Burleyson, Casey D. and Zhao, Chun and Martini, Matus N. and Berg, Larry K.},
abstractNote = {Two Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) episodes observed during the 2011 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program MJO Investigation Experiment (AMIE)/DYNAMO field campaign are simulated using a regional model with various cumulus parameterizations, a regional cloud-permitting model, and a global variable-resolution model with a high-resolution region centered over the tropical Indian Ocean. Model biases in relationships relevant to existing instability theories of MJO are examined and their relative contributions to the overall model errors are quantified using a linear statistical model. The model simulations capture the observed approximately log-linear relationship between moisture saturation fraction and precipitation, but precipitation associated with the given saturation fraction is overestimated especially at low saturation fraction values. This bias is a major contributor to the excessive precipitation during the suppressed phase of MJO. After accounting for this bias using a linear statistical model, the spatial and temporal structures of the model-simulated MJO episodes are much improved, and what remains of the biases is strongly correlated with biases in saturation fraction. The excess precipitation bias during the suppressed phase of the MJO episodes is accompanied by excessive column-integrated radiative forcing and surface evaporation. A large portion of the bias in evaporation is related to biases in wind speed, which are correlated with those of precipitation. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the precipitation bias sustains itself at least partly by cloud radiative feedbacks and convection–surface wind interactions.},
doi = {10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0349.1},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1243178}, journal = {Journal of Climate},
issn = {0894-8755},
number = 3,
volume = 29,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Wed Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 7 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Moist Static Energy Budget of MJO-like Disturbances in the Atmosphere of a Zonally Symmetric Aquaplanet
journal, April 2012


The Relationship between Wind Speed and Precipitation in the Pacific ITCZ
journal, October 2005


Tropical Intraseasonal Variability in Version 3 of the GFDL Atmosphere Model
journal, January 2013


A Simple Parameterization Coupling the Convective Daytime Boundary Layer and Fair-Weather Cumuli
journal, June 2005


On the Role of Moist Processes in Tropical Intraseasonal Variability: Cloud–Radiation and Moisture–Convection Feedbacks
journal, August 2005


A Multilayer Upper-Boundary Condition for Longwave Radiative Flux to Correct Temperature Biases in a Mesoscale Model
journal, June 2011


Constraints on Cumulus Parameterization from Simulations of Observed MJO Events
journal, August 2015


Constructing a Merged Cloud–Precipitation Radar Dataset for Tropical Convective Clouds during the DYNAMO/AMIE Experiment at Addu Atoll
journal, May 2014


A scale and aerosol aware stochastic convective parameterization for weather and air quality modeling
journal, January 2014


Thermodynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation in a Regional Model with Constrained Moisture
journal, September 2011


Error Characteristics of Two Grid Refinement Approaches in Aquaplanet Simulations: MPAS-A and WRF
journal, September 2013


Resolution and Dynamical Core Dependence of Atmospheric River Frequency in Global Model Simulations
journal, April 2015


Revision of Convection and Vertical Diffusion Schemes in the NCEP Global Forecast System
journal, August 2011


The moist static energy budget in NCAR CAM5 hindcasts during DYNAMO
journal, May 2014


A New Vertical Diffusion Package with an Explicit Treatment of Entrainment Processes
journal, September 2006


The TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA): Quasi-Global, Multiyear, Combined-Sensor Precipitation Estimates at Fine Scales
journal, February 2007


MJO and Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves Simulated by CMIP5 Climate Models
journal, September 2013


Radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models
journal, January 2008


Structure and Properties of Madden–Julian Oscillations Deduced from DYNAMO Sounding Arrays
journal, October 2013


Sounding-Based Thermodynamic Budgets for DYNAMO
journal, February 2015


A bulk mass flux convection scheme for climate model: description and moisture sensitivity
journal, January 2011


A Systematic Relationship between Intraseasonal Variability and Mean State Bias in AGCM Simulations
journal, November 2011


The Tropical Subseasonal Variability Simulated in the NASA GISS General Circulation Model
journal, July 2012


Role of Longwave Cloud–Radiation Feedback in the Simulation of the Madden–Julian Oscillation
journal, September 2015


Vertical structure and physical processes of the Madden-Julian oscillation: Synthesis and summary: MJO PHYSICAL PROCESSES: SYNTHESIS
journal, May 2015


Effect of SST Distribution and Radiative Feedbacks on the Simulation of Intraseasonal Variability in an Aquaplanet GCM
journal, January 2011


MJO in the NCAR CAM2 with the Tiedtke Convective Scheme*
journal, August 2005


Surface Fluxes and Ocean Coupling in the Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillation
journal, November 2004


RAMA: The Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction *
journal, April 2009


Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated-k model for the longwave
journal, July 1997


Critical phenomena in atmospheric precipitation
journal, May 2006


Moisture Modes and the Madden–Julian Oscillation
journal, June 2009


A multiresolution method for climate system modeling: application of spherical centroidal Voronoi tessellations
journal, November 2008


A unified approach to energy conservation and potential vorticity dynamics for arbitrarily-structured C-grids
journal, May 2010


A Multiscale Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Model Using Centroidal Voronoi Tesselations and C-Grid Staggering
journal, September 2012


Moisture Modes and the Eastward Propagation of the MJO
journal, January 2013


Surface fluxes and tropical intraseasonal variability: A reassessment
journal, January 2010


Moist Static Energy Budget of the MJO during DYNAMO
journal, November 2014


Dreary state of precipitation in global models: MODEL AND OBSERVED PRECIPITATION
journal, December 2010


How Often Does It Rain?
journal, March 2006


Numerical representation of geostrophic modes on arbitrarily structured C-grids
journal, December 2009


Simulations of cloud‐radiation interaction using large‐scale forcing derived from the CINDY/DYNAMO northern sounding array
journal, September 2015


Tracking Pulses of the Madden–Julian Oscillation
journal, December 2013


Works referencing / citing this record:

Trans-Pacific transport and evolution of aerosols: evaluation of quasi-global WRF-Chem simulation with multiple observations
journal, January 2016


Hindcasting the Madden-Julian Oscillation With a New Parameterization of Surface Heat Fluxes: MJO HINDCAST IN THE WRF-MEP MODEL
journal, November 2017