Overview

Coupled GCMs suffer from common biases in the Pacific and Atlantic basins. These include the so-called double ITCZ problem, and an associated SST bias along the equator and in the southeastern tropical basins where modelled SST is significantly warmer than observations. VOCALS, building on the previous Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate (EPIC) project, has brought a southeastern Pacific-specific address of these problems. Their observations and high-resolution modeling are improving our understanding of the relevant processes and have encouraged a stronger physical basis to the boundary layer representation in climate models. Significantly, however, these model improvements have had less impact on the simulated SSTs in the Atlantic than for the Pacific. This workshop intends to bring focus specifically to the bias problem in the tropical Atlantic. A goal is to develop a coherent synthesis of existing knowledge for this region, to identify a network of interested researchers, and articulate an effective way forward.

Agenda

Draft agenda (version 22 March 2011)

Venue

The workshop will be held at the University of Miami Prokop Newman Alumni Center - Coral Gables Main Campus.

Presentations

Wednesday, 23rd May 2011

• Welcome, meeting goals (P. Zuidema)
• A multidisciplinary study of the tropical climate: VOCALS report and relevance for the Atlantic workshop (R. Mechoso)
• The Atlantic Climate in CGCM Simulations (L. Terray)
• Tropical Atlantic Biases in CCSM4 (J. Carton)
• Tropical Atlantic Climate Experiment (P. Brandt)
• Relationship of SST biases to winds and terrestrial precipitation (I. Richter)
• An Ocean Perspective (P. Chang)
• Ocean-Atmosphere-Land interactions over W. Africa and E. Atlantic (K. Cook)
• Robust Patterns of Tropical Warming (A. Clement)

Thursday, Morning session, 24th May 2011

• Sulfate aerosol control of tropical Atlantic climate (C. Y. Chang)
• Interactions between S Atlantic stratocumulus and the Meridional Mode (A. Evan)
• Southeast Atlantic Aerosol direct and indirect effects (E. Wilcox)
• The UK SAFARI experience (S. Abel)
• Aerosol effects of Southern African biomass burning aerosol (R. Wood)
• Seasonal Cycle and Interannual Variability: Implications for Models (M. Latif)
• Sea surface temperature variability (C. Reason)
• Tropical Instability Waves: Air-Sea Interactions and Climate Change (H. Seo)
• Benguela Upwelling and Eddies (C. D. Rae)
• On Model mechanisms driving westward extension of SST biases (A. Lazar)
• US agency interest in the Atlantic (M. Patterson)

Thursday, "Key issues at Larger scale" session, 24th May 2011

• Mechanisms setting the scale of the ITCZ (S. Kang)
• Tropical-Atlantic biases of the HiGEM CGCM and their dependence on horizontal resolution (T. Toniazzo)
• Relationship between atmospheric and oceanic biases (C. Patricola)
• Atmospheric response to tropical Atlantic SST anomalies (B. Rodriguez)
• Influence of the south American monsoon on the Atlantic (P. Nobre)
• What caused the mid-20th century increase in Atlantic OHC? (S-K. Lee)
• Perspectives on errors in coupled models (B. Kirtman)
• On the model SST bias in the Gulf of Guinea (J-L. Redelsperger)
• Seasonal forecast biases in IPRC and GFDL models (N. Fuckar)
• Atlantic aerosol and precipitation:remaining questions (C. Zhang)

Thursday, "Key issues at Smaller scale" session, 24th May 2011

• Science questions from SAFARI and remote sensing challenges (S. Platnick)
• Long-term satellite analysis of Atlantic and African clouds (R. Bennartz)
• On the stratocumulus to cumulus transition (I. Sandu)
• On the New CCSM boundary layer (B. Medeiros)
• US oceanographic cruises in the Atlantic (C. Fairall)
• UK research interests (H. Coe)
• German Research in the Southeast Atlantic (S. Kinne)
• Analysis of southeast Atlantic stratocumulus (J-L. Brenguier)
• Priorities at Barbados (L. Nuijens)
• On the stratocumulus to cumulus transition (I. Sandu)
• On the New CCSM boundary layer (B. Medeiros)
• US oceanographic cruises in the Atlantic (C. Fairall)
• UK research interests (H. Coe)
• German Research in the Southeast Atlantic (S. Kinne)

Posters

• A Contrarian View on the Cause of CGCM warm SST biases in the equatorial and southeastern Atlantic (D. DeWitt)
• Biases in the mean state, seasonal and interannual variations in the tropical Atlantic in GFDL climate models (CM2.1 and CM2.5) (T. Doi)
• Decadal predictions of the tropical Atlantic atmosphere (D. Smith)

General info and contact

Nico Caltabiano
ICPO, Southampton, UK
Email: caetano@noc.soton.ac.uk
Phone: +44-(0)23-80596207