Using a Modified Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Scheme(MSPAS)to Simulate the Interaction between Land Surface Processes and Atmospheric Boundary Layer in Semi-Arid Regions

This paper uses a Modified Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Scheme (MSPAS) to study the interaction between land surface and atmospheric boundary layer processes. The scheme is composed of two main parts: atmospheric boundary layer processes and land surface processes. Compared with SiB and BATS, which are famous for their detailed parameterizations of physical variables, this simplified model is more convenient and saves much more computation time. Though simple, the feasibility of the model is well proved in this paper. The numerical simulation results from MSPAS show good agreement with reality. The scheme is used to obtain reasonable simulations for diurnal variations of heat balance, potential temperature of boundary layer, and wind field, and spatial distributions of temperature, specific humidity, vertical velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and turbulence exchange coefficient over desert and oasis. In addition, MSPAS is used to simulate the interaction between desert and oasis at night, and again it obtains reasonable results. This indicates that MSPAS can be used to study the interaction between land surface processes and the atmospheric boundary layer over various underlying surfaces and can be extended for regional climate and numerical weather prediction study.

An overview of the spatial patterns of land surface processes over arid and semiarid regions

With data from the project Collaborative Observation of Semi-arid/Arid Regions in North China, collected during July and September 2008, the spatial patterns of land surface processes over arid and semiarid regions have been investigated based on the ordinary Kriging interpolation approach. Generally, for the radiation processes, downward and upward short-wave radiation have a uniformly increasing trend with latitude, but the spatial patterns of long-wave radiation present notable regional differences: both upward and downward long-wave radiation increase with latitude in the west of North China, while in the east they vary inversely with latitude, suggesting surface temperature and clouds respectively have feedbacks to the long-wave radiation in the west and east of North China. The surface net radiation basically has a negative latitudinal trend. Long-wave radiation budget plays an important role in the spatial pattern of surface net radiation, particularly in the east of North China, although short-wave radiation budget largely determines the magnitude of surface net radiation. For the energy processes, latent and sensible heat flux varies conversely with latitude: more available land surface energy is consumed by evaporating soil water at lower latitudes while more is used for heating the atmosphere at higher latitudes. A soil heat flux maximum and minimum are found in Loess Plateau and Qinghai Plateau respectively, and a maximum is seen in the northeast China.

EFFECT OF INITIAL PERTURBATION OF LAND SURFACE PROCESSES ON TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECAST

Many studies have explored the importance and influence of planetary boundary layer processes on tropical cyclones (TCs). However, few studies have focused on the influence of land surface processes on the activity of TCs. To test the effect of initial perturbations of land surface processes on TCs, a land surface process perturbation module is built in a global ensemble prediction system. Ensemble experiments for the TCs that occurred from 12 UTC 22 August to 18 UTC 24 November, 2006 show that consideration of the uncertainties within the land surface process could increase the predictability of the global ensemble prediction system. Detailed analysis on TC Xangsane (2006) indicates that the perturbation of land surface processes may increase the variation of sensible heat flux and latent heat flux. Meanwhile, the effect from land surface perturbation can be transferred to the upper atmosphere, which leads to better TC forecasts.

Key regions where land surface processes shape the East Asian climate

Land-atmosphere interaction,as one of the key processes affecting the atmosphere and climate over East Asia,has drawn increasing attention during the past few decades.However,the current level of understanding regarding the mechanisms through which land surface processes impact the East Asian climate needs to be improved.Based on existing studies,six key regions where land surface processes affect the East Asian climate are proposed in this study,which can provide a valuable reference for future research into land-atmosphere interaction in East Asia.

Offline experiment of land surface processes in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

The observational data of Beiluhe test of the Qinghai-Xizang railway in June 2002 are used as forcing field of the surface model to study the simulation performance in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The simulation result shows that the model (NCAR/LSM) can present the surface character tendency reasonably under observation forcing. In NCAR/LSM, the descriptions of the surface vegetation type in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau have much difference to what is actually happening. According to the actual characteristic of the surface, we define the grassland vegetation coverage rate is 0.6, and the vegetation canopy is 0.15 m, and the displacement height is 0.10 m. Compared the results with the old model's parameter in experiment, we find that the simulation air (2 m) temperature and the ground temperature are close to those of the observation, and the simulation temperature of peak value is better, and the simulation flux of the ground is sure to be improved too. So, if the surface and vegetation parameters are revised in LSM model, the simulation capability of the land surface process model can be improved effectively in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

