ENSO Terms of Reference

  • Better understand the role of different physical processes that influence ENSO characteristics and the diversity of El Niño events on decadal time scales.
  • Provide a synthesis of existing ENSO evaluation methods in GCMs.
  • Propose ENSO evaluation protocols and develop a strategy for coordinated ENSO analysis of CMIP models, including development and maintenance of an interactive website, in coordination with the WGCM Metrics Panel.
  • Propose ENSO specific simulations for consideration by CMIP6 (“ENSOMIP”).
  • Promote community best practice in ENSO evaluation and understanding in GCMs
  • Identify new observations needed to better constrain ENSO processes, both for the current climate and for past climates (via paleo proxies and TPOS).
  • Provide a better understanding of how ENSO might change in the future.