Cloud and Precipitation Variability Associated With the Madden‐Julian Oscillation Over the Maritime Continent

Abstract

Abstract This study reexamines cloud and precipitation variability associated with the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) over the Maritime Continent (MC), mainly using data acquired in 1998–2013 by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. Infrared data indicated uniform, moderately deep stratiform cloud cover over the MC during MJO active phases, suggesting that an apparent MJO bypass of Borneo and New Guinea, observed in the brightness temperature anomaly distribution, was an artifact of climatologically low average brightness temperatures above the islands. Although previous satellite precipitation products indicated negligible anomalies over Borneo during MJO active phases, we identified positive precipitation anomalies in precipitation radar data and other recent satellite products. We hypothesize that previous satellite precipitation data products underestimated stratiform precipitation over Borneo during MJO active phases because ice‐particle scattering was weak. This is consistent with the moderately deep stratiform cloud layer identified from infrared data.

Keywords

• Madden‐Julian Oscillation
• Maritime continent
• tropical rainfall measuring mission