The Observed and Simulated Major Summer Climate Features in Northwest China and Their Sensitivity to Land Surface Processes

Northwest China （NWC） is a typical arid and semi-arid region. In this study, the main summer climate features over NWC are presented and the performance of an atmospheric general circulation model （NCEP GCM/SSiB） over this region is evaluated. Satellite-derived vegetation products are applied in the model. Based on comparison with observational data and Reanalysis II data, the model generally captures major features of the NWC summer energy balance and circulation. These features include： a high surface tem- perature center dominating the planetary boundary layer; widespread descending motion; an anticyclone （cyclone） located in the lower and middle （upper） troposphere, covering most parts of central NWC; and the precipitation located mainly in the high elevation areas surrounding NWC. The sensitivity of the summer energy balance and circulation over NWC and surrounding regions to land surface processes is assessed with specified land cover change. In the sensitivity experiment, the degradation over most parts of NWC, except the Taklimakan desert, decreases the surface-absorbed radiation and leads to weaker surface thermal effects. In northern Xinjiang and surrounding regions, less latent heating causes stronger anomalous lower-level anticyclonic circulation and upper-level cyclonic circulation, leading to less summer precipitation and higher surface temperature. Meanwhile, the dry conditions in the Hexi Corridor produce less change in the latent heat flux. The circulation change to the north of this area plays a domi- nant role in indirectly changing lower-level cyclonic conditions, producing more convergence, weaker vertical descending motion, and thus an increase in the precipitation over this region.

Simulation Experiments of Land Surface Physical Processes and Ecological Effect over Different Underlying Surface

Based on the existing Land Surface Physical Process Models(Deardorff, Dickinson, LIU, Noilhan, Seller, ZHAO), a Comprehensive Land Surface Physical Process Model (CLSPPM) is developed by considering the different physical processes of the earth's surface-vegetation-atmosphere system more completely. Compared with SiB and BATS, which are famous for their detailed parameterizations of physical variables, this simplified model is more convenient and saves much more computation time. Though simple, the feas...

The Effects of Land Surface Process Perturbations in a Global Ensemble Forecast System

Atmospheric variability is driven not only by internal dynamics, but also by external forcing, such as soil states, SST, snow, sea-ice cover, and so on. To investigate the forecast uncertainties and effects of land surface processes on numerical weather prediction, we added modules to perturb soil moisture and soil temperature into NCEP＇s Global Ensemble Forecast System （GEFS）, and compared the results of a set of experiments involving different configurations of land surface and atmospheric perturbation. It was found that uncertainties in different soil layers varied due to the multiple timescales of interactions between land surface and atmospheric processes. Perturbations of the soil moisture and soil temperature at the land surface changed sensible and latent heat flux obviously, as compared to the less or indirect land surface perturbation experiment from the day-to-day forecasts. Soil state perturbations led to greater variation in surface heat fluxes that transferred to the upper troposphere, thus reflecting interactions and the response to atmospheric external forcing. Various verification scores were calculated in this study. The results indicated that taking the uncertainties of land surface processes into account in GEFS could contribute a slight improvement in forecast skill in terms of resolution and reliability, a noticeable reduction in forecast error, as well as an increase in ensemble spread in an under-dispersive system. This paper provides a preliminary evaluation of the effects of land surface processes on predictability. Further research using more complex and suitable methods is needed to fully explore our understanding in this area.

The Characteristics and Controlling Factors of Water and Heat Exchanges over the Alpine Wetland in the East of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Alpine wetland is one of the typical underlying surfaces on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.It plays a crucial role in runoff regulation.Investigations on the mechanisms of water and heat exchanges are necessary to understand the land surface processes over the alpine wetland.This study explores the characteristics of hydro-meteorological factors with in situ observations and uses the Community Land Model 5 to identify the main factors controlling water and heat exchanges.Latent heat flux and thermal roughness length were found to be greater in the warm season(June–August)than in the cold season(December–February),with a frozen depth of 20–40 cm over the alpine wetland.The transfers of heat fluxes were mainly controlled by longwave radiation and air temperature and affected by root distribution.Air pressure and stomatal conductance were also important to latent heat flux,and soil solid water content was important to sensible heat flux.Soil temperature was dominated by longwave radiation and air temperature,with crucial surface parameters of initial soil liquid water content and total water content.The atmospheric control factors transitioned to precipitation and air temperature for soil moisture,especially at the shallow layer(5 cm).Meanwhile,the more influential surface parameters were root distribution and stomatal conductance in the warm season and initial soil liquid water content and total water content in the cold season.This work contributes to the research on the land surface processes over the alpine wetland and is helpful to wetland protection.

