scholarly journals Simulating AOGCM Soil Moisture Using an Off-Line Thornthwaite Potential Evapotranspiration–Based Land Surface Scheme. Part I: Control Runs

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 3097-3117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Cornwell ◽  
L. D. Danny Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Control Climate ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Parameter Values

Abstract Atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) employ very different land surface schemes (LSSs) and, as a result, their predictions of land surface quantities are often difficult to compare. Some of the disagreement in quantities such as soil moisture is likely due to differences in the atmospheric component; however, previous intercomparison studies have determined that different LSSs can produce very different results even when supplied with identical atmospheric forcing. A simple off-line LSS is presented that can reproduce the soil moisture simulations of various AOGCMs, based on their modeled temperature and precipitation. The scheme makes use of the well-established Thornthwaite method for estimating potential evapotranspiration combined with a variation of the Manabe “bucket” model. The model can be tuned to reproduce the control climate soil moisture of an AOGCM by adjusting the ease with which runoff and evapotranspiration continue as the moisture level in the bucket goes down. This produces a set of parameter values that provides a good fit to each of several AOGCM control climates. In addition, the parameter values can be set to imitate the LSS from one AOGCM while the model is forced with atmospheric data from another, thus providing an estimate of the magnitude of variation caused by the differences in land surface parameterization and by differences in atmospheric forcing. In general, the authors find that differences in LSSs account for about half of the difference in soil moisture as simulated by different AOGCMs, and the differences in atmospheric forcing account for the other half of the difference. However, the LSS can be more important than differences in atmospheric forcing in some regions (such as the United States) and less important in others (such as East Africa).

Toward Self-calibrated SM2RAIN-based rainfall product 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Filippucci ◽  
Luca Brocca ◽  
Angelica Tarpanelli ◽  
Christian Massari ◽  
Wolfgang Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Data Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Electromagnetic Properties ◽  
Rainfall Time Series ◽  
Precipitation Measurement ◽  
Parametric Relationships ◽  
Parameter Values ◽  
Global Precipitation

<p>Reliable and detailed precipitation measurements are fundamental in many hydrological and hydraulic applications. In-situ measurements are the traditional source of this information, but the declining number of stations worldwide, the low spatial representativeness and the problems in data access, limit their relevance. In the last years, satellite products have been used to fill the gap of the ground data.</p><p>The estimation of precipitation by satellites can be conceptualized via two different  approaches: the top-down approach, where the rainfall is estimated by exploiting the electromagnetic properties of clouds, and the bottom-up approach, where rainfall is indirectly obtained by exploiting the inversion of the water balance equation once soil moisture observations are observed by satellites. SM2RAIN algorithm <strong>[Brocca et al., 2014]</strong> belongs to the second methodology and has distinguished itself to provide accurate rainfall estimation, particularly in regions characterized by low density of rainfall gauges; however, the use of SM2RAIN relies upon a calibration dataset which represents  a main limitation for its applicability.</p><p>In this study, starting from the kwowledge of Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) soil moisture, topography and climatology of each pixel of land surface, a methodology for the application of SM2RAIN without using observed rainfall time series for calibration is proposed. Four parametric relationships dependent from physical descriptors of each pixel are developed by using 1009 points uniformly distributed in Australia, India, Italy and the United States, allowing the estimation of SM2RAIN parameter values- A global validation of the methodology is conducted by comparing the performance of the parametrized product against those of a calibrated SM2RAIN product. The Final Run version of the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) is used for the performance assessment, together with triple collocation techniques against gauge-based Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC) product and the Early Run version of IMERG.</p><p>The approach was also applied to a high resolution (~1 km) Soil Moisture product over test regions in Italy and Austria obtaining promising results and showing that good quality rainfall estimates at 1 km of spatial resolution can be obtained also without calibration.</p>

HAPEX—MOBILHY: A Hydrologic Atmospheric Experiment the Study of Water Budget and Evaporation Flux at the Climatic Scale

1986 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude André ◽  
Jean-Paul Goutorbe ◽  
Alain Perrier
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Water Budget ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Surface Hydrology ◽  
Land Surface Water ◽  
Evaporation Flux

The HAPEX-MOBILHY program is aimed at studying the hydrological budget and evaporation flux at the scale of a GCM (general circulation model) grid square, i.e., 104 km2. Different surface and subsurface networks will be operated during the year 1986, to measure and monitor soil moisture, surface-energy budget and surface hydrology, as well as atmospheric properties. A two-and-a-half-month special observing period will allow for detailed measurements of atmospheric fluxes and for intensive remote sensing of surface properties using well-instrumented aircraft. The main objective of the program, for which guest investigations are strongly encouraged, is to provide a data base against which parameterization schemes for the land-surface water budget will be tested and developed.

