J. Atmos. Sci., submitted 2/09.
Suzana J. Camargo
IRI, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
of Columbia University, Palisades, NY
Matthew C. Wheeler
Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Melbourne, Australia.
Adam H. Sobel
Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Columbia University, New York, NY.
Abstract
The modulation of tropical cyclone activity by the Madden-Julian Oscillation
(MJO) is explored using an empirical genesis potential (GP) index. Composite
anomalies of the genesis index associated with the different MJO phases are consistent
with the composite anomalies in TC genesis frequency which occur in the
same phases, indicating that the index captures the changes in the environment
which are at least in part responsible for the genesis frequency changes. Of the
four environmental variables which enter the genesis potential index, the midlevel
relative humidity makes the largest contribution to the MJO composite GP
anomalies. The second largest contribution comes from the low-level absolute
vorticity, and only very minor contributions come from the vertical wind shear
and potential intensity.
When basin-integrated MJO composite anomalies of the GP index are regressed
against basin-integrated composite anomalies of TC genesis frequency,
the results differ quantitatively from those obtained from the analogous calculation
performed on the annual climatologies in the two quantities. Thus the
index captures the MJO variations in genesis frequency to a lesser degree than
the climatological annual cycle of genesis (to which it was originally tuned). This
may be in part indicative of the importance of precursor disturbances, not well
captured in the GP index computed from weekly data, to the intraseasonal TC
genesis frequency fluctuations.