scholarly journals Effects of Water-Table Configuration on the Planetary Boundary Layer over the San Joaquin River Watershed, California

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1471-1488 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Gilbert ◽  
Reed M. Maxwell ◽  
David J. Gochis
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Water Table Depth ◽  
Initial Condition ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
Regional Water ◽  
San Joaquin River Watershed

Abstract The boundary layer, land surface, and subsurface are important coevolving components of hydrologic systems. While previous studies have examined the connections between soil moisture, groundwater, and the atmosphere, the atmospheric response to regional water-table drawdown has received less attention. To address this question, a coupled hydrologic–atmospheric model [Parallel Flow hydrologic model (ParFlow) and WRF] was used to simulate the San Joaquin River watershed of central California. This study focuses specifically on the planetary boundary layer (PBL) in simulations with two imposed water-table configurations: a high water table mimicking natural conditions and a lowered water table reflecting historic groundwater extraction in California’s Central Valley, although effect of irrigation was not simulated. An ensemble of simulations including three boundary layer schemes and six initial conditions was performed for both water-table conditions to assess conceptual and initial condition uncertainty. Results show that increased regional water-table depth is associated with a significant increase in peak PBL height for both initial condition and boundary layer scheme conditions, although the choice of scheme interacts to affect the magnitude of peak PBL height change. Analysis of simulated land surface fluxes shows the change in PBL height can be attributed to decreasing midday evaporative fraction under lowered water-table conditions. Furthermore, the sensitivity of PBL height to changes in water-table depth appears to depend on local water-table variation within 10 m of the land surface and the regional average water-table depth. Finally, soil moisture changes associated with lowered water tables are linked to changes in PBL circulation as indicated by vertical winds and turbulence kinetic energy.

scholarly journals Development of a Coupled Land Surface and Groundwater Model

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reed M. Maxwell ◽  
Norman L. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Water Table Depth ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Common Land Model

Abstract Traditional land surface models (LSMs) used for numerical weather simulation, climate projection, and as inputs to water management decision support systems, do not treat the LSM lower boundary in a fully process-based fashion. LSMs have evolved from a leaky-bucket approximation to more sophisticated land surface water and energy budget models that typically have a specified bottom layer flux to depict the lowest model layer exchange with deeper aquifers. The LSM lower boundary is often assumed zero flux or the soil moisture content is set to a constant value; an approach that while mass conservative, ignores processes that can alter surface fluxes, runoff, and water quantity and quality. Conversely, groundwater models (GWMs) for saturated and unsaturated water flow, while addressing important features such as subsurface heterogeneity and three-dimensional flow, often have overly simplified upper boundary conditions that ignore soil heating, runoff, snow, and root-zone uptake. In the present study, a state-of-the-art LSM (Common Land Model) and a variably saturated GWM (ParFlow) have been coupled as a single-column model. A set of simulations based on synthetic data and data from the Project for Intercomparison of Land-surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS), version 2(d), 18-yr dataset from Valdai, Russia, demonstrate the temporal dynamics of this coupled modeling system. The soil moisture and water table depth simulated by the coupled model agree well with the Valdai observations. Differences in prediction between the coupled and uncoupled models demonstrate the effect of a dynamic water table on simulated watershed flow. Comparison of the coupled model predictions with observations indicates certain cold processes such as frozen soil and freeze/thaw processes have an important impact on predicted water table depth. Comparisons of soil moisture, latent heat, sensible heat, temperature, runoff, and predicted groundwater depth between the uncoupled and coupled models demonstrate the need for improved groundwater representation in land surface schemes.

scholarly journals Quantifying the impact of groundwater depth on evapotranspiration in a semi-arid grassland region

