Evaluation of a CMIP5 derived dynamical global wind wave climate model ensemble

We identify that high performance of GCMs for 'standard' climate variables does not imply high performance for GCM forced wave simulations. We also identify there is little to no benefit in choosing a higher resolution CMIP5 GCM (with resolution of ∼1.4°) over a lower resolution GCM (∼2.8°) to improve skill of GCM forced dynamical wave simulations. With the conscious push towards developing projections of waves and storm surges to aid assessments of possible climate driven impacts to coastal communities, we stress the need to evaluate the performance of a GCM for the marine meteorological climate independently of the performance of the GCM for the 'standard' climate variables.