ENSO teleconnections in an ensemble of CORDEX-CORE regional simulations

Abstract

Recent high-spatial-resolution regional simulations from the global program, coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment-coordinated output for regional evaluations (CORDEX-CORE), are examined to evaluate the capability of regional climate models (RCMs) to represent the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) precipitation and surface air temperature teleconnections over five regions of the world. We find that the ensemble and individual RCM simulations generally preserve the broad regional scale ENSO signal from the general circulation models (GCMs) over different regions around of the world, reproducing the majority of the observed regional responses to ENSO forcing. Furthermore, in some cases, the RCM ensemble and individual models can improve the spatial pattern of teleconnections and the amplitudes of these patterns compared to the driving global models. Among such cases are the precipitation teleconnections over southern Africa, North America and the Arabian–Asian region. Our study presents the first analysis of ENSO teleconnections in GCM-driven RCMs over multiple regions, and it clearly shows the potential value of using such models non only in a climate change research context, but also in seasonal to annual prediction.