Abstract
We examine the Central Andes in 18 coupled climate models with similar atmospheric forcing but differing orographies (the maximum height varies by over 5000m) in order to examine the interplay between simulated orography and the dynamics of the South American Monsoon. We compare surface temperatures and precipitation over the Central Andes for the late 20th century from observations with output available at The Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison (PCMDI) for the coupled climate models submitted to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 4th Assessment (IPCC-AR4). Our analysis demonstrates that temperature, precipitation and seasonality are correlated with mountain volume over the Central Andes.
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