The Madden-Julian Oscillation in tropical total ozone

We investigate the intraseasonal (30–90 day) variations in satellite-observed tropical total ozone (O3) from AIRS and TOMS/SBUV and their connection to the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). Tropical total O3 intraseasonal variations are large (~±10 DU) and comparable to those in annual and interannual time scales. These O3 anomalies are mainly evident in the subtropics over the Pacific and the eastern hemisphere, with a systematic relationship to MJO convection. The subtropical positive (negative) O3 anomalies are collocated with the subtropical cyclones (anticyclones) genrated by equatorial suppressed (enhanced) MJO convection, flank or lie to the west of equatorial suppressed (enhanced) MJO convection and propagate slowly eastward (~5 m s-1). The subtropical O3 anomalies are anti-correlated with subtropical geopotential height anomalies near the tropopause and thus are mainly associated with O3 variability in the stratosphere rather the troposphere. Over the equatorial regions, total O3 anomalies are small and may be a result of the coupling of the O3 chemistry and dynamics.