Assessing the Performance of a Dynamical Downscaling Simulation Driven by a Bias-Corrected CMIP6 Dataset for Asian Climate

In this study,we aim to assess dynamical downscaling simulations by utilizing a novel bias-corrected global climate model(GCM)data to drive a regional climate model(RCM)over the Asia-western North Pacific region.Three simulations were conducted with a 25-km grid spacing for the period 1980–2014.The first simulation(WRF_ERA5)was driven by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5(ERA5)dataset and served as the validation dataset.The original GCM dataset(MPI-ESM1-2-HR model)was used to drive the second simulation(WRF_GCM),while the third simulation(WRF_GCMbc)was driven by the bias-corrected GCM dataset.The bias-corrected GCM data has an ERA5-based mean and interannual variance and long-term trends derived from the ensemble mean of 18 CMIP6 models.Results demonstrate that the WRF_GCMbc significantly reduced the root-mean-square errors(RMSEs)of the climatological mean of downscaled variables,including temperature,precipitation,snow,wind,relative humidity,and planetary boundary layer height by 50%–90%compared to the WRF_GCM.Similarly,the RMSEs of interannual-tointerdecadal variances of downscaled variables were reduced by 30%–60%.Furthermore,the WRF_GCMbc better captured the annual cycle of the monsoon circulation and intraseasonal and day-to-day variabilities.The leading empirical orthogonal function(EOF)shows a monopole precipitation mode in the WRF_GCM.In contrast,the WRF_GCMbc successfully reproduced the observed tri-pole mode of summer precipitation over eastern China.This improvement could be attributed to a better-simulated location of the western North Pacific subtropical high in the WRF_GCMbc after GCM bias correction.

Elucidating Dominant Factors Affecting Land Surface Hydrological Simulations of the Community Land Model over China

In order to compare the impacts of the choice of land surface model(LSM)parameterization schemes,meteorological forcing,and land surface parameters on land surface hydrological simulations,and explore to what extent the quality can be improved,a series of experiments with different LSMs,forcing datasets,and parameter datasets concerning soil texture and land cover were conducted.Six simulations are run for the Chinese mainland on 0.1°×0.1°grids from 1979 to 2008,and the simulated monthly soil moisture(SM),evapotranspiration(ET),and snow depth(SD)are then compared and assessed against observations.The results show that the meteorological forcing is the most important factor governing output.Beyond that,SM seems to be also very sensitive to soil texture information;SD is also very sensitive to snow parameterization scheme in the LSM.The Community Land Model version 4.5(CLM4.5),driven by newly developed observation-based regional meteorological forcing and land surface parameters(referred to as CMFD_CLM4.5_NEW),significantly improved the simulations in most cases over the Chinese mainland and its eight basins.It increased the correlation coefficient values from 0.46 to 0.54 for the SM modeling and from 0.54 to 0.67 for the SD simulations,and it decreased the root-mean-square error(RMSE)from 0.093 to 0.085 for the SM simulation and reduced the normalized RMSE from 1.277 to 0.201 for the SD simulations.This study indicates that the offline LSM simulation using a refined LSM driven by newly developed observation-based regional meteorological forcing and land surface parameters can better model reginal land surface hydrological processes.

Modeling the Impacts of Nitrogen Dynamics on Regional Terrestrial Carbon and Water Cycles over China with Noah-MP-CN

