A variety of largely independent data sets will be used to evaluate the seasonal cycle of the surface energy balance in the AMIP simulations, including surface- and satellite-based observational products and reanalyses. It will be shown that even after accounting for their large uncertainties, the observations suggest several important systematic biases in the simulated surface heat fluxes.
The meridional oceanic heat transport implied by the models will also be summarized. It will be demonstrated that the simulated surface energy balance is extremely sensitive to the treatment of cloud-radiative effects, to the extent that it may drastically affect a model's prospect of being successfully coupled to an ocean GCM.