A Modeling Study of Land Surface Process Impacts on Inland Behavior of Typhoon Rananim(2004)

On 12 August 2004, Typhoon Rananim （0414） moved inland over China and stagnated over the Poyang Lake area, resulting in torrential rainfall and severe geologic hazards. The Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting （ARW-WRF） model and its different land surface models （LSMs） were employed to study the impacts of land surface process on the inland behavior of Typhoon Rananim. Results show that simulations, coupled with LSMs or not, have no significant differences in predicting typhoon track, intensity, and largescale circulation. However, the simulations of mesoscale structure, rainfall rate, and rainfall distribution of typhoon are more reasonable with LSMs than without LSMs. Although differences are slight among LSMs, NOAH is better than the others. Based on outputs using the NOAH scheme, the interaction between land surtace and typhoon was explored in this study. Notably, typhoon rainfall and cloud cover can cool land surface, but rainfall expands the underlying saturated wetland area, which exacerbates the asymmetric distribution of surface heat fluxes. Accordingly, an energy frontal zone may form in the lower troposphere that enhances ascending motion and local convection, resulting in heavier rainfall. Moreover, the expanded underlying saturated wetlands provide plentiful moisture and unstable energy for the maintenance of Typhoon Rananim and increased rainfall in return.

Land Surface Hydrology Parameterization over Heterogeneous Surface for the Study of Regional Mean Runoff Ratio with Its Simulations

An analytical expression for subgrid–scale inhomogeneous runoff ratios generated by heterogeneous soil moisture content and climatic precipitation forcing is presented based on physical mechanisms for land surface hydrology and theory of statistical probability distribution. Thereby the commonly used mosaic parameterization of subgrid runoff ratio was integrated into a statistical–dynamic scheme with the bulk heterogeneity of a grid area included. Furthermore, a series of numerical experiments evaluating the reliability of the parameterization were conducted using the data generated by the emulated simulation method. All the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is feasible and practical.

Validation of IAP94 Land Surface Model over the Huaihe River Basin with HUBEX Field Experiment Data

Off-line experiments have been conducted with IAP94 land surface model on different surface types (cropland, forest and paddy field) in different seasons (spring, summer and autumn) over the Huaihe River basin. The simulated energy fluxes and canopy temperature by IAP94 agree quite well with the observations, simulation results also show that IAP94 can successfully simulate the tendency of total soil water content variation. The comparison;results between simulation and observation indicate that strong evaporation at the paddy field in summer should be paid more attention to within the land surface models, and model's performance leads to the conclusion that IAP94 is capable of reproducing the main physical mechanisms governing the land-surface processes in the East Asian semi-humid monsoon region.

The Sensitivity of Ground Surface Temperature Prediction to Soil Thermal Properties Using the Simple Biosphere Model(SiB2)

Using the Simple Biosphere Model （SiB2）, soil thermal properties （STP） were examined in a Tibetan prairie during the monsoon period to investigate ground surface temperature prediction. We improved the SiB2 model by incorporating a revised force-restore method （FRM） to take the vertical heterogeneity of soil thermal diffusivity （k） into account. The results indicate that （1） the revised FRM alleviates daytime overestimation and nighttime underestimation in modeled ground surface temperature （Tg）, and （2） its role in little rainfall events is significant because the vertical gradient of k increases with increasing surface evaporation. Since the original formula of thermal conductivity （A） in the SiB2 greatly underestimates soil thermal conductivity, we compared five Mgorithms of A involving soil moisture to investigate the cause of overestimation during the day and underestimation at night on the basis of the revised FRM. The results show that （1） the five algorithms significantly improve Tg prediction, especially in daytime, and （2） taking one of these five algorithms as an example, the simulated Tg values in the daytime are closer to the field measurements than those in the nighttime. The differences between modeled Tg and field measurements are mostly within the margin of error of -4-2 K during 3 August to 4 September 1998.