scholarly journals On the role of Eurasian autumn snow cover in dynamical seasonal predictions 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Ruggieri ◽  
Marianna Benassi ◽  
Stefano Materia ◽  
Daniele Peano ◽  
Constantin Ardilouze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Eurasian Snow

<p>Seasonal climate predictions leverage on many predictable or persistent components of the Earth system that can modify the state of the atmosphere and of relant weather related variable such as temprature and precipitation. With a dominant role of the ocean, the land surface provides predictability through various mechanisms, including snow cover, with particular reference to Autumn snow cover over the Eurasian continent. The snow cover alters the energy exchange between land surface and atmosphere and induces a diabatic cooling that in turn can affect the atmosphere both locally and remotely. Lagged relationships between snow cover in Eurasia and atmospheric modes of variability in the Northern Hemisphere have been investigated and documented but are deemed to be non-stationary and climate models typically do not reproduce observed relationships with consensus. The role of Autumn Eurasian snow in recent dynamical seasonal forecasts is therefore unclear. In this study we assess the role of Eurasian snow cover in a set of 5 operational seasonal forecast system characterized by a large ensemble size and a high atmospheric and oceanic resolution. Results are compemented with a set of targeted idealised simulations with atmospheric general circulation models forced by different snow cover conditions. Forecast systems reproduce realistically regional changes of the surface energy balance associated with snow cover variability. Retrospective forecasts and idealised sensitivity experiments converge in identifying a coherent change of the circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. This is compatible with a lagged but fast feedback from the snow to the Arctic Oscillation trough a tropospheric pathway.</p>

scholarly journals An ensemble of AMIP simulations with prescribed land surface temperatures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Ackerley ◽  
Robin Chadwick ◽  
Dietmar Dommenget ◽  
Paola Petrelli
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Solar Constant ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Co2 Concentrations ◽  
Land Surface Temperatures ◽  
Intercomparison Project

Abstract. General circulation models (GCMs) are routinely run under Atmospheric Modelling Intercomparison Project (AMIP) conditions with prescribed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and sea ice concentrations (SICs) from observations. These AMIP simulations are often used to evaluate the role of the land and/or atmosphere in causing the development of systematic errors in such GCMs. Extensions to the original AMIP experiment have also been developed to evaluate the response of the global climate to increased SSTs (prescribed) and carbon-dioxide (CO2) as part of the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP). None of these international modelling initiatives has undertaken a set of experiments where the land conditions are also prescribed, which is the focus of the work presented in this paper. Experiments are performed initially with freely varying land conditions (surface temperature and, soil temperature and mositure) under five different configurations (AMIP, AMIP with uniform 4 K added to SSTs, AMIP SST with quadrupled CO2, AMIP SST and quadrupled CO2 without the plant stomata response, and increasing the solar constant by 3.3 %). Then, the land surface temperatures from the free-land experiments are used to perform a set of “AMIP-prescribed land” (PL) simulations, which are evaluated against their free-land counterparts. The PL simulations agree well with the free-land experiments, which indicates that the land surface is prescribed in a way that is consistent with the original free-land configuration. Further experiments are also performed with different combinations of SSTs, CO2 concentrations, solar constant and land conditions. For example, SST and land conditions are used from the AMIP simulation with quadrupled CO2 in order to simulate the atmospheric response to increased CO2 concentrations without the surface temperature changing. The results of all these experiments have been made publicly available for further analysis. The main aims of this paper are to provide a description of the method used and an initial validation of these AMIP-prescribed land experiments.

scholarly journals Evaluation of ORCHIDEE-MICT-simulated soil moisture over China and impacts of different atmospheric forcing data

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5463-5484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zun Yin ◽  
Catherine Ottlé ◽  
Philippe Ciais ◽  
Matthieu Guimberteau ◽  
Xuhui Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Climatic Research Unit ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Meteorological Forcing ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Moisture Variation ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

