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The Origin of Systematic Errors in the GCM Simulation of ITCZ Precipitation over Oceans

The Origin of Systematic Errors in the GCM Simulation
of ITCZ Precipitation over Oceans

Winston C. Chao1, Max J. Suarez1*, Julio T. Bacmeister2*,
Baode Chen3* and Lawrence L. Takacs3*

1 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
2 Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of
Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250
3 Science Applications International Corporation, Lanham, MD 20706
* Goddard Modeling and Assimilation Office

This study provides explanations for some of the experimental findings of Chao (2000) and Chao and Chen(2001) concerning the mechanisms responsible for the ITCZ in an aqua-planet model. These explanations are then applied to explain the origin of some of the systematic errors in the GCM simulation of ITCZ precipitation over oceans, including the origin of the "false double ITCZ." The ITCZ systematic errors are highly sensitive to model physics and by extension model horizontal resolution. The findings in this study along with those of Chao (2000) and Chao and Chen (2001, 2004) contribute to building a theoretical foundation for ITCZ study. A few possible methods of alleviating the systematic errors in the GCM simulation of ITCZ are discussed. This study uses a recent version of the Goddard Modeling and Assimilation Office's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) GCM.