An intercomparison of CMIP5 and CMIP3 models for interannual variability of summer precipitation in Pan‐Asian monsoon region

• Published in: International journal of climatology Vol. 35; no. 13; pp. 3770 - 3780
• Main Authors: Gao, Ya, Wang, Huijun, Jiang, Dabang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 15.11.2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: CMIP3; CMIP5; Marine; Pan‐Asian monsoon; IS, Pacific
• ISSN: 0899-8418; 1097-0088
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.4245

ABSTRACT Twenty‐one climate models from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (CMIP3) and thirty‐one models from the project's Phase 5 (CMIP5) were used to evaluate model reproducibility in assessing interannual variability of summer precipitation in Pan‐Asian monsoon region. The results show that both the multi‐model ensemble means of the best eight models and of the thirty‐one CMIP5 models are more skilful than those of the CMIP3 models in simulating the climatological pattern and the dominant mode of summer precipitation in Pan‐Asian monsoon region. CMIP5 models show improved skill in representing the main characteristic of the first mode of summer precipitation in Pan‐Asian monsoon region, which is a meridional tripole pattern from north to south occurring east of the 80°E region. That is, owing to the improved El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) pattern and the relationship between Antarctic oscillation in the southern Pacific Ocean (AAOSP) and ENSO, the first dominant mode of summer precipitation in Pan‐Asian monsoon region are captured by CMIP5 models, which indicates that these models are more skilful in simulating the air–sea interaction of the Southern Hemisphere.