Evolution of the double-ITCZ bias through CESM2 development

Examination of intermediate model versions created as part of the development process for CESM2 shows the improvement in the ITCZ is well correlated with a reduction in the relative warmth of southeast Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) as compared to the broader tropical mean.

Cooling SST in this region enhances the zonal SST and surface pressure gradients and reduces the anomalously southward SST gradient present in boreal spring in early version of CESM2. The improvements in southeast Pacific SST are attributed to increases in low cloud cover and the associated shortwave cloud forcing over the southeast. Sensitivity tests using fixed SST simulations demonstrate the increase in cloud cover between two intermediate model versions, 119 and 125, to be driven by removal of the dependence of autoconversion and accretion rates on cloud water variance as well as the removal of a secondary condensation scheme.