Abstract

This study examines the capability of a new microwave land data assimilation system (LDAS) for estimating soil moisture in semiarid regions, where soil moisture is very heterogeneous. This system assimilates the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) 6.9- and 18.7-GHz brightness temperatures into a land surface model (LSM), with a radiative transfer model as an observation operator. To reduce errors caused by uncertainties of system parameters, the LDAS uses a dual-pass assimilation algorithm, with a calibration pass to estimate major model parameters from satellite data and an assimilation pass to estimate the near-surface soil moisture. Validation data of soil moisture were collected in a Mongolian semiarid region. Results show that (i) the LDAS-estimated soil moistures are comparable to areal averages of in situ measurements, though the measured soil moistures were highly variable from site to site; (ii) the LSM-simulated soil moistures show less biases when the LSM uses LDAS-calibrated parameter values instead of default parameter values, indicating that the satellite-based calibration does contribute to soil moisture estimations; and (iii) compared to the LSM, the LDAS produces more robust and reliable soil moisture when forcing data become worse. The lower sensitivity of the LDAS output to precipitation is particularly encouraging for applying this system to regions where precipitation data are prone to errors.

Abstract

In this study, a distributed biosphere hydrological model with three-layer energy-balance snow physics [an improved version of the Water and Energy Budget–based Distributed Hydrological Model (WEB-DHM-S)] is applied to the Dudhkoshi region of the eastern Nepal Himalayas to estimate the spatial distribution of snow cover. Simulations are performed at hourly time steps and 1-km spatial resolution for the 2002/03 snow season during the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) third Enhanced Observing Period (EOP-3). Point evaluations (snow depth and upward short- and longwave radiation) at Pyramid (a station of the CEOP Himalayan reference site) confirm the vertical-process representations of WEB-DHM-S in this region. The simulated spatial distribution of snow cover is evaluated with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 8-day maximum snow-cover extent (MOD10A2), demonstrating the model’s capability to accurately capture the spatiotemporal variations in snow cover across the study area. The qualitative pixel-to-pixel comparisons for the snow-free and snow-covered grids reveal that the simulations agree well with the MODIS data to an accuracy of 90%. Simulated nighttime land surface temperatures (LST) are comparable to the MODIS LST (MOD11A2) with mean absolute error of 2.42°C and mean relative error of 0.77°C during the study period. The effects of uncertainty in air temperature lapse rate, initial snow depth, and snow albedo on the snow-cover area (SCA) and LST simulations are determined through sensitivity runs. In addition, it is found that ignoring the spatial variability of remotely sensed cloud coverage greatly increases bias in the LST and SCA simulations. To the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to adopt a distributed hydrological model with a physically based multilayer snow module to estimate the spatial distribution of snow cover in the Himalayan region.

Abstract

Atmospheric heating over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) enhances the Asian summer monsoon. This study presents a state-of-the-art estimate of the heating components and their total over the TP, with the aid of high-accuracy experimental data, an updated land surface model, and carefully selected satellite data.

The new estimate differs from previous estimates in three aspects: 1) different seasonality—the new estimation shows the maximum total heat source occurs in July (the mature period of the monsoon), rather than in the previously reported month of May or June (around the onset of the monsoon), because previous studies greatly overestimated radiative cooling during the monsoon season [June–August (JJA)]; 2) different regional pattern—the eastern TP exhibits stronger heating than the western TP in summer, whereas previous studies gave either an opposite spatial pattern because of overestimated sensible heat flux over the western TP or an overall weaker heat source because of overestimated radiative cooling; and 3) different trend—sensible heat, radiative convergence, and the total heat source have decreased since the 1980s, but their weakening trends were overestimated in a recent study. These biases in previous studies are due to fairly empirical methods and data that were not evaluated against experimental data.

Abstract

The diurnal variations of convective activity and precipitable water were investigated using a C-band airport radar and GPS receivers around Ulaanbaator (UB), Mongolia; this location was considered as an example of an arid region. The convective activity exhibited a pronounced diurnal cycle; it increased rapidly at 1100 local solar time (LST; 0300 UTC), reached the maximum at 1400 LST, and almost disappeared after 1900 LST. On the other hand, no diurnal variation of precipitable water could be observed, which implied that there was no considerable evapotranspiration, and the diurnal variation of the convective activity was irrelevant to the variation of water vapor. The reason why the deep convection could not develop at night is discussed using numerical modeling from the viewpoint of soil moisture. In the moist soil conditions assumed for humid simulations, an increase in the water vapor in the boundary layer due to evapotranspiration led to a potentially unstable condition that was sustained until night. Deep convection was formed at the southern foot of mountains where topographical convergence was expected. On the other hand, in the dry soil conditions assumed for the arid simulations, deep convection did not occur during nighttime even though topographical convergence was expected over the southern foot of the mountains. These features of dry soil conditions were consistent with the results from radar observations around UB. In other words, since the soil around UB is too dry in practice to sustain an unstable condition until night, the deep convection had to decay by night and could not be initiated at night.

