A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972

<p>The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (<span class="uri">http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo</span>, last access: 9 February 2023) states that “The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a major fluctuation in tropical weather on weekly to monthly timescale. The MJO can be ch...

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Main Author: R. A. Madden
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2023-02-01
Series:History of Geo- and Space Sciences
Online Access:https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/14/33/2023/hgss-14-33-2023.pdf
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author R. A. Madden
R. A. Madden
author_facet R. A. Madden
R. A. Madden
author_sort R. A. Madden
collection DOAJ
description <p>The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (<span class="uri">http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo</span>, last access: 9 February 2023) states that “The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a major fluctuation in tropical weather on weekly to monthly timescale. The MJO can be characterized as an eastward moving `pulse' of cloud and rainfall near the Equator that typically recurs every 30 to 60 days.” Early descriptions of the MJO were contained in two papers by Madden and Julian (1971, 1972). This paper relates the story of developments in tropical meteorology in the 1960s that led to those two papers. The decade saw the first unambiguous identification of large-scale, theoretically predicted, tropical waves. Spectral analysis was used effectively by researchers to link observations with the theoretically expected features of these waves. At the same time, longer time series of observations, faster computers, and an algorithm designed to speed up Fourier transforms, vital for spectral analysis, all became available. These developments set the stage for the oscillation to be recognized.</p>
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spelling doaj.art-4f416e1298834ec8aa11e46eff024bc02023-02-21T13:31:11ZengCopernicus PublicationsHistory of Geo- and Space Sciences2190-50102190-50292023-02-0114334110.5194/hgss-14-33-2023A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972R. A. Madden0R. A. Madden1formerly at: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307, USAretired<p>The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (<span class="uri">http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo</span>, last access: 9 February 2023) states that “The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a major fluctuation in tropical weather on weekly to monthly timescale. The MJO can be characterized as an eastward moving `pulse' of cloud and rainfall near the Equator that typically recurs every 30 to 60 days.” Early descriptions of the MJO were contained in two papers by Madden and Julian (1971, 1972). This paper relates the story of developments in tropical meteorology in the 1960s that led to those two papers. The decade saw the first unambiguous identification of large-scale, theoretically predicted, tropical waves. Spectral analysis was used effectively by researchers to link observations with the theoretically expected features of these waves. At the same time, longer time series of observations, faster computers, and an algorithm designed to speed up Fourier transforms, vital for spectral analysis, all became available. These developments set the stage for the oscillation to be recognized.</p>https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/14/33/2023/hgss-14-33-2023.pdf
spellingShingle R. A. Madden
R. A. Madden
A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972
History of Geo- and Space Sciences
title A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972
title_full A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972
title_fullStr A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972
title_full_unstemmed A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972
title_short A pioneering time of discoveries in large-scale tropical meteorology: 1960 through 1972
title_sort pioneering time of discoveries in large scale tropical meteorology 1960 through 1972
url https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/14/33/2023/hgss-14-33-2023.pdf
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AT ramadden pioneeringtimeofdiscoveriesinlargescaletropicalmeteorology1960through1972
AT ramadden pioneeringtimeofdiscoveriesinlargescaletropicalmeteorology1960through1972