Two-Way Feedback Mechanisms between the Madden-Julian Oscillation and Mesoscale Convective Systems

TL;DR

This study investigates the bidirectional interactions between the Madden-Julian Oscillation and mesoscale convective systems using satellite data, revealing a robust two-way coupling that influences MJO evolution.

Contribution

It quantifies the two-way feedback mechanisms between the MJO and MCSs, highlighting their active role in MJO maintenance and propagation.

Findings

Enhanced MCS activity occurs in specific MJO phases with favorable environmental conditions.

MCS populations influence large-scale circulation through momentum and moisture anomalies.

The MJO and MCSs form a coupled system with mutual reinforcement.

Abstract

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a planetary-scale convective system characterized by large-scale envelopes of enhanced and suppressed convection that contain numerous mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). While MCSs are widely recognized as the fundamental convective elements embedded within the MJO, their relationship with the MJO is intrinsically two-way: the MJO modulates the large-scale dynamical and thermodynamic environment that organizes MCS activity, while the collective upscale impacts of MCSs feed back onto the MJO through the transport of momentum and heat. However, the nature of this bidirectional interaction remains insufficiently quantified from an observational perspective. In this study, we use satellite-based MJO indices together with a long-term, objectively tracked MCS dataset to investigate the two-way feedback mechanisms between the MJO and MCSs. By compositing MCS activity across different MJO phases and analyzing their environmental conditions, we quantify how the evolving MJO circulation regulates MCS frequency, intensity, and organization. At the same time, we diagnose the aggregate influence of MCS populations on the large-scale MJO circulation through their associated momentum and thermodynamic anomalies. Our results reveal a robust two-way coupling between the MJO and MCSs. Enhanced MCS activity preferentially occurs in specific MJO phases associated with favorable moisture, instability, and vertical shear, indicating strong MJO control on MCS organization. Conversely, periods of enhanced MCS activity are associated with coherent large-scale circulation anomalies consistent with upscale transport of momentum and moisture that reinforce the MJO convective envelope and support its eastward propagation. This feedback suggests that MCSs are not merely passive responses to the MJO environment, but actively contribute to its maintenance and evolution.