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Assessment of the seasonal variation of simulated Wyrtki jet over the tropical Indian Ocean in CMIP5 models

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Abstract

Performances of the 24 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models in simulating the Wyrtki Jet over the tropical Indian Ocean are evaluated, and the results show large diversity in the simulated current intensity at seasonal timescale. These coupled models are able to capture the dominant spatial distribution of observed Wyrtki Jet, the central equatorial region. The simulated seasonal variations of Wyrtki Jet are also reproduced quantitatively, though the simulated amplitudes from CMIP5 models are quite spread among the CMIP5 models. Compared with the observation, some coupled models are not able to present the evolution of Wyrtki Jet in fall season and the decay phase has been postponed 1 month later. Further diagnostic illustrates that the simulated surface zonal wind has remarkable impact on the evolution of Wyrtki Jet in fall season over the tropical Indian Ocean. This study also points out that there is a common problem in these models that most of them present 1-month delayed Wyrtki Jets peak time than the normal climatological condition along the center equatorial Indian Ocean.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the World Climate Research Program’s Working Group on Coupled Modeling, which is responsible for CMIP, and we thank the climate modeling groups for producing and making available their model output. For CMIP, the US Department of Energy’s Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison provides coordinating support and led development of software infrastructure in partnership with the Global Organization for Earth System Science Portals. This work was supported by Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction Program (No. GASI-IPOVAI-03, GASI-IPOVAI-02, GASI-03-01-03-03), NSFC (NO. 41376037, 41605065, 41306030), and NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (U1406404).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China

    Lin Liu, Baochao Liu, Lin Feng & Weidong Yu

  2. Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

    Lin Liu, Baochao Liu, Lin Feng & Weidong Yu

  3. Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Guoqing Han

  4. Marine Information and Computing Center, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China

    Xinfang Li

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  1. Lin Liu
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  2. Baochao Liu
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  3. Guoqing Han
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  4. Lin Feng
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Correspondence to Lin Liu.

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Liu, L., Liu, B., Han, G. et al. Assessment of the seasonal variation of simulated Wyrtki jet over the tropical Indian Ocean in CMIP5 models. Arab J Geosci 9, 676 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2704-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2704-3

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