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Riley Dellaripa, E. M., and E. D. Maloney, 2015: Analysis of MJO wind-flux feedbacks in the Indian Ocean using RAMA buoy observations. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 93A, 1-20.
https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2015-021

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Highlights:

• This study examined the relative importance of wind-induced surface flux feedbacks to MJO convective destabilization using two RAMA buoys along the equator at 80.5°E and 90°E.
• Fig. 2 shows that intraseasonal latent heat flux (LHFLX) anomalies are roughly 5-7% of TRMM precipitation anomalies at the buoys. Since moist static energy is exported by vertical motions at roughly 10-20% of precipitation (Yu et al. 1998, Sobel et al. 2014), we conclude that LHFLX are an important, though not sufficient, source of moisture for MJO destabilization.
• Fig. 6 shows that wind variability is the dominant contributor to LHFLX anomalies across MJO events, which highlights the importance of wind-induced fluxes to MJO convection.