Characteristics of land surface thermal-hydrologic processes for different regions over North China during prevailing summer monsoon period

The observation stations of Northern China are divided into three regions:the arid Northwest China,the Loess Plateau,and the cool Northeast China.The consistencies,differences,and associated mechanisms of land surface thermal-hydrologic processes among the three regions were studied based on the normalization of major variables of land surface thermal-hydrologic processes,using data collected during prevailing summer monsoon period(July and August,2008).It is shown that differences of surface thermal-hydrologic processes are remarkable among the three regions because of different impacts of summer monsoon.Especially their soil wet layers occur at different depths,and the average albedo and its diurnal variations are distinctly different.Surface net short-wave radiation in the Loess Plateau is close to that in the cool Northeast China,but its surface net long-wave radiation is close to that in the arid Northwest China.And the ratio of net radiation to global solar radiation in the cool Northeast China is higher than the other two regions,though its temperature is lower.There are obvious regional differences in the ratios of surface sensible and latent heat fluxes to net radiation for the three regions because of distinct contribution of sensible and latent heat fluxesto land surface energy balance.The three regions are markedly different in the ratio of water vapor flux to pan evaporation,but they are consistent in the ratio of water vapor flux to precipitation.These results not only indicate different influences of climate and environmental factors on land surface thermal-hydrologic processes in the three regions,but also show that summer monsoon is important in the formation and variation of the pattern of land surface thermal-hydrologic processes.

Relationship of atmospheric boundary layer depth with thermodynamic processes at the land surface in arid regions of China

The atmospheric boundary layer （ABL） is an important physical characteristic of the Earth＇s atmosphere. Compared with the typical ABL, the ABL in arid regions has distinct features and is formed by particular mechanisms. In this paper, the depth of the diurnal and nocturnal ABLs and their related thermodynamic features of land surface processes, including net radiation, the ground-air temperature difference and sensible heat flux, under typical summer and winter conditions are discussed on the basis of comprehensive observations of the ABL and thermodynamic processes at the land surface carried out in the extreme arid zone of Dunhuang. The relationships of the ABL depth in the development and maintenance stages with these thermodynamic features are also investigated. The results show that the depth of the ABL is closely correlated with the thermodynamic features in both development and maintenance stages and more energy is consumed in the development stage. Further analysis indicates that wind velocity also affects ABL development, especially the development of a stable boundary layer in winter. Taken together, the analysis results indicate that extremely strong thermodynamic processes at the land surface are the main driving factor for the formation of a deep ABL in an arid region.

Numerical Simulation Experiment of Land Surface Physical Processes and Local Climate Effect in Forest Underlying Surface

Based on the basic principles of atmospheric boundary layer and plant canopy micrometeorology, a forest underlying surface land surface physical process model and a two-dimensional atmospheric boundary layer numerical model are developed and numerical simulation experiments of biosphere and physiological processes of vegetation and soil volumetric water content have been done on land surface processes with local climate effect. The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with realistic observations, which can be used to obtain reasonable simulations for diurnal variations of canopy temperature, air temperature in canopy, ground surface temperature, and temporal and spatial distributions of potential temperature and vertical wind velocity as well as relative humidity and turbulence exchange coefficient over non-homogeneous underlying surfaces. It indicates that the model developed can be used to study the interaction between land surface process and atmospheric boundary layer over various underlying surfaces and can be extended to local climate studies. This work will settle a solid foundation for coupling climate models with the biosphere.

Inter-Comparison of 10-year Precipitation Simulated by Several RCMs for Asia

In phase Ⅱ of the Regional Climate Model Inter-comparison Project （RMIP） for Asia, the regional climate has been simulated for July 1988 through December 1998 by five regional climate models and one global variable resolution model. Comparison of the 10-year simulated precipitation with the observations was carried out. The results show that most models have the capacity to reproduce the basic spatial pattern of precipitation for Asia, and the main rainbelt can be reproduced by most models, but there are distinctions in the location and the intensity. Most models overestimate the precipitation over most continental regions. Interannual variability of the precipitation can also be basically simulated, while differences exist between various models and the observations. The biases in the stream field are important reasons behind the simulation errors of the Regional Climate Models （RCMs）. The cumulus scheme and land surface process have large influences on the precipitation simulation. Generally, the Grell cumulus scheme produces more precipitation than the Kuo scheme.

