The simulation of the northern and southern polar climates for 1979–88 by 14 global climate models (GCMs), using the observed monthly averaged sea-surface temperatures and sea-ice extents as boundary conditions, is part of an international effort to determine the systematic errors of atmospheric models under realistic conditions, the so-called Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP), In this study, intercomparison of the models’ simulation of polar climate is discussed in terms of selected surface and vertically integrated monthly averaged quantities, such as sea-level pressure, cloudiness, precipitable water, precipitation and evaporation/sublimation. The results suggest that the accuracy of model-simulated climate features in high latitudes primarily depends on the horizontal resolution and the treatment of physical processes in the GCMs. AMIP offers an unprecedented opportunity for the comprehensive evaluation and validation of current atmospheric models and provides valuable information for model improvement.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations –citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.