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 787-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Soylu ◽  
E. Istanbulluoglu ◽  
J. D. Lenters ◽  
T. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Soil Texture ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Surface Interactions ◽  
Water Table Depth ◽  
Richards Equation ◽  
Hydraulic Parameter ◽  
Soil Hydraulic ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract. Interactions between shallow groundwater and land surface processes play an important role in the ecohydrology of riparian zones. Some recent land surface models (LSMs) incorporate groundwater-land surface interactions using parameterizations at varying levels of detail. In this paper, we examine the sensitivity of land surface evapotranspiration (ET) to water table depth, soil texture, and two commonly used soil hydraulic parameter datasets using four models with varying levels of complexity. The selected models are Hydrus-1D, which solves the pressure-based Richards equation, the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS), which simulates interactions among multiple soil layers using a (water-content) variant of the Richards equation, and two forms of a steady-state capillary flux model coupled with a single-bucket soil moisture model. These models are first evaluated using field observations of climate, soil moisture, and groundwater levels at a semi-arid site in south-central Nebraska, USA. All four models are found to compare reasonably well with observations, particularly when the effects of groundwater are included. We then examine the sensitivity of modelled ET to water table depth for various model formulations, node spacings, and soil textures (using soil hydraulic parameter values from two different sources, namely Rawls and Clapp-Hornberger). The results indicate a strong influence of soil texture and water table depth on groundwater contributions to ET. Furthermore, differences in texture-specific, class-averaged soil parameters obtained from the two literature sources lead to large differences in the simulated depth and thickness of the "critical zone" (i.e., the zone within which variations in water table depth strongly impact surface ET). Depending on the depth-to-groundwater, this can also lead to large discrepancies in simulated ET (in some cases by more than a factor of two). When the Clapp-Hornberger soil parameter dataset is used, the critical zone becomes significantly deeper, and surface ET rates become much higher, resulting in a stronger influence of deep groundwater on the land surface energy and water balance. In general, we find that the simulated sensitivity of ET to the choice of soil hydraulic parameter dataset is greater than the sensitivity to soil texture defined within each dataset, or even to the choice of model formulation. Thus, our findings underscore the need for future modelling and field-based studies to improve the predictability of groundwater-land surface interactions in numerical models, particularly as it relates to the parameterization of soil hydraulic properties.

Development and Testing of a Surface Flux and Planetary Boundary Layer Model for Application in Mesoscale Models

1995 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Pleim ◽  
Aijun Xiu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Pbl Model

Abstract Although the development of soil, vegetation, and atmosphere interaction models has been driven primarily by the need for accurate simulations of long-term energy and moisture budgets in global climate models, the importance of these processes at smaller scales for short-term numerical weather prediction and air quality studies is becoming more appreciated. Planetary boundary layer (PBL) development is highly dependent on the partitioning of the available net radiation into sensible and latent heat fluxes. Therefore, adequate treatmentof surface properties such as soil moisture and vegetation characteristics is essential for accurate simulation of PBL development, convective and low-level cloud processes, and the temperature and humidity of boundary layer air. In this paper, the development ofa simple coupled surface and PBL model, which is planned for incorporation into the Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM4/5), is described. The soil-vegetation model is based on a simple force-restore algorithm with explicit soil moisture and evapotranspiration. The PBL model is a hybrid of nonlocal closure for convective conditions and eddy diffusion for all other conditions. A one-dimensional version of the model has been applied to several case studies from field experiments in both dry desert-like conditions (Wangara) and moist vegetated conditions(First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project Field Experiment) to demonstrate the model's ability to realistically simulate surface fluxes as well as PBL development. This new surface-PBL model is currently being incorporated into the MM4-MM5 system.

scholarly journals An Empirical Investigation of Convective Planetary Boundary Layer Evolution and Its Relationship with the Land Surface

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 917-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Santanello ◽  
Mark A. Friedl ◽  
William P. Kustas
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Properties ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Convective Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Daily Time

