Influences of the MJO on the space‐time organization of tropical convection

Abstract

AbstractThe fact that the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) is characterized by large‐scale patterns of enhanced tropical rainfall has been widely recognized for decades. However, the precise nature of any two‐way feedback between the MJO and the properties of smaller‐scale organization that makes up its convective envelope is not well understood. Satellite estimates of brightness temperature are used here as a proxy for tropical rainfall, and a variety of diagnostics are applied to determine the degree to which tropical convection is affected either locally or globally by the MJO. To address the multiscale nature of tropical convective organization, the approach ranges from space‐time spectral analysis to an object‐tracking algorithm. In addition to the intensity and distribution of global tropical rainfall, the relationship between the MJO and other tropical processes such as convectively coupled equatorial waves, mesoscale convective systems, and the diurnal cycle of tropical convection is also analyzed. The main findings of this paper are that, aside from the well‐known increase in rainfall activity across scales within the MJO convective envelope, the MJO does not favor any particular scale or type of organization, and there is no clear signature of the MJO in terms of the globally integrated distribution of brightness temperature or rainfall.