Abstract
Simulations with the WRF model have been carried out with high resolution soil data to analyze its effect on planetary boundary layer (PBL) development. The default soil texture distribution of 5′ horizontal resolution has been replaced with a 30′′ one on the basis of the Digital Kreybig Soil Information System and Hungarian Agrogeological Database in Hungary. Soil parameter values determined from HUNSODA and MARTHA Hungarian soil databases were also compared. Comparison of PBL height simulations and measurements obtained by radiometer and windprofiler shows that the impact of soil parameter differences on PBL height evolution is not negligible. The latent heat flux and PBL height daytime courses show significant (P<0.01) differences over more than 50% of the model domain covering the Carpathian basin.
Highlights
The land-surface is the key climate system component in modeling of the lower atmosphere in the global circulation and in the mesoscale modeling systems [1]
The planetary boundary layer (PBL) height estimated from signalto-noise ratio (SNR) shows a gradual building-up mixing layer during the day, while PBL height inferred from the radiometer changes quickly
Though the difference in soil parameters caused a difference in latent heat flux in average of about 25 W/m2 and as a result a 0.5◦C temperature difference occurred at 2 m, the PBL height difference was small
Summary
The land-surface is the key climate system component in modeling of the lower atmosphere in the global circulation and in the mesoscale modeling systems [1]. Since surface properties are highly variable in both space and time, the quantification of land-surface-atmosphere interaction processes is still a major challenge. Surface inhomogeneities can induce fluctuations in the spatially averaged surface energy budget terms, these in return affect the lower atmosphere [2], even up to the top of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) [3]. One major factor in the energy budget is the available soil moisture, affecting both bare soil evaporation and transpiration. Soil moisture depends on many factors, such as soil texture, spatial variability of soil properties, and soil hydrophysical parameters. There had been many investigations on the role of soil in weather events (e.g., [7, 8]), but more investigation is needed (e.g., [9, 10]) as the mesoscale weather prediction systems develop
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