Abstract

Parameterization of turbulent flux from bare-soil and undercanopy surfaces is imperative for modeling land–atmosphere interactions in arid and semiarid regions, where flux from the ground is dominant or comparable to canopy-sourced flux. This paper presents the major characteristics of turbulent flux transfers over seven bare-soil surfaces. These sites are located in arid, semiarid, and semihumid regions in Asia and represent a variety of conditions for aerodynamic roughness length (z _{0 m} ; from <1 to 10 mm) and sensible heat flux (from −50 to 400 W m⁻²). For each site, parameter kB ⁻¹ [=ln(z _{0 m} /z _{0 h} ), where z _{0 h} is the thermal roughness length] exhibits clear diurnal variations with higher values during the day and lower values at night. Mean values of z _{0 h} for the individual sites do not change significantly with z _{0 m} , resulting in kB ⁻¹ increasing with z _{0 m} , and thus the momentum transfer coefficient increases faster than the heat transfer coefficient with z _{0 m} . The term kB ⁻¹ often becomes negative at night for relatively smooth surfaces (z _{0 m} ∼ 1 mm), indicating that the widely accepted excess resistance for heat transfer can be negative, which cannot be explained by current theories for aerodynamically rough surfaces. Last, several kB ⁻¹ schemes are evaluated using the same datasets. The results indicate that a scheme that can reproduce the diurnal variation of kB ⁻¹ generally performs better than schemes that cannot.

Abstract

The local scale observation site (LSOS) is the smallest study site (0.8 ha) of the 2002/03 Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX) and is located within the Fraser mesocell study area. It was the most intensively measured site of the CLPX, and measurements here had the greatest temporal component of all CLPX sites. Measurements made at the LSOS were designed to produce a comprehensive assessment of the snow, soil, and vegetation characteristics viewed by the ground-based remote sensing instruments. The objective of the ground-based microwave remote sensing was to collect time series of active and passive microwave spectral signatures over snow, soil, and forest, which is coincident with the intensive physical characterization of these features. Ground-based remote sensing instruments included frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radars operating over multiple microwave bandwidths; the Ground-Based Microwave Radiometer (GBMR-7) operating at channels 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89 GHz; and in 2003, an L-, C-, X- and Ku-band scatterometer radar system. Snow and soil measurements included standard snow physical properties, snow wetness, snow depth transects, and soil moisture. The stem and canopy temperature and xylem sap flux of several trees were monitored continuously. Five micrometeorological towers monitored ambient conditions and provided forcing datasets for 1D snow and soil models. Arrays of pyranometers (0.3–3 μm) and a scanning thermal radiometer (8–12 μm) characterized the variability of radiative receipt in the forests. A field spectroradiometer measured the hyperspectral hemispherical-directional reflectance of the snow surface. These measurements, together with the ground-based remote sensing, provide the framework for evaluating and improving microwave radiative transfer models and coupling them to land surface models. The dataset is archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.

Abstract

The Third Pole (TP) is experiencing rapid warming and is currently in its warmest period in the past 2,000 years. This paper reviews the latest development in multidisciplinary TP research associated with this warming. The rapid warming facilitates intense and broad glacier melt over most of the TP, although some glaciers in the northwest are advancing. By heating the atmosphere and reducing snow/ice albedo, aerosols also contribute to the glaciers melting. Glacier melt is accompanied by lake expansion and intensification of the water cycle over the TP. Precipitation has increased over the eastern and northwestern TP. Meanwhile, the TP is greening and most regions are experiencing advancing phenological trends, although over the southwest there is a spring phenological delay mainly in response to the recent decline in spring precipitation. Atmospheric and terrestrial thermal and dynamical processes over the TP affect the Asian monsoon at different scales. Recent evidence indicates substantial roles that mesoscale convective systems play in the TP’s precipitation as well as an association between soil moisture anomalies in the TP and the Indian monsoon. Moreover, an increase in geohazard events has been associated with recent environmental changes, some of which have had catastrophic consequences caused by glacial lake outbursts and landslides. Active debris flows are growing in both frequency of occurrences and spatial scale. Meanwhile, new types of disasters, such as the twin ice avalanches in Ali in 2016, are now appearing in the region. Adaptation and mitigation measures should be taken to help societies’ preparation for future environmental challenges. Some key issues for future TP studies are also discussed.