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Title: Improved Madden–Julian Oscillations with Improved Physics: The Impact of Modified Convection Parameterizations

Journal Article · · Journal of Climate
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3]
  1. Columbia Univ., New York. (United States). Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Key Lab. of Ocean Dynamic Processes and Satellite Oceanography, Hangzhou (China)
  2. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  3. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
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Two modifications are made to the deep convection parameterization in the NCAR Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3): a dilute plume approximation and an implementation of the convective momentum transport (CMT). These changes lead to significant improvement in the simulated Madden–Julian oscillations (MJOs). With the dilute plume approximation, temperature and convective heating perturbations become more positively correlated. Consequently, more available potential energy is generated and the intraseasonal variability (ISV) becomes stronger. The organization of ISV is also improved, which is manifest in coherent structures between different MJO phases and an improved simulation of the eastward propagation of MJOs with a reasonable eastward speed. The improved propagation can be attributed to a better simulation of the low-level zonal winds due to the inclusion of CMT. The authors posit that the large-scale zonal winds are akin to a selective conveyor belt that facilitates the organization of ISVs into highly coherent structures, which are important features of observed MJOs. The conclusions are supported by two supplementary experiments, which include the dilute plume approximation and CMT separately.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI ID:
1564905
Journal Information:
Journal of Climate, Vol. 25, Issue 4; ISSN 0894-8755
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 45 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

The MJO and global warming: a study in CCSM4 journal June 2013
Evaluating the MJO prediction skill from different configurations of NCEP GEFS extended forecast journal September 2018
Westerly wind bursts simulated in CAM4 and CCSM4 journal April 2017

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