The Maritime Continent Barrier Effect on the MJO Teleconnections during the Boreal Winter Seasons in the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract

The Maritime Continent disrupts eastward propagation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). This study surveys the impact of the disruption—often known as the barrier effect—on the MJO teleconnections. The MJO propagation may be broadly categorized based on whether the MJO precipitation crosses the Maritime Continent (MC) during extended boreal winter seasons: successfully propagating across the MC (MJO-C) or being blocked by the MC (MJO-B). Compositing atmospheric circulation upon these two categories reveals that precipitation anomalies of MJO-C are stronger and more coherent than those of MJO-B, while their phase speed and lifetime are comparable. MJO-C and MJO-B excite distinct extratropical responses due to their diabatic heating in the deep tropics. Midlatitude circulation displays stronger and long-lasting negative geopotential anomalies in the northern Pacific Ocean 5–14 days after phase 7–8 of MJO-C, but significantly weaker anomalies from MJO-B. The extratropical water vapor transport during MJO-B and MJO-C differs markedly after phase 2. The Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) both show significant response after phase 6 of MJO-C as its precipitation anomaly over the tropical Pacific during this period is stronger, while MJO-B has little impact on both. Surface air temperatures (SAT) at high latitudes during MJO-B and MJO-C are also significantly different. SAT is weaker and delayed in MJO-B in comparison to MJO-C, likely due to different meridional eddy heat fluxes.