European Geosciences Union, Earth System Dynamics, 4(7), p. 851-861, 2016
European Geosciences Union, Earth System Dynamics Discussions, p. 1-20
DOI: 10.5194/esd-2016-14
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Abstract. We show how factorial regression can be used to analyse numerical model experiments, testing the effect of different model settings. We analysed results from a coupled atmosphere–ocean model to explore how the different choices in the experimental set-up influence the seasonal predictions. These choices included a representation of the sea ice and the height of top of the atmosphere, and the results suggested that the simulated monthly mean air temperatures poleward of the mid-latitudes were highly sensitivity to the specification of the top of the atmosphere, interpreted as the presence or absence of a stratosphere. The seasonal forecasts for the mid-latitudes to high latitudes were also sensitive to whether the model set-up included a dynamic or non-dynamic sea-ice representation, although this effect was somewhat less important than the role of the stratosphere. The air temperature in the tropics was insensitive to these choices.