Abstract Relationships among convective planetary boundary layer (PBL) evolution and land surface properties are explored using data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Cloud and Radiation Test Bed in the southern Great Plains. Previous attempts to infer surface fluxes from observations of the PBL have been constrained by difficulties in accurately estimating and parameterizing the conservation equation and have been limited to multiday averages or small samples of daily case studies. Using radiosonde and surface flux data for June, July, and August of 1997, 1999, and 2001, a conservation approach was applied to 132 sets of daily observations. Results highlight the limitations of using this method on daily time scales caused by the diurnal variability and complexity of entrainment. A statistical investigation of the relationship among PBL and both land surface and near-surface properties that are not explicitly included in conservation methods indicates that atmospheric stability in the layer of PBL growth is the most influential variable controlling PBL development. Significant relationships between PBL height and soil moisture, 2-m potential temperature, and 2-m specific humidity are also identified through this analysis, and it is found that 76% of the variance in PBL height can be explained by observations of stability and soil water content. Using this approach, it is also possible to use limited observations of the PBL to estimate soil moisture on daily time scales without the need for detailed land surface parameterizations. In the future, the general framework that is presented may provide a means for robust estimation of near-surface soil moisture and land surface energy balance over regional scales.

scholarly journals Convective Planetary Boundary Layer Interactions with the Land Surface at Diurnal Time Scales: Diagnostics and Feedbacks

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1082-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Santanello ◽  
Mark A. Friedl ◽  
Michael B. Ek
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Atmospheric Stability ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Convective Planetary Boundary Layer

Abstract The convective planetary boundary layer (PBL) integrates surface fluxes and conditions over regional and diurnal scales. As a result, the structure and evolution of the PBL contains information directly related to land surface states. To examine the nature and magnitude of land–atmosphere coupling and the interactions and feedbacks controlling PBL development, the authors used a large sample of radiosonde observations collected at the southern Atmospheric Research Measurement Program–Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (ARM-CART) site in association with simulations of mixed-layer growth from a single-column PBL/land surface model. The model accurately predicts PBL evolution and realistically simulates thermodynamics associated with two key controls on PBL growth: atmospheric stability and soil moisture. The information content of these variables and their influence on PBL height and screen-level temperature can be characterized using statistical methods to describe PBL–land surface coupling over a wide range of conditions. Results also show that the first-order effects of land–atmosphere coupling are manifested in the control of soil moisture and stability on atmospheric demand for evapotranspiration and on the surface energy balance. Two principal land–atmosphere feedback regimes observed during soil moisture drydown periods are identified that complicate direct relationships between PBL and land surface properties, and, as a result, limit the accuracy of uncoupled land surface and traditional PBL growth models. In particular, treatments for entrainment and the role of the residual mixed layer are critical to quantifying diurnal land–atmosphere interactions.

scholarly journals Summer temperature response to extreme soil water conditions in the Mediterranean transitional climate regime

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Materia ◽  
Constantin Ardilouze ◽  
Chloé Prodhomme ◽  
Markus G. Donat ◽  
Marianna Benassi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
The Mediterranean

AbstractLand surface and atmosphere are interlocked by the hydrological and energy cycles and the effects of soil water-air coupling can modulate near-surface temperatures. In this work, three paired experiments were designed to evaluate impacts of different soil moisture initial and boundary conditions on summer temperatures in the Mediterranean transitional climate regime region. In this area, evapotranspiration is not limited by solar radiation, rather by soil moisture, which therefore controls the boundary layer variability. Extremely dry, extremely wet and averagely humid ground conditions are imposed to two global climate models at the beginning of the warm and dry season. Then, sensitivity experiments, where atmosphere is alternatively interactive with and forced by land surface, are launched. The initial soil state largely affects summer near-surface temperatures: dry soils contribute to warm the lower atmosphere and exacerbate heat extremes, while wet terrains suppress thermal peaks, and both effects last for several months. Land-atmosphere coupling proves to be a fundamental ingredient to modulate the boundary layer state, through the partition between latent and sensible heat fluxes. In the coupled runs, early season heat waves are sustained by interactive dry soils, which respond to hot weather conditions with increased evaporative demand, resulting in longer-lasting extreme temperatures. On the other hand, when wet conditions are prescribed across the season, the occurrence of hot days is suppressed. The land surface prescribed by climatological precipitation forcing causes a temperature drop throughout the months, due to sustained evaporation of surface soil water. Results have implications for seasonal forecasts on both rain-fed and irrigated continental regions in transitional climate zones.

