Link between the double-Intertropical Convergence Zone problem and cloud biases over the Southern Ocean.

ABSTRACT: The double-Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) problem, in which excessive precipitation is produced in the Southern Hemisphere tropics, which resembles a Southern Hemisphere counterpart to the strong Northern Hemisphere ITCZ, is perhaps the most significant and most persistent bias of global climate models. In this study, we look to the extratropics for possible causes of the double-ITCZ problem by performing a global energetic analysis with historical simulations from a suite of global climate models and comparing with satellite observations of the Earth's energy budget. Our results show that models with more energy flux into the Southern Hemisphere atmosphere (at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface) tend to have a stronger double-ITCZ bias, consistent with recent theoretical

SUBMITTER: Hwang YT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3612620 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature