Abstract
How can the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) be identified in observational data? Some methods identify the MJO using wind data only, other methods use cloudiness or precipitation data only, and others use a combination of winds and cloudiness. In a sense, each MJO index offers a different definition of what the MJO is. While MJO indices have traditionally been empirical, the MJO skeleton model offers the possibility of a theoretical definition of the MJO.
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Majda, A.J., Stechmann, S.N., Chen, S., Ogrosky, H.R., Thual, S. (2019). New Indices for Observations of Tropical Variability Based on the Skeleton Model and a Model for the Walker Circulation. In: Tropical Intraseasonal Variability and the Stochastic Skeleton Method. Mathematics of Planet Earth(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22247-5_5
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