Modulation of the global atmospheric circulation by combined activity in the Madden-Julian oscillation and the El Niño-southern oscillation during boreal winter

Abstract

Composite global patterns associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) are frequently applied to help make predictions of weather around the globe at lead times beyond a few days. However, ENSO modulates the background states through which the MJO and its global response patterns propagate. This paper explores the possibility that nonlinear variations confound the combined use of composites based on the MJO and ENSO separately. Results indicate that when both modes are active at the same time, the associated patterns in the global flow are poorly represented by simple linear combinations of composites based on the MJO and ENSO individually. Composites calculated by averaging data over periods when both modes are present at the same time more effectively describe the associated weather patterns. Results reveal that the high-latitude response to the MJO varies with ENSO over all longitudes, but especially across the North Pacific Rim, North America, and the North Atlantic. Further analysis demonstrates that the MJO influence on indexes of the North Atlantic Oscillation is greatest during La Niña conditions or during periods of rapid adjustment in the phase of ENSO. © 2010 American Meteorological Society.