scholarly journals Toward seamless hydrologic predictions across scales

Author(s):  
Luis Samaniego ◽  
Rohini Kumar ◽  
Stephan Thober ◽  
Oldrich Rakovec ◽  
Matthias Zink ◽  
...  

Abstract. Land surface and hydrologic models (LSM/HM) are used at diverse spatial resolutions ranging from 1–10 km in catchment-scale applications to over 50 km in global-scale applications. Application of the same model structure at different spatial scales requires that the model estimates similar fluxes independent of the model resolution and fulfills a flux-matching condition across scales. An analysis of state-of-the-art LSMs and HMs reveals that most do not have consistent and realistic parameter fields for land surface geophysical properties. Multiple experiments with the mHM, Noah-MP, PCR-GLOBWB and WaterGAP models are conducted to demonstrate the pitfalls of poor parameterization practices currently used in most operational models, which are insufficient to satisfy the flux-matching condition. These examples demonstrate that J. Dooge's 1982 statement on the unsolved problem of parameterization in these models remains true. We provide a short review of existing parameter regionalization techniques and discuss a method for obtaining seamless hydrological predictions of water fluxes and states across multiple spatial resolutions. The multiscale parameter regionalization (MPR) technique is a practical and robust method that provides consistent (seamless) parameter and flux fields across scales. A general model protocol is presented to describe how MPR can be applied to a specific model, with an example of this application using the PCR-GLOBWB model. Applying MPR to PCR-GLOBWB substantially improves the flux-matching condition. Estimation of evapotranspiration without MPR at 5 arcmin and 30 arcmin spatial resolutions for the Rhine river basin results in a difference of approximately 29 %. Applying MPR reduce this difference to 9 %. For total soil water, the differences without and with MPR are 25 % and 7 %, respectively.

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 4323-4346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Samaniego ◽  
Rohini Kumar ◽  
Stephan Thober ◽  
Oldrich Rakovec ◽  
Matthias Zink ◽  
...  

Abstract. Land surface and hydrologic models (LSMs/HMs) are used at diverse spatial resolutions ranging from catchment-scale (1–10 km) to global-scale (over 50 km) applications. Applying the same model structure at different spatial scales requires that the model estimates similar fluxes independent of the chosen resolution, i.e., fulfills a flux-matching condition across scales. An analysis of state-of-the-art LSMs and HMs reveals that most do not have consistent hydrologic parameter fields. Multiple experiments with the mHM, Noah-MP, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP models demonstrate the pitfalls of deficient parameterization practices currently used in most operational models, which are insufficient to satisfy the flux-matching condition. These examples demonstrate that J. Dooge's 1982 statement on the unsolved problem of parameterization in these models remains true. Based on a review of existing parameter regionalization techniques, we postulate that the multiscale parameter regionalization (MPR) technique offers a practical and robust method that provides consistent (seamless) parameter and flux fields across scales. Herein, we develop a general model protocol to describe how MPR can be applied to a particular model and present an example application using the PCR-GLOBWB model. Finally, we discuss potential advantages and limitations of MPR in obtaining the seamless prediction of hydrological fluxes and states across spatial scales.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Piles ◽  
Roberto Fernandez-Moran ◽  
Luis Gómez-Chova ◽  
Gustau Camps-Valls ◽  
Dara Entekhabi ◽  
...  

<p>The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) mission is currently being developed as a High Priority Copernicus Mission to support the Integrated European Policy for the Arctic. Due to its measurement characteristics, CIMR has exciting capabilities to enable a unique set of land surface products and science applications at a global scale. These characteristics go beyond what previous microwave radiometers (e.g. AMSR series, SMAP and SMOS) provide, and therefore allow for entirely new approaches to the estimation of bio-geophysical products from brightness temperature observations. Most notably, CIMR channels (L-,C-,X-,Ka-,Ku-bands) are very well fit for the simultaneous retrieval of soil moisture and vegetation properties, like biomass and moisture of different plant components such as leaves, stems or trunks. Also, the distinct spatial resolution of each frequency band allows for the development of approaches to cascade information and obtain these properties at multiple spatial scales. From a temporal perspective, CIMR has a higher revisit time than previous L-band missions dedicated to soil moisture monitoring (about 1 day global, sub-daily at the poles). This improved temporal resolution could allow resolving critical time scales of water processes, which is relevant to better model and understand land-atmosphere exchanges and feedbacks. In this presentation, new opportunities for soil moisture remote sensing made possible by the CIMR mission, as well as synergies and cross-sensor opportunities will be discussed.  </p>


2022 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-54
Author(s):  
Fanny Lehmann ◽  
Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma ◽  
Jonathan Bamber

