Verifying the Representation of Tropical Easterly Waves in Community Climate Model Version 4
Masters thesis — Naval Postgraduate School, 2019. Full text: https://archive.org/details/verifyingtherepr1094564132
Arguments
Verifying the Representation of Tropical Easterly Waves in Community Climate Model Version 4
African easterly waves seed Atlantic hurricanes — if the model can't reproduce them at realistic rates, its cyclone forecasts aren't worth much; it can, which is a concrete credibility data point for the model.
The Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4) simulates African easterly waves at realistic frequencies versus reanalysis data (1979–2005), as measured by an algorithm detecting 5-knot northerly-to-southerly meridional wind shifts over two days at 700 hPa in the 7–15°N, 20°W–25°W box.
Why it matters
African easterly waves seed Atlantic hurricanes — if the model can't reproduce them at realistic rates, its cyclone forecasts aren't worth much; it can, which is a concrete credibility data point for the model.
Use when: Trust, but verify the weather machine — a model is only as good as its ability to reproduce the phenomena you can already observe.