The oceanic response to the Madden-Julian oscillation and ENSO

Abstract

Oceanic responses to relatively strong Madden-Julian Oscillations (MJOs) and background winds controlled by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are examined. The MJO's arrival excites dominant downwelling and upwelling Kelvin waves during El Niño developing (pre-El Niño: PEN) and other (non-PEN) phases, respectively. These opposite signals come from background wind directions under different ENSO phases and exert opposite impacts on SST. In addition, MJO convection itself develops accompanied by larger surface wind variations during PEN phases, which can be related to the interactive amplifications of synopticand planetary-scale disturbances when westerly wind bursts occur. Consequently, the strength of westerly forcing and its oceanic response during PEN phases are larger than that of the corresponding easterly forcing and its response during non-PEN phases. These results suggest that modulations of MJO amplitude and structure under the background westerly and easterly winds associated with ENSO phases exert opposite but asymmetric impacts on the ocean.