Moisture Variation with Cloud Effects during a BSISO over the Eastern Maritime Continent in a Cloud-Permitting-Scale Simulation

Despite the great importance of interactions between moisture, clouds, radiation, and convection in the Madden-Julian oscillation, their role in the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) has not been well established. This study investigates the moisture variation of a BSISO during its rapid redevelopment over the eastern Maritime Continent through a cloud-permitting-scale numerical simulation. It is found that moisture variation depends closely on the evolution of clouds and precipitation. Total moisture budget analysis reveals that the deepening and strengthening (lessening) of humidity before (after) the BSISO deep convection are attributed largely to zonal advection. In addition, the column moistening/drying is mostly in phase with the humidity and is related to the maintenance of BSISO. An objective cloud-type classification method and a weak temperature gradient approximation are used to further understand the column moistening/drying. Results indicate that elevated stratiform clouds play a significant role in moistening the lower troposphere through cloud water evaporation. Decreases in deep convection condensation and reevaporation of deep stratiform precipitation induce moistening during the development and after the decay of BSISO deep convection, respectively. Meanwhile, anomalous longwave radiative heating appears first in the lower troposphere during the developing stage of BSISO, further strengthens via the increase of deep stratiform clouds, and eventually deepens with elevated stratiform clouds. Accordingly, anomalous moistening largely in phase with the humidity of BSISO toward its suppressed stage is induced via compensated ascent. Owing to the anomalous decrease in the ratio of vertical moisture and potential temperature gradients, the cloud-radiation effect is further enhanced in the convective phase of BSISO.

Automated summary

This study investigates the moisture variation of a BSISO during its rapid redevelopment over the eastern Maritime Continent through a cloud-permitting-scale numerical simulation. The results show that deepening and strengthening (lessening) of humidity before (after) the BSISO deep convection are largely attributed to zonal advection, and column moistening/drying is mostly in phase with humidity and related to the maintenance of BSISO.