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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • MJO
  • hydrological cycle
  • satellite data

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Processes: Tropical meteorology
  • Atmospheric Processes: Remote sensing
  • Atmospheric Processes: Global climate models
  • Atmospheric Processes: Convective processes
  • Atmospheric Processes: Clouds and cloud feedbacks

Abstract

How well can satellite data characterize the water cycle of the Madden-Julian Oscillation?

Duane E. Waliser

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Baijun Tian

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Xiaosu Xie

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

W. Timothy Liu

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Michael J. Schwartz

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Eric J. Fetzer

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

Most characterizations of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) have focused on its convection and circulation features, ocean interactions, and weather and climate impacts. The water cycle of the MJO has yet to be examined or quantified despite it offering an additional constraint on model representations of the MJO, which are still woefully poor. Recent satellite products now make it possible to characterize the MJO water cycle from observations. These include water vapor profiles, column water vapor, cloud ice profiles, total cloud liquid, rainfall, surface evaporation and column moisture convergence. From these, we quantify the water budget for disturbed and suppressed phases of the MJO. The column-integrated results indicate that precipitation is nearly balanced with moisture convergence, with variations in surface evaporation being an order of magnitude smaller. However, residuals in the column-integrated budget are relatively large, indicating the need for improved satellite retrievals and/or the necessity of using model-based assimilation products.

Received 9 July 2009; accepted 24 September 2009; published 6 November 2009.

Citation: Waliser, D. E., B. Tian, X. Xie, W. T. Liu, M. J. Schwartz, and E. J. Fetzer (2009), How well can satellite data characterize the water cycle of the Madden-Julian Oscillation?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L21803, doi:10.1029/2009GL040005.

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