Abstract. The water budget equation describes the exchange of water between the land, ocean, and atmosphere. Being able to adequately close the water budget gives confidence in our ability to model and/or observe the spatio-temporal variations in the water cycle and its components. Due to advances in observation techniques, satellite sensors, and modelling, a number of data products are available that represent the components of water budget in both space and time. Despite these advances, closure of the water budget at the global scale has been elusive. In this study, we attempt to close the global water budget using precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff data at the catchment scale. The large number of recent state-of-the-art datasets provides a new evaluation of well-used datasets. These estimates are compared to terrestrial water storage (TWS) changes as measured by the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission. We investigated 189 river basins covering more than 90 % of the continental land area. TWS changes derived from the water balance equation were compared against GRACE data using two metrics: the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and the cyclostationary NSE. These metrics were used to assess the performance of more than 1600 combinations of the various datasets considered. We found a positive NSE and cyclostationary NSE in 99 % and 62 % of the basins examined respectively. This means that TWS changes reconstructed from the water balance equation were more accurate than the long-term (NSE) and monthly (cyclostationary NSE) mean of GRACE time series in the corresponding basins. By analysing different combinations of the datasets that make up the water balance, we identified data products that performed well in certain regions based on, for example, climatic zone. We identified that some of the good results were obtained due to the cancellation of errors in poor estimates of water budget components. Therefore, we used coefficients of variation to determine the relative quality of a data product, which helped us to identify bad combinations giving us good results. In general, water budget components from ERA5-Land and the Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) performed better than other products for most climatic zones. Conversely, the latest version of CLSM, v2.2, performed poorly for evapotranspiration in snow-dominated catchments compared, for example, with its predecessor and other datasets available. Thus, the nature of the catchment dynamics and balance between components affects the optimum combination of datasets. For regional studies, the combination of datasets that provides the most realistic TWS for a basin will depend on its climatic conditions and factors that cannot be determined a priori. We believe that the results of this study provide a road map for studying the water budget at catchment scale.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Schick ◽  
Ole Rössler ◽  
Rolf Weingartner

Abstract. Model output statistics (MOS) methods empirically relate an environmental variable of interest to predictions from general circulation models (GCMs). This variable often belongs to a spatial scale not resolved by the GCM. Here, using the linear model fitted by least squares, we regress monthly mean streamflow of the Rhine River at Lobith and Basel against seasonal predictions of precipitation, surface air temperature, and runoff from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. To address potential effects of a scale mismatch between the GCM's horizontal grid resolution and the hydrological application, the MOS method is further tested with an experiment conducted at the subcatchment scale. This experiment applies the MOS method to 133 additional gauging stations located within the Rhine basin and combines the forecasts from the subcatchments to predict streamflow at Lobith and Basel. In so doing, the MOS method is tested for catchments areas covering four orders of magnitude. Using data from the period 1981–2011, the results show that skill, with respect to climatology, is restricted to the first month ahead. This result holds for both the predictor combination that mimics the initial conditions and the predictor combinations that additionally include the dynamical seasonal predictions. The latter, however, reduces the mean absolute error of the former in the range of 5 to 11 percent, which is consistently reproduced at the subcatchment scale. The results further indicate that bias corrected runoff from the H-TESSEL land surface model is an interesting option when it comes to seasonal streamflow forecasting in large river basins.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob R. Schaperow ◽  
Dongyue Li ◽  
Steven A. Margulis ◽  
Dennis P. Lettenmaier

AbstractHydrologic models predict the spatial and temporal distribution of water and energy at the land surface. Currently, parameter availability limits global-scale hydrologic modelling to very coarse resolution, hindering researchers from resolving fine-scale variability. With the aim of addressing this problem, we present a set of globally consistent soil and vegetation parameters for the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model at 1/16° resolution (approximately 6 km at the equator), with spatial coverage from 60°S to 85°N. Soil parameters derived from interpolated soil profiles and vegetation parameters estimated from space-based MODIS measurements have been compiled into input files for both the Classic and Image drivers of the VIC model, version 5. Geographical subsetting codes are provided, as well. Our dataset provides all necessary land surface parameters to run the VIC model at regional to global scale. We evaluate VICGlobal’s ability to simulate the water balance in the Upper Colorado River basin and 12 smaller basins in the CONUS, and their ability to simulate the radiation budget at six SURFRAD stations in the CONUS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2838
Author(s):  
Yaping Mo ◽  
Yongming Xu ◽  
Huijuan Chen ◽  
Shanyou Zhu

Land surface temperature (LST) is an important environmental parameter in climate change, urban heat islands, drought, public health, and other fields. Thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing is the main method used to obtain LST information over large spatial scales. However, cloud cover results in many data gaps in remotely sensed LST datasets, greatly limiting their practical applications. Many studies have sought to fill these data gaps and reconstruct cloud-free LST datasets over the last few decades. This paper reviews the progress of LST reconstruction research. A bibliometric analysis is conducted to provide a brief overview of the papers published in this field. The existing reconstruction algorithms can be grouped into five categories: spatial gap-filling methods, temporal gap-filling methods, spatiotemporal gap-filling methods, multi-source fusion-based gap-filling methods, and surface energy balance-based gap-filling methods. The principles, advantages, and limitations of these methods are described and discussed. The applications of these methods are also outlined. In addition, the validation of filled LST values’ cloudy pixels is an important concern in LST reconstruction. The different validation methods applied for reconstructed LST datasets are also reviewed herein. Finally, prospects for future developments in LST reconstruction are provided.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2355
Author(s):  
Linglin Zeng ◽  
Yuchao Hu ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Xiang Zhang ◽  
Guozhang Peng ◽  
...  

