Arctic and Antarctic climatology of a GLAS general circulation model

A Jan.-Feb. climatology model was constructed from the GLAS general circulation model by averaging eight 30-day means of periods from Jan. 15-Feb. 14. The position and intensity of the Aleutian and Icelandic lows in the winter, the central Arctic pressure distribution during winter and summer, and the summertime North Atlantic and North Pacific high pressure regimes were satisfactorily simulated; sensible and evaporative heat fluxes and radiation budget parameters were reasonable, although a rigorous comparison is difficult due to data deficiencies. The model is less successful in simulating the Southern Hemisphere climatology; the 500 mb circumpolar flow is adequate, but the stationary low pressure centers at the surface around the Antarctic continent are not well reproduced.