Non‐Uniqueness in ITCZ Latitude Due To Radiation‐Circulation Coupling in an Idealized GCM.

An idealized aquaplanet moist global atmospheric model with realistic radiative transfer but no clouds and no convective parameterization is found to possess multiple climate equilibria. When forced symmetrically about the equator, in some cases the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migrates to an off‐equatorial equilibrium position. Mechanism denial experiments prescribing relative humidity imply that radiation‐circulation coupling is essential to this instability. The cross‐equatorial asymmetry occurs only when the underlying slab ocean is sufficiently deep and the atmosphere's spectral dynamical core is sufficiently coarse (∼T170 or less with our control parameters). At higher resolutions, initializing with an asymmetric state indicates metastability with very slow (thousands of days) return to hemispheric symmetry. There is some sensitivity to the model timestep, which affects the time required to transition to the asymmetric state, with little effect on the equilibrium climate. The instability is enhanced when the planetary boundary layer scheme favors deeper layers or by a prescribed meridional heat transport away from the equator within the slab. The instability is not present when the model is run with a convective parameterization scheme commonly utilized in idealized moist models. We argue that the instability occurs when the asymmetric heating associated with a spontaneous ITCZ shift drives a circulation that rises poleward of the perturbed ITCZ. These results serve as a warning of the potential for instability and non‐uniqueness of climate that may complicate studies with idealized models of the tropical response to perturbations in forcing. Plain Language Summary: Much of the rainfall in the tropics occurs in the Intertropical Convergence Zones (ITCZs). These regions are associated with the convergence of surface winds, which produces the rising air required to feed the Hadley cells. The ITCZ location is known to be determined by the spatial distribution of atmospheric heating as the Hadley cells act to erase thermal imbalance within the tropics. With hemispherically symmetric heating, a symmetric equatorial ITCZ is expected. However, it is shown in this paper that changes in the ITCZ location affect the distribution of the radiative cooling of the atmosphere through changes in the water vapor distribution, which may make the equatorial ITCZ unstable under some circumstances. In this situation, two alternative climates with the ITCZ shifted into either one of the hemispheres exist. This instability may play an important role for understanding the distribution of tropical precipitation and the potential for the existence of multiple climates for the same set of external conditions. Key Points: The equatorial ITCZ can be destabilized by radiation‐circulation coupling in a hemispherically symmetric aquaplanet modelAs the ITCZ drifts off the equator two different asymmetric equilibria may exist under symmetric forcing and boundary conditionsA theory is proposed based on the energy flux equator sensitivity to the perturbed asymmetric heating when the ITCZ moves off the equator [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]