Title: Role of Equatorial Cold Tongue in Central Pacific Double-ITCZ Bias in the NCAR CESM1.2

Abstract

Warm SST bias underlying the spurious southern ITCZ has long been recognized as one of the main causes for double-ITCZ bias in coupled GCMs in the central Pacific. This study demonstrates that the NCAR CESM1.2 can still simulate significant double-ITCZ bias even with cold SST bias in the southern ITCZ region, indicating that warm SST bias is not a necessary condition for double-ITCZ bias in the central Pacific. Further analyses suggest that the equatorial cold tongue (ECT) biases play important roles in the formation of double-ITCZ bias in the central Pacific. The severe cold SST biases in the ECT region in the central Pacific may enhance the SST gradient between the ECT and southern ITCZ region, strengthening the lower troposphere dynamical convergence and hence convection in the southern ITCZ region. The formation mechanism of excessive ECT bias is further investigated. It is shown that the cold SST biases in the ECT region can be largely attributed to the anomalous cooling tendency produced by the upper ocean zonal advection due to overly strong zonal currents. In the ECT region, the westward ocean surface zonal current is driven by the equatorial easterly surface winds. In this work, it is shown that convectionmore » bias simulated by the atmospheric model in the equatorial Amazon region may lead to easterly wind bias in the downwind side (west) of convection region. Finally, the mean Walker circulation transports these easterly wind momentum anomalies downward and westward to the surface, resulting in the overly strong surface easterly wind in the central equatorial Pacific.« less

Authors:

Song, Xiaoliang ^[1]; Zhang, Guang Jun ^[1]

---

+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA (United States)

Publication Date:

2020-11-09

Research Org.:

Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)

OSTI Identifier:

1657518

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0016504; SC0019373; AGS-1549259

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Journal of Climate

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 33; Journal Issue: 24; Related Information: Song, X., and G. J. Zhang, 2019: Culprit of the eastern Pacific double-ITCZ bias in the NCAR CESM1.2, J. Climate, 32, 6349-6364.; Journal ID: ISSN 0894-8755

Publisher:

American Meteorological Society

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

58 GEOSCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES