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An improved model for soil surface temperature from air temperature in permafrost regions of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau of China

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Abstract

Soil temperature plays a key role in hydro-thermal processes in environments and is a critical variable linking surface structure to soil processes. There is a need for more accurate temperature simulation models, particularly in Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau (QXP). In this study, a model was developed for the simulation of hourly soil surface temperatures with air temperatures. The model incorporated the thermal properties of the soil, vegetation cover, solar radiation, and water flux density and utilized field data collected from Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau (QXP). The model was used to simulate the thermal regime at soil depths of 5 cm, 10 cm and 20 cm and results were compared with those from previous models and with experimental measurements of ground temperature at two different locations. The analysis showed that the newly developed model provided better estimates of observed field temperatures, with an average mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and the normalized standard error (NSEE) of 1.17 °C, 1.30 °C and 13.84 %, 0.41 °C, 0.49 °C and 5.45 %, 0.13 °C, 0.18 °C and 2.23 % at 5 cm, 10 cm and 20 cm depths, respectively. These findings provide a useful reference for simulating soil temperature and may be incorporated into other ecosystem models requiring soil temperature as an input variable for modeling permafrost changes under global warming.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by National Major Scientific Project of China (2013CBA01803), Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41421061), the key project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJZD-EW-G03-02) and the Foundation of One Hundred Person Project of The Chinese Academy of Sciences (51Y551831). The authors gratefully thank to West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cryosphere Research Station on Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China

    Guojie Hu, Xiaodong Wu, Lin Zhao, Ren Li, Tonghua Wu, Changwei Xie, Qiangqiang Pang & Guodong Cheng

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  1. Guojie Hu
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  2. Xiaodong Wu
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  3. Lin Zhao
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  7. Qiangqiang Pang
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  8. Guodong Cheng
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Correspondence to Lin Zhao.

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Responsible Editor: J.-F. Miao.

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Hu, G., Wu, X., Zhao, L. et al. An improved model for soil surface temperature from air temperature in permafrost regions of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau of China. Meteorol Atmos Phys 129, 441–451 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-016-0468-7

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