Performance of the Taiwan Earth System Model in Simulating Climate Variability Compared With Observations and CMIP6 Model Simulations

• Published in: Journal of advances in modeling earth systems Vol. 13; no. 7
• Main Authors: Wang, Yi‐Chi, Hsu, Huang‐Hsiung, Chen, Chao‐An, Tseng, Wan‐Ling, Hsu, Pei‐Chun, Lin, Cheng‐Wei, Chen, Yu‐Luen, Jiang, Li‐Chiang, Lee, Yu‐Chi, Liang, Hsin‐Chien, Chang, Wen‐Ming, Lee, Wei‐Liang, Shiu, Chein‐Jung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2021; American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• Subjects: Aerosols; Atmospheric models; Climate; Climate change; Climate models; Climate variability; Climatological means; Clouds; CMIP6; Convection; Cumulus clouds; Earth; Evaluation; Extreme weather; Intercomparison; Laboratories; model evaluation; Precipitation; Radiation; Radiation absorption; Rain; Rainfall; Science; Short wave radiation; TaiESM; Teleconnection patterns; Variability; Beijing China; Canada; United States > US; China; Japan; Taiwan; France; Germany
• ISSN: 1942-2466; 1942-2466
• DOI: 10.1029/2020MS002353

This study evaluates the performance of the Taiwan Earth System Model version 1 (TaiESM1) in simulating the observed climate variability in the historical simulation of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 6 (CMIP6). TaiESM1 is developed on the basis of the Community Earth System Model version 1.2.2, with the inclusion of several new physical schemes and improvements in the atmosphere model. The new additions include an improved triggering function in the cumulus convection scheme, a revised distribution‐based formula in the cloud fraction scheme, a new aerosol scheme, and a unique scheme for three‐dimensional surface absorption of shortwave radiation that accounts for the influence of complex terrains. In contrast to the majority of model evaluation processes, which focus mainly on the climatological mean, this evaluation focuses on climate variability parameters, including the diurnal rainfall cycle, precipitation extremes, synoptic eddy activity, intraseasonal fluctuation, monsoon evolution, and interannual and multidecadal atmospheric and oceanic teleconnection patterns. A series of intercomparisons between the simulations of TaiESM1 and CMIP6 models and observations indicate that TaiESM1, a participating model in CMIP6, can realistically simulate the observed climate variability at various time scales and are among the leading CMIP6 models in terms of many key climate features. Plain Language Summary Earth System Models are important tools for understanding how earth system changes and providing information for mitigation and adaption facing future climate changes. Taiwan Earth System Model version 1 (TaiESM1) is developed in the Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, with the goal to join the effort of the international model intercomparison—the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 6 (CMIP6). Based on the Community Earth System Model version 1, key improvements of TaiESM1 are in the representation of how raining systems starts, how cloud covers shade, how aerosols form and dissipate, and how topography reflects sunlight. We compare TaiESM1s performance with observations and other CMIP6 models to understand TaiESM1’s capability in simulating climate systems and future climate changes. We especially focus on evaluating the climate variability on a wide range of time scales, i.e., how climate systems change on those of within one day, day‐to‐day, seasonal, year‐to‐year, and decades‐to‐decades. Our analysis shows that TaiESM1 can realistically represent the observed climate variability and would help to expand our understandings of the earth system with the global scientific community and society as a whole. Key Points Climate variability in the historical simulation of Taiwan Earth System Model version 1 (TaiESM1) is evaluated While still subject to several common biases, TaiESM1's performance of mean climate states is among the leading CMIP6 models TaiESM1 is capable of realistically simulating key climate features, including the diurnal rainfall, monsoon evolution, and teleconnection