Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Boreal Winter MJO Teleconnection in the Community Atmosphere Model Version 5 with the Unified Convection Parameterization

Changhyun Yoo Department of Atmospheric Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea

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Sungsu Park School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

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Daehyun Kim Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Jin-Ho Yoon Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

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Hye-Mi Kim School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, New York, New York

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Print Publication:
15 Oct 2015
Collections:
Connecting the Tropics to the Polar Regions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0022.1
Page(s):
8135–8150
Restricted access

Abstract

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), the dominant mode of tropical intraseasonal variability, influences weather and climate in the extratropics through atmospheric teleconnection. In this study, two simulations using the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5)—one with the default shallow and deep convection schemes and the other with the unified convection scheme (UNICON)—are employed to examine the impacts of cumulus parameterizations on the simulation of the boreal wintertime MJO teleconnection in the Northern Hemisphere. It is demonstrated that the UNICON substantially improves the MJO teleconnection. When the UNICON is employed, the simulated circulation anomalies associated with the MJO better resemble the observed counterpart, compared to the simulation with the default convection schemes. Quantitatively, the pattern correlation for the 300-hPa geopotential height anomalies between the simulations and observation increases from 0.07 for the default schemes to 0.54 for the UNICON. These circulation anomalies associated with the MJO further help to enhance the surface air temperature and precipitation anomalies over North America, although room for improvement is still evident. Initial value calculations suggest that the realistic MJO teleconnection with the UNICON is not due to the changes in the background wind, but rather primarily to the improved tropical convective heating associated with the MJO.

Corresponding author address: Changhyun Yoo, 353 Engineering Building, Department of Atmospheric Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, South Korea. E-mail: cyoo@ewha.ac.kr.

This article is included in the Connecting the Tropics to the Polar Regions Special Collection.

Abstract

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), the dominant mode of tropical intraseasonal variability, influences weather and climate in the extratropics through atmospheric teleconnection. In this study, two simulations using the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5)—one with the default shallow and deep convection schemes and the other with the unified convection scheme (UNICON)—are employed to examine the impacts of cumulus parameterizations on the simulation of the boreal wintertime MJO teleconnection in the Northern Hemisphere. It is demonstrated that the UNICON substantially improves the MJO teleconnection. When the UNICON is employed, the simulated circulation anomalies associated with the MJO better resemble the observed counterpart, compared to the simulation with the default convection schemes. Quantitatively, the pattern correlation for the 300-hPa geopotential height anomalies between the simulations and observation increases from 0.07 for the default schemes to 0.54 for the UNICON. These circulation anomalies associated with the MJO further help to enhance the surface air temperature and precipitation anomalies over North America, although room for improvement is still evident. Initial value calculations suggest that the realistic MJO teleconnection with the UNICON is not due to the changes in the background wind, but rather primarily to the improved tropical convective heating associated with the MJO.

Corresponding author address: Changhyun Yoo, 353 Engineering Building, Department of Atmospheric Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, South Korea. E-mail: cyoo@ewha.ac.kr.

This article is included in the Connecting the Tropics to the Polar Regions Special Collection.

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