Feature Tracking and Visualization of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in Climate Simulation

The Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) is one of the less understood aspects of tropical meteorology. It plays a significant role in tropical intraseasonal variations in rain, temperature, and winds over the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Researchers have developed an integrated analysis and visualization tool for MJO episodes simulated by a high-resolution regional model. To distinguish the MJO from other weather phenomena, the tool uses domain knowledge to track the MJO and find the globally optimized properties in the data. To visualize large-scale events in space and time, the tool integrates different visualization components such as a Hovmöller diagram and virtual globe. By linking the visualization components on a Web-based interface, the tool lets scientists more easily identify cloud and environmental processes associated with the MJO´s onset and eastward propagation.