Influences of agricultural phenology dynamic on land surface biophysical process and climate feedback

Response and feedback of land surface research priorities in the field of geoscience. The process to climate change is one of the current study paid more attention to the impacts of global change on land surface process, but the feedback of land surface process to climate change has been poorly understood. It is becoming more and more meaningful under the framework of Earth system science to understand systematically the relationships between agricultural phenology dynamic and biophysical process, as well as the feedback on climate. In this paper, we summarized the research progress in this field, including the fact of agricultural phenology change, parameterization of phenology dynamic in land surface progress model, the influence of agricultural phenology dynamic on biophysical process, as well as its feedback on climate. The results showed that the agriculture phenophase, represented by the key phenological phases such as sowing, flowering and maturity, had shifted significantly due to the impacts of climate change and agronomic management. The digital expressions of land surface dynamic process, as well as the biophysical process and atmospheric process, were improved by coupling phenology dynamic in land surface model. The agricultural phenology dynamic had influenced net radiation, latent heat, sensible heat, albedo, temperature, precipitation, circulation, playing an important role in the surface energy partitioning and climate feedback. Considering the importance of agricultural phenology dynamic in land surface biophysical process and climate feedback, the following research priorities should be stressed： （1） the interactions between climate change and land surface phenology dynamic; （2） the relations between agricultural phenology dynamic and land surface reflectivity at different spectrums; （3） the contributions of crop physiology characteristic changes to land surface biophysical process; （4） the regional differences of climate feedbacks from phenology dynamic in different climate zones. This review is helpful to accelerate understanding of the role of agricultural phenology dynamic in land surface process and climate feedback.

Evaluating the Capabilities of Soil Enthalpy, Soil Moisture and Soil Temperature in Predicting Seasonal Precipitation

Soil enthalpy （H） contains the combined effects of both soil moisture （w） and soil temperature （T） in the land surface hydrothermal process. In this study, the sensitivities of H to w and T are investigated using the multi-linear regression method. Results indicate that T generally makes positive contributions to H, while w exhibits different （positive or negative） impacts due to soil ice effects. For example, w negatively contributes to H if soil contains more ice; however, after soil ice melts, w exerts positive contributions. In particular, due to lower w interannual variabilities in the deep soil layer （i.e., the fifth layer）, H is more sensitive to T than to w. Moreover, to compare the potential capabilities of H, w and T in precipitation （P） prediction, the Huanghe-Huaihe Basin （HHB） and Southeast China （SEC）, with similar sensitivities of H to w and T, are selected. Analyses show that, despite similar spatial distributions of H-P and T-P correlation coefficients, the former values are always higher than the latter ones. Furthermore, H provides the most effective signals for P prediction over HHB and SEC, i.e., a significant leading correlation between May H and early summer （June） P. In summary, H, which integrates the effects of T and w as an independent variable, has greater capabilities in monitoring land surface heating and improving seasonal P prediction relative to individual land surface factors （e.g., T and w）.

The Interannual Variability and Predictability in a Global Climate Model

The interannual variabilities of the climatological simulation (V1) and the AMIP (Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project) simulation (V2) by the IAP 9-Level Atmospheric General Circulation Model are studied and discussed in this paper. Based on the analysis of ratio of variability (R) of above two simulations the predictability of the model on the interannual climate variation are studied as well. Results show that V2 is bigger than V1 generally and V2 is more comparable to the real variability of the atmosphere, the major difference of V1 and V2 is in the tropics, for temperature and geopotential height the predictability is higher in the tropics while in the extra-tropics there is almost no predictability and the predictability is bigger in higher level than in lower level. The predictability for precipitation is generally low in the globe, and generally the predictability is high in the tropical eastern Pacific for the lower level. This study suggests that the possible way of increasing the model predictability is the improvement of land surface process modelling and the inclusion of the interannual variations of the land surface conditions (snow cover, albedo, soil moisture, etc.) as the forcing factor for climate modelling and prediction.