As an important part of biogeochemical cycling,the nitrogen cycle modulates terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage,water consumption,and environmental quality.Modeling the complex interactions between nitrogen,carbon and water at a regional scale remains challenging.Using China as a testbed,this study presents the first application of the nitrogenaugmented community Noah land surface model with multi-parameterization options(Noah-MP-CN)at the regional scale.Noah-MP-CN parameterizes the constraints of nitrogen availability on photosynthesis based on the Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen plant nitrogen model and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool soil nitrogen model.The impacts of nitrogen dynamics on the terrestrial carbon and water cycles are investigated by comparing the simulations with those from the original Noah-MP.The results show that incorporating nitrogen dynamics improves the carbon cycle simulations.NoahMP-CN outperforms Noah-MP in reproducing leaf area index(LAI)and gross primary productivity(GPP)for most of China,especially in the southern warm and humid regions,while the hydrological simulations only exhibit slight improvements in soil moisture and evapotranspiration.The impacts of fertilizer application over cropland on carbon fixation,water consumption and nitrogen leaching are investigated through a trade-off analysis.Compared to halved fertilizer use,the actual quantity of application increases GPP and water consumption by only 1.97%and 0.43%,respectively;however,the nitrogen leaching is increased by 5.35%.This indicates that the current level of fertilizer use is a potential concern for degrading the environment.

Improving Land Surface Hydrological Simulations in China Using CLDAS Meteorological Forcing Data

The accuracy of land surface hydrological simulations using an offline land surface model(LSM)depends largely on the quality of the atmospheric forcing data.In this study,Global Land Data Assimilation System(GLDAS)forcing data and the newly developed China Meteorological Administration Land Data Assimilation System(CLDAS)forcing data are used to drive the Noah LSM with multiple parameterizations(Noah-MP)and to explore how the newly developed CLDAS forcing data improve land surface hydrological simulations over China's Mainland.The monthly soil moisture(SM)and evapotranspiration(ET)simulations are then compared and evaluated against observations.The results show that the Noah-MP driven by the CLDAS forcing data(referred to as CLDASNoah-MP)significantly improves the simulations in most cases over China's Mainland and its eight river basins.CLDASNoahMP increases the correlation coefficient(R)values from 0.451 to 0.534 for the SM simulations at a depth range of 0–10 cm in China's Mainland,especially in the eastern monsoon area such as the Huang–Huai–Hai Plain,the southern Yangtze River basin,and the Zhujiang River basin.Moreover,the root-mean-square error is reduced from 0.078 to0.068 m3 m-3 for the SM simulations,and from 12.9 to 11.4 mm month-1 for the ET simulations over China's Mainland,especially in the southern Yangtze River basin and Zhujiang River basin.This study demonstrates that,by merging more in situ and remote sensing observations in regional atmospheric forcing data,offline LSM simulations can better simulate regional-scale land surface hydrological processes.

Development of a new index for automated mapping of ratoon rice areas using time-series normalized difference vegetation index imagery

Over recent decades, the global demand for food has continued to grow, owing to population growth and the loss of arable land. Rice ratooning offers new opportunities for increasing rice production and has received renewed interest because of the minimal additional labor input required for its adoption. Regular, regional-scale monitoring of the spatial patterns of both traditional and ratoon rice cropping systems provides essential information for agricultural resource management and food security studies. However, the similar phenological characteristics of traditional double rice and ratoon rice cropping systems make it challenging to accurately classify these cropping practices based on satellite observations alone. In this study, we first proposed an improved phenology-based rice cropping area detection algorithm using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) imagery. A new index, ratoon rice index, was then developed to automatically delineate ratoon rice cropping areas with the aid of a base map of rice in Hubei Province, China. The accuracy assessment using ground truth data showed that our approach could map both traditional and ratoon rice cropping areas with high user accuracy (91.25% and 91.43%, respectively). The MODIS-retrieved rice cropping areas were validated using annual agricultural census data, and coefficient of determination (R2) values of 0.60 and 0.41 were recorded for traditional and ratoon rice cropping systems, respectively. The total area of ratoon rice was estimated to be 1 283.6 km2, 5.0% of the total rice cropping area, in Hubei Province in 2016. These demonstrated the feasibility of extracting the spatial patterns of both traditional and ratoon rice cropping systems solely from time-series NDVI and field survey data and strides made in facilitating the timely and routine monitoring of traditional and ratoon rice distribution at subnational level. Given sufficient historical satellite and phenology records, the proposed algorithm had the potential to enhance rice cropping area mapping efforts across a broad temporal scale (e.g., from the 1980s to the present).