Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Evaluating Soil Water Content in a WRF-Noah Downscaling Experiment

Peter Greve Institute of Physics and Meteorology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

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Kirsten Warrach-Sagi Institute of Physics and Meteorology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

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Volker Wulfmeyer Institute of Physics and Meteorology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

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Print Publication:
01 Oct 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0239.1
Page(s):
2312–2327
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Abstract

Soil water content (SWC) depends on and affects the energy flux partitioning at the land–atmosphere interface. Above all, the latent heat flux is limited by the SWC of the root zone on one hand and radiation on the other. Therefore, SWC is a key variable in the climate system. In this study, the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with the Noah land surface model (WRF-Noah) system in a climate hindcast simulation from 1990 to 2008 is evaluated with respect to SWC versus two reanalysis datasets for Europe during 2007 and 2008 with in situ soil moisture observations from southern France. When compared with the in situ observations, WRF-Noah generally reproduces the SWC annual cycle while the reanalysis SWCs do not. The biases in areal mean WRF-Noah SWCs relate to biases in precipitation and evapotranspiration in a cropland environment. The spatial patterns and temporal variability of the seasonal mean SWCs from the WRF-Noah simulations and from the two reanalyses correspond well, while absolute values differ significantly, especially at the regional scale.

Denotes Open Access content.

Current affiliation: Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Corresponding author address: Peter Greve, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätsstrasse 16, Zürich 8092, Switzerland. E-mail: peter.greve@env.ethz.ch

Abstract

Soil water content (SWC) depends on and affects the energy flux partitioning at the land–atmosphere interface. Above all, the latent heat flux is limited by the SWC of the root zone on one hand and radiation on the other. Therefore, SWC is a key variable in the climate system. In this study, the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with the Noah land surface model (WRF-Noah) system in a climate hindcast simulation from 1990 to 2008 is evaluated with respect to SWC versus two reanalysis datasets for Europe during 2007 and 2008 with in situ soil moisture observations from southern France. When compared with the in situ observations, WRF-Noah generally reproduces the SWC annual cycle while the reanalysis SWCs do not. The biases in areal mean WRF-Noah SWCs relate to biases in precipitation and evapotranspiration in a cropland environment. The spatial patterns and temporal variability of the seasonal mean SWCs from the WRF-Noah simulations and from the two reanalyses correspond well, while absolute values differ significantly, especially at the regional scale.

Denotes Open Access content.

Current affiliation: Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Corresponding author address: Peter Greve, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätsstrasse 16, Zürich 8092, Switzerland. E-mail: peter.greve@env.ethz.ch
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