Abstract
The phase-locking behavior of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in models from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) phase 5 to phase 6 is assessed in terms of the locking-month of ENSO peak and the sharpness of locking tendency. Overall, a robust improvement exists in CMIP6. Compared to CMIP5, more CMIP6 models truly reproduce the locking-month in November-January. Meanwhile, the sharpness of phase-locking in CMIP6 models also improves, though most of them are still far from the observations. The locking-month is verified to be highly corresponding to the phase of seasonal modulation of ENSO’s instabilities. The sharpness is mainly controlled by the intensity of this modulation and noise. Compared to CMIP5, CMIP6 models generally simulate these affecting factors better. Besides, models displaying an exaggerated semi-annual variation of ENSO’s instabilities simulate the ENSO phase-locking relative-poorly, and these models show no reduction from CMIP5 to CMIP6.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