Abstract. Soil moisture is a key variable of land surface hydrology, and its correct representation in land surface models is crucial for local to global climate predictions. The errors may come from the model itself (structure and parameterization) but also from the meteorological forcing used. In order to separate the two source of errors, four atmospheric forcing datasets, GSWP3 (Global Soil Wetness Project Phase 3), PGF (Princeton Global meteorological Forcing), CRU-NCEP (Climatic Research Unit-National Center for Environmental Prediction), and WFDEI (WATCH Forcing Data methodology applied to ERA-Interim reanalysis data), were used to drive simulations in China by the land surface model ORCHIDEE-MICT(ORganizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic EcosystEms: aMeliorated Interactions between Carbon and Temperature). Simulated soil moisture was compared with in situ and satellite datasets at different spatial and temporal scales in order to (1) estimate the ability of ORCHIDEE-MICT to represent soil moisture dynamics in China; (2) demonstrate the most suitable forcing dataset for further hydrological studies in Yangtze and Yellow River basins; and (3) understand the discrepancies of simulated soil moisture among simulations. Results showed that ORCHIDEE-MICT can simulate reasonable soil moisture dynamics in China, but the quality varies with forcing data. Simulated soil moisture driven by GSWP3 and WFDEI shows the best performance according to the root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient, respectively, suggesting that both GSWP3 and WFDEI are good choices for further hydrological studies in the two catchments. The mismatch between simulated and observed soil moisture is mainly explained by the bias of magnitude, suggesting that the parameterization in ORCHIDEE-MICT should be revised for further simulations in China. Underestimated soil moisture in the North China Plain demonstrates possible significant impacts of human activities like irrigation on soil moisture variation, which was not considered in our simulations. Finally, the discrepancies of meteorological variables and simulated soil moisture among the four simulations are analyzed. The result shows that the discrepancy of soil moisture is mainly explained by differences in precipitation frequency and air humidity rather than differences in precipitation amount.

scholarly journals The Canadian Earth System Model version 5 (CanESM5.0.3)

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4823-4873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil C. Swart ◽  
Jason N. S. Cole ◽  
Viatcheslav V. Kharin ◽  
Mike Lazare ◽  
John F. Scinocca ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Earth System Model ◽  
System Model ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Historical Climate ◽  
Model Version

Abstract. The Canadian Earth System Model version 5 (CanESM5) is a global model developed to simulate historical climate change and variability, to make centennial-scale projections of future climate, and to produce initialized seasonal and decadal predictions. This paper describes the model components and their coupling, as well as various aspects of model development, including tuning, optimization, and a reproducibility strategy. We also document the stability of the model using a long control simulation, quantify the model's ability to reproduce large-scale features of the historical climate, and evaluate the response of the model to external forcing. CanESM5 is comprised of three-dimensional atmosphere (T63 spectral resolution equivalent roughly to 2.8∘) and ocean (nominally 1∘) general circulation models, a sea-ice model, a land surface scheme, and explicit land and ocean carbon cycle models. The model features relatively coarse resolution and high throughput, which facilitates the production of large ensembles. CanESM5 has a notably higher equilibrium climate sensitivity (5.6 K) than its predecessor, CanESM2 (3.7 K), which we briefly discuss, along with simulated changes over the historical period. CanESM5 simulations contribute to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) and will be employed for climate science and service applications in Canada.

scholarly journals A bare ground evaporation revision in the ECMWF land-surface scheme: evaluation of its impact using ground soil moisture and satellite microwave data

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 3607-3620 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Albergel ◽  
G. Balsamo ◽  
P. de Rosnay ◽  
J. Muñoz-Sabater ◽  
S. Boussetta
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Brightness Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
The United States ◽  
Microwave Emission ◽  
Bare Ground ◽  
New Formulation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Surface Fields

Abstract. In situ soil moisture data from 122 stations across the United States are used to evaluate the impact of a new bare ground evaporation formulation at ECMWF. In November 2010, the bare ground evaporation used in ECMWF's operational Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) was enhanced by adopting a lower stress threshold than for the vegetation, allowing a higher evaporation. It results in more realistic soil moisture values when compared to in situ data, particularly over dry areas. Use was made of the operational IFS and offline experiments for the evaluation. The latter are based on a fixed version of the IFS and make it possible to assess the impact of a single modification, while the operational analysis is based on a continuous effort to improve the analysis and modelling systems, resulting in frequent updates (a few times a year). Considering the field sites with a fraction of bare ground greater than 0.2, the root mean square difference (RMSD) of soil moisture is shown to decrease from 0.118 m3 m−3 to 0.087 m3 m−3 when using the new formulation in offline experiments, and from 0.110 m3 m−3 to 0.088 m3 m−3 in operations. It also improves correlations. Additionally, the impact of the new formulation on the terrestrial microwave emission at a global scale is investigated. Realistic and dynamically consistent fields of brightness temperature as a function of the land surface conditions are required for the assimilation of the SMOS data. Brightness temperature simulated from surface fields from two offline experiments with the Community Microwave Emission Modelling (CMEM) platform present monthly mean differences up to 7 K. Offline experiments with the new formulation present drier soil moisture, hence simulated brightness temperature with its surface fields are larger. They are also closer to SMOS remotely sensed brightness temperature.

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