scholarly journals High-resolution fully-coupled atmospheric–hydrological modeling: a cross-compartment regional water and energy cycle evaluation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Fersch ◽  
Alfonso Senatore ◽  
Bianca Adler ◽  
Joël Arnault ◽  
Matthias Mauder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Ground Heat Flux ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Fully Coupled ◽  
Regional Water

<p>The land surface and the atmospheric boundary layer are closely intertwined with respect to the exchange of water, trace gases and energy. Nonlinear feedback and scale dependent mechanisms are obvious by observations and theories. Modeling instead is often narrowed to single compartments of the terrestrial system or bound to traditional viewpoints of definite scientific disciplines. Coupled terrestrial hydrometeorological modeling systems attempt to overcome these limitations to achieve a better integration of the processes relevant for regional climate studies and local area weather prediction. We examine the ability of the hydrologically enhanced version of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF-Hydro) to reproduce the regional water cycle by means of a two-way coupled approach and assess the impact of hydrological coupling with respect to a traditional regional atmospheric model setting. It includes the observation-based calibration of the hydrological model component (offline WRF-Hydro) and a comparison of the classic WRF and the fully coupled WRF-Hydro models both with identical calibrated parameter settings for the land surface model (Noah-MP). The simulations are evaluated based on extensive observations at the pre-Alpine Terrestrial Environmental Observatory (TERENO Pre-Alpine) for the Ammer (600 km²) and Rott (55 km²) river catchments in southern Germany, covering a five month period (Jun–Oct 2016).</p><p>The sensitivity of 7 land surface parameters is tested using the <em>Latin-Hypercube One-factor-At-a-Time</em> (LH-OAT) method and 6 sensitive parameters are subsequently optimized for 6 different subcatchments, using the Model-Independent <em>Parameter Estimation and Uncertainty Analysis software</em> (PEST).</p><p>The calibration of the offline WRF-Hydro leads to Nash-Sutcliffe efficiencies between 0.56 and 0.64 and volumetric efficiencies between 0.46 and 0.81 for the six subcatchments. The comparison of classic WRF and fully coupled WRF-Hydro shows only tiny alterations for radiation and precipitation but considerable changes for moisture- and energy fluxes. By comparison with TERENO Pre-Alpine observations, the fully coupled model slightly outperforms the classic WRF with respect to evapotranspiration, sensible and ground heat flux, near surface mixing ratio, temperature, and boundary layer profiles of air temperature. The subcatchment-based water budgets show uniformly directed variations for evapotranspiration, infiltration excess and percolation whereas soil moisture and precipitation change randomly.</p>

scholarly journals An investigation of ozone and planetary boundary layer dynamics over the complex topography of Grenoble combining measurements and modeling

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 797-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Couach ◽  
I Balin ◽  
R. Jiménez ◽  
P. Ristori ◽  
S. Perego ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Ozone Production ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Complex Topography ◽  
Atmospheric Measurements ◽  
Model Calculations

Abstract. This paper concerns an evaluation of ozone (O3) and planetary boundary layer (PBL) dynamics over the complex topography of the Grenoble region through a combination of measurements and mesoscale model (METPHOMOD) predictions for three days, during July 1999. The measurements of O3 and PBL structure were obtained with a Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system, situated 20 km south of Grenoble at Vif (310 m a.s.l.). The combined lidar observations and model calculations are in good agreement with atmospheric measurements obtained with an instrumented aircraft (METAIR). Ozone fluxes were calculated using lidar measurements of ozone vertical profiles concentrations and the horizontal wind speeds measured with a Radar Doppler wind profiler (DEGREANE). The ozone flux patterns indicate that the diurnal cycle of ozone production is controlled by local thermal winds. The convective PBL maximum height was some 2700 m above the land surface while the nighttime residual ozone layer was generally found between 1200 and 2200 m. Finally we evaluate the magnitude of the ozone processes at different altitudes in order to estimate the photochemical ozone production due to the primary pollutants emissions of Grenoble city and the regional network of automobile traffic.

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