Abstract
Uncertainties in representing land–atmosphere interactions can substantially influence regional climate simulations. Among these uncertainties, the surface exchange coefficient Ch is a critical parameter, controlling the total energy transported from the land surface to the atmosphere. Although it directly impacts the coupling strength between the surface and atmosphere, it has not been properly evaluated for regional climate models. This study assesses the representation of surface coupling strength in a stand-alone Noah-MP land surface model and in coupled 4-km Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations. The data collected at eight FLUXNET sites of the Canadian Carbon Program and seven AMRIFLUX sites are used to evaluate the offline Noah-MP simulations. Nine of these FLUXNET sites are used for the evaluation of the coupled WRF simulations. These sites are categorized into three land use types: grassland, cropland, and forest. The surface exchange coefficients derived using three formulations in Noah-MP simulations are compared to those calculated from observations. Then, the default \( C_{zil} \) = 0 and new canopy-height dependent \( C_{zil} \) are used in coupled WRF simulations over the spring and summer in 2006 to compare their effects on surface heat flux, temperature, and precipitation. When the new canopy-height dependent \( C_{zil} \) scheme is used, the simulated Ch exchange coefficient agrees better with observation and improves the daily maximum air temperature and heat flux simulation over grassland and cropland in the US Great Plains. Over grassland, the modeled Ch shows a different diurnal cycle than that for observed Ch, which makes WRF lag behind the observed diurnal cycle of sensible heat flux and temperature. The difference in precipitation between the two schemes is not as clear as the temperature difference because the impact of changing Ch is not local.
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Acknowledgements
The authors Liang Chen gratefully acknowledges the support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2017YFC1501804) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 41875116). The authors Liang Chen, Yanping Li, Zhenhua Li and Zhe Zhang gratefully acknowledge the support from the Changing Cold Region Network (CCRN), Global Water Future (GWF) project and Global Institute of Water Security (GIWS) at University of Saskatchewan. Fei Chen, Michael Barlage appreciate the support from the Water System Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), USDA NIFA Grants 2015-67003-23508 and 2015-67003-23460, and NSF Grant #1739705. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Chen, L., Li, Y., Chen, F. et al. Using 4-km WRF CONUS simulations to assess impacts of the surface coupling strength on regional climate simulation. Clim Dyn 53, 6397–6416 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04932-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04932-9