Software Metapapers
A Python Package to Calculate the OLR-Based Index of the Madden- Julian-Oscillation (OMI) in Climate Science and Weather Forecasting
Authors:
- Christoph G. HoffmannEmail Christoph G. Hoffmann
- George N. Kiladis
- Maria Gehne
- Christian von Savigny
Abstract
The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a prominent feature of the intraseasonal variability of the atmosphere. The MJO strongly modulates tropical precipitation and has implications around the globe for weather, climate and basic atmospheric research. The time-dependent state of the MJO is described by MJO indices, which are calculated through sometimes complicated statistical approaches from meteorological variables. One of these indices is the OLR-based MJO Index (OMI; OLR stands for outgoing longwave radiation). The Python package mjoindices, which is described in this paper, provides the first open source implementation of the OMI algorithm, to our knowledge. The package meets state-of-the-art criteria for sustainable research software, like automated tests and a persistent archiving to aid the reproducibility of scientific results. The agreement of the OMI values calculated with this package and the original OMI values is also summarized here. There are several reuse scenarios; the most probable one is MJO-related research based on atmospheric models, since the index values have to be recalculated for each model run.
- Year: 2021
- Volume: 9 Issue: 1
- Page/Article: 9
- DOI: 10.5334/jors.331
- Submitted on 20 Apr 2020
- Accepted on 13 Apr 2021
- Published on 14 May 2021
- Peer Reviewed