The MJO has been a fascinating phenomenon in the tropics to many atmospheric and oceanic scientists since it was first documented using modern observations by Drs. Rolland Madden and Paul Julian in 1971. The MJO presents itself as the coherent signal in precipitation and zonal winds that propagates eastward along the equator at an averaged speed of 5 m/s from the Indian to western/central Pacific Oceans. The local period of the MJO is 30 - 90 days, hence the tropical intraseasonal oscillation, another popular name for the MJO. My review article (Zhang 2005) provides more detailed information about the MJO.

My past research on the MJO covered subjects such as its interaction with the ocean, its influences on atmospheric water vapor, its eastward propagating property, its large-scale structure, and its possible effects on El Nino - Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

My current research on the MJO continues on the subject of its interaction with ENSO, especially its role as a source of stochastic forcing to ENSO. Meanwhile, working with my student and postdoctoral colleagues, I also explore the genesis mechanisms for the MJO using a global tropical mesoscale model, strive to understand the difficulties of realistically simulating the MJO by state-of-art global climate models (GCMs), and document the structure and variability of latent heating associated with the MJO using both satellite (TRMM) and global reanalysis products.

My publications on this subject:

Zhang, C., S.M. Hagos, W.-K. Tao, S. Lang, Y.N. Takayabu, S. Shige, M. Katsumata, W.S. Olson, and T. L'Ecuyer, 2009: MJO Signals in Latent Heating: TRMM Observations. J. Atmos. Sci., submitted. (manuscript).

Ray, P., and C. Zhang, 2009: A Case Study on the Mechanisms of Extratropical Influence on the Madden-Julian Oscillation. J. Atm. Sci., in press. (manuscript)

US CLIVAR Madden-Julian Oscillation Working Group (L. Donner, J. Gottschalck, H. Hendon, W. Higgins, I. Kang, D. Kim, D. Legler, E. Maloney, M.Moncrieff, S. Schubert, K. Sperber, W. Stern, F. Vitart, D. Waliser, B. Wang, W. Wang, K.Weickmann, M. Wheeler, S. Woolnough, C. Zhang), 2009: MJO Simulation Diagnostics, J. Clim., 22, 3006-3030. (reprint).

Ray, P., C. Zhang, J. Dudhia, S.S. Chen, 2009: A Numerical Case Study on the Initiation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation. J. Atm. Sci., 66, 310-331. (reprint)

Li, C., X. Jia, J. Ling, W. Zhou, and C. Zhang, 2009: Sensitivity of MJO simulations to convective heating profiles. Clim. Dyn., 32, 167-187. (reprint)

Hendon, H.H., M.C. Wheeler, and C. Zhang, 2007: Seasonal Dependence of the MJO-E l Nino Relationship. J. Clim., 20, 531-543. (reprint)

Zhang, C, M. Dong, S. Gualdi, H. H. Hendon, E. D. Maloney, A. Marshall, K. R. Sperber, and W. Wang, 2006: Simulations of the Madden-Julian Oscillation by Four Pairs of Coupled and Uncoupled Global Models. Climate Dynamics, DOI: 10.1007/s00382-006-0148-2. (reprint)

Zavala-Garay J., C. Zhang, A. M. Moore, A. Wittenberg, M. Harrison, A. Rosati, A .T. Weaver, and J. Vialard, 2006: Sensitivity of hybrid ENSO models to uncoupled atmospheric variability. J. Climate, submitted. (manuscript)

Zhang, C., 2005: Madden-Julian Oscillation. Rev. Geophys, 43, RG2003, doi:10. 1029/2004RG000158, 2005. (reprint)

Zavala-Garay, J., C. Zhang, A.M. Moore, and R. Kleeman, 2005: On the linear r esponse of ENSO to the Madden-Julian Oscillation. J. Climate, 18, 2441-2459. (reprint)

Zhang, C. and M. Dong, 2004: Seasonality of the Madden-Julian Oscillation. J. Climate, 17, 3169-3180. (reprint)

Zhang, C., and S.P. Anderson, 2003: Sensitivity of intraseasonal perturbation s in SST to the structure of the MJO. J. Atmos. Sci., 60, 2196-2207. (reprint)

Zhang, C., and J. Gottschalck, 2002: SST anomalies of ENSO and the Madden-Jul ian Oscillation in the equatorial Pacific. J. Climate, 15, 2429-2445.(reprint )

Zhang, C., 2001: Intraseasonal perturbations in sea surface temperatures of the equatorial eastern Pacific and their association with the Madden-Julian Oscillation. J. Climate, 14, 1309-1322. (reprint)

Zhang, C., H.H. Hendon, W.S. Kessler, and A. Rosati, 2001: A workshop on the MJO and ENSO. Bull. Ameri. Metero. Soc. , 82, 971-976. (reprint)

Zhang, C., and M. J. McPhaden, 2000: Intraseasonal surface cooling in the equatorial western Pacific. J. Climate, 13, 2261-2276. (reprint)

Hendon, H. H., C. Zhang, and J. Glick, 1999: Interannual variation of the Madden-Julian oscillation during austral summer. J. Climate, 12, 2538-2550. (reprint)

Zhang, C. and H.H. Hendon, 1997: Propagating and stationary components of the intraseasonal oscillation in tropical convection. J. Atmos. Sci.,< b>54, 753-767. (reprint)

Brown, R. G., and C. Zhang, 1997: Variability of midtropospheric humidity and its effect on cloud-top height distribution during TOGA COARE. J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 2760-2774. (reprint)

Zhang, C., 1997: Intraseasonal variability of the upper-ocean temperature structure observed at 0 and 165E. J. Climate, 10, 3077-3092. (reprint)

Zhang, C., 1996: Atmospheric intraseasonal variability at the surface in the western Pacific Ocean. J. Atmos. Sci., 53, 739-785. (reprint)