The Influence of the MJO on Upstream Precursors to African Easterly Waves

AbstractThe Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) produces alternating periods of increased and reduced precipitation and African easterly wave (AEW) activity in West Africa. This study documents the influence of the MJO on the West African monsoon system during boreal summer using reanalysis and brightness temperature fields. MJO-related West African convective anomalies are likely induced by equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves generated in the Indian Ocean and West Pacific by the MJO, which is consistent with previous studies. The initial modulation of tropical African convection occurs upstream of West Africa, near the entrance of the African easterly jet (AEJ). Previous studies have hypothesized that an area to the east of Lake Chad is an initiation region for AEWs. Called the “trigger region” in this study, this area exhibits significant intraseasonal convection and wave activity anomalies prior to the wet and dry MJO phases in the West African monsoon region.In the trigger region, cold tropospheric tempera...

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