Boyle, J. S., 1994a: The interrelationship
between temperature changes in the free atmosphere microwave sounding unit
and sea surface temperature changes in a 10-year atmospheric model intercomparison
project climate simulation. Journal of Geophysical Research, 99,
No. D5, . 10,365-10,375.
A 10-year atmospheric simulation was run using the European Centre
for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (cycle 36) model for the decade 1979-1988.
The observed monthly mean sea surface temperatures were specified in the
integration. This simulation was part of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison
Project. From the output of the model, simulated monthly mean microwave
sounding unit (MSU) temperatures were computed. The anomalies of these
monthly MSU temperatures were then compared to the observations and to
previously published works. The results are as follows: (1) The model displays
similar patterns of MSU/sea surface temperature (SST) correlations to the
data of Trenberth et al. (1992). These patterns are formed by spatial variations
in the SST signal and by the varying response of the atmosphere to SST
changes. (2) The model evidently underestimates the air-sea exchange of
heat in the region of the Kuroshio current. (3) The point correlation patterns
in the MSU temperatures for the 10-year period are strongly influenced
by El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in this decade. (4) The dominance
of the signal of the 1982/ 1983 and 1986/1987 events makes it risky to
extend the relationships seen in this decade to other, less active periods.
(5) The model tends to produce MSU anomalies in good accord with the observations
only during ENSO western Pacific warm events.