Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-44
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-44
10 Mar 2023
 | 10 Mar 2023
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal TC.

Brief communication: Significant cold bias in ERA5 output for McMurdo region, Antarctica

Ricardo Garza-Giron and Slawek M. Tulaczyk

Abstract. The ERA5 climate reanalysis dataset plays an important role in applications such as monitoring and modelling climate system changes in polar regions, so the calibration of the reanalysis to ground observations is of great relevance. Here, we compare the 2-meter air temperature time series of the ERA5 reanalysis to the near-ground air temperature measured in 17 Automatic Weather Stations in the McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. We find that the reanalysis data has a systematic cold bias of ~5 °C. Our results show that future work should rely on secondary observations to calibrate when using the ERA5 reanalysis in polar regions.

Ricardo Garza-Giron and Slawek M. Tulaczyk

Status: open (until 05 May 2023)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse

Ricardo Garza-Giron and Slawek M. Tulaczyk

Ricardo Garza-Giron and Slawek M. Tulaczyk

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Short summary
By analyzing temperature time series over more than 20 years, we have found a discrepancy between the 2-meter temperature values reported by the ERA5 reanalysis and the Automatic Weather Stations in the McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The ERA5 reanalysis temperatures are systematically colder by ~5 °C.