A warm-season comparison of WRF coupled to the CLM4.0, Noah-MP, and Bucket hydrology land surface schemes over the central USA

Authors

Matthew S. Van Den Broeke, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Andrew Kalin, NOAA/National Weather Service
Jose Abraham Torres Alavez, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Robert Oglesby, University of Nebraska-Lincoln & Daugherty Water for Food Institute
Q. Steven Hu, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1114-0987

Date of this Version

11-4-2017

Citation

Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria 2017

Comments

Theor Appl Climatol (2018) 134:801–816 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-017-2301-8

Abstract

In climate modeling studies, there is a need to choose a suitable land surface model (LSM) while adhering to available resources. In this study, the viability of three LSM options (Community Land Model version 4.0 [CLM4.0], Noah-MP, and the five-layer thermal diffusion [Bucket] scheme) in the Weather Research and Forecasting model version 3.6 (WRF3.6) was examined for the warm season in a domain centered on the central USA. Model output was compared to Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) data, a gridded observational dataset including mean monthly temperature and total monthly precipitation. Model output temperature, precipitation, latent heat (LH) flux, sensible heat (SH) flux, and soil water content (SWC) were compared to observations from sites in the Central and Southern Great Plains region. An overall warm bias was found in CLM4.0 and Noah-MP, with a cool bias of larger magnitude in the Bucket model. These three LSMs produced similar patterns of wet and dry biases. Model output of SWC and LH/SH fluxes were compared to observations, and did not show a consistent bias. Both sophisticated LSMs appear to be viable options for simulating the effects of land use change in the central USA.