Air temperature (Ta) is a required input in a wide range of applications, e.g., agriculture. Land Surface Temperature (LST) products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are widely used to estimate Ta. Previous studies of these products in Ta estimation, however, were generally applied in small areas and with a small number of meteorological stations. This study designed both temporal and spatial experiments to estimate 8-day and daily maximum and minimum Ta (Tmax and Tmin) on three spatial scales: climate zone, continental and global scales from 2009 to 2018, using the Random Forest (RF) method based on MODIS LST products and other auxiliary data. Factors contributing to the relation between LST and Ta were determined based on physical models and equations. Temporal and spatial experiments were defined by the rules of dividing the training and validation datasets for the RF method, in which the stations selected in the training dataset were all included or not in the validation dataset. The RF model was first trained and validated on each spatial scale, respectively. On a global scale, model accuracy with a determination coefficient (R2) > 0.96 and root mean square error (RMSE) < 1.96 °C and R2 > 0.95 and RMSE < 2.55 °C was achieved for 8-day and daily Ta estimations, respectively, in both temporal and spatial experiments. Then the model was trained and cross-validated on each spatial scale. The results showed that the data size and station distribution of the study area were the main factors influencing the model performance at different spatial scales. Finally, the spatial patterns of the model performance and variable importance were analyzed. Both daytime and nighttime LST had a significant contribution in the 8-day Tmax estimation on all the three spatial scales; while their contribution in daily Tmax estimation varied over different continents or climate zones. This study was expected to improve our understanding of Ta estimation in terms of accuracy variations and influencing variables on different spatial and temporal scales. The future work mainly includes identifying underlying mechanisms of estimation errors and the uncertainty sources of Ta estimation from a local to a global scale.


Author(s):  
J. Knight

Abstract Slope and lowland sediment systems throughout southern Africa are dominated by the presence of colluvium with interbedded palaeosols and hardground duricrusts. These sediments correspond to phases of land surface instability and stability, respectively, during the late Quaternary. This study examines the stratigraphy and environmental interpretation of slope sediment records from specific sites in southern Africa for the period of marine isotope stages (MIS) 6 to 1 (~191 ka to present), informed by theoretical ideas of the dynamics of slope systems including sediment supply and accommodation space. Based on this analysis, phases of land surface instability and stability for the period MIS 6 to 1 are identified. The spatial and temporal patterns of land surface conditions are not a simple reflection of climate forcing, but rather reflect the workings of slope systems in response to climate in addition to the role of geologic, edaphic and ecological factors that operate within catchment-scale sediment systems. Considering these systems dynamics can yield a better understanding of the usefulness and limitations of slope sediment stratigraphies.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe R. Melton ◽  
Reinel Sospedra-Alfonso ◽  
Kelly E. McCusker

Abstract. We investigate the application of clustering algorithms to represent sub-grid scale variability in soil texture for use in a global-scale terrestrial ecosystem model. Our model, the coupled Canadian Land Surface Scheme – Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CLASS-CTEM), is typically implemented at a coarse spatial resolution (ca. 2.8° × 2.8°) due to its use as the land surface component of the Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM). CLASS-CTEM can, however, be run with tiling of the land surface as a means to represent sub-grid heterogeneity. We first determined that the model was sensitive to tiling of the soil textures via an idealized test case before attempting to cluster soil textures globally. To cluster a high-resolution soil texture dataset onto our coarse model grid, we use two linked algorithms (OPTICS (Ankerst et al., 1999; Daszykowski et al., 2002) and Sander et al. (2003)) to provide tiles of representative soil textures for use as CLASS-CTEM inputs. The clustering process results in, on average, about three tiles per CLASS-CTEM grid cell with most cells having four or less tiles. Results from CLASS-CTEM simulations conducted with the tiled inputs (Cluster) versus those using a simple grid-mean soil texture (Gridmean) show CLASS-CTEM, at least on a global scale, is relatively insensitive to the tiled soil textures, however differences can be large in arid or peatland regions. The Cluster simulation has generally lower soil moisture and lower overall vegetation productivity than the Gridmean simulation except in arid regions where plant productivity increases. In these dry regions, the influence of the tiling is stronger due to the general state of vegetation moisture stress which allows a single tile, whose soil texture retains more plant available water, to yield much higher productivity. Although the use of clustering analysis appears promising as a means to represent sub-grid heterogeneity, soil textures appear to be reasonably represented for global scale simulations using a simple grid-mean value.


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