How Robust Is the Weakening of the Pacific Walker Circulation in CMIP5 Idealized Transient Climate Simulations

AbstractThe tropical overturning circulations are likely weakening under increased CO2 forcing. However, insufficient understanding of the circulations’ dynamics diminishes the full confidence in such a response. Based on a CMIP5 idealized climate experiment, this study investigates the changes in the Pacific Walker circulation under anthropogenic forcing and the sensitivity of its weakening response to internal variability, general circulation model (GCM) configuration, and indexing method. The sensitivity to internal variability is analyzed by using a 68-member ensemble of the MPI-ESM-LR model, and the influence of model physics is analyzed by using the 28-member CMIP5 ensemble. Three simple circulation indices—based on mean sea level pressure, 500-hPa vertical velocity, and 200-hPa velocity potential—are computed for each member of the two ensembles. The study uses the output of the CMIP5 idealized transient climate simulations with 1% yr−1 CO2 increase from preindustrial level, and investigates the de...