The Role of Tropical–Extratropical Interaction and Synoptic Variability in Maintaining the South Pacific Convergence Zone in CMIP5 Models

The South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) is simulated as too zonal a feature in the current generation of climate models, including those in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). This zonal bias induces errors in tropical convective heating, with subsequent effects on global circulation. The SPCZ structure, particularly in the subtropics, is governed by the tropical–extratropical interaction between transient synoptic systems and the mean background state. In this study, analysis of synoptic variability in the simulated subtropical SPCZ reveals that the basic mechanism of tropical–extratropical interaction is generally well simulated, with storms approaching the SPCZ along comparable trajectories to observations. However, there is a broad spread in mean precipitation and its variability across the CMIP5 ensemble. Intermodel spread appears to relate to a biased background state in which the synoptic waves propagate. In particular, the region of mean negative zonal stretching deformation or “storm graveyard” in the upper troposphere is displaced in CMIP5 models to the northeast of its position in reanalysis data, albeit with pronounced (≈25°) intermodel longitudinal spread. Precipitation along the eastern edge of the SPCZ shifts in accordance with a storm graveyard shift, and in general models with stronger storm graveyards show higher precipitation variability. Building on prior SPCZ research, it is suggested that SPCZs simulated by CMIP5 models are not simply too zonal; rather, in models the subtropical SPCZ manifests a diagonal tilt similar to observations while SST biases force an overly zonal tropical SPCZ, resulting in a more discontinuous SPCZ than observed.