Gravel parameterization scheme and verification using BCC_CSM

Abstract

The soil in China contains an abundance of gravels, but it is poorly described in land surface models. To solve this problem, the Beijing Climate Center Atmosphere–Vegetation Interaction Model (BCC_AVIM), which is a land surface model with the gravel parameterization, is coupled to the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model (BCC_CSM). The simulation ability of BCC_CSM for China using the gravel parameterization is evaluated by comparing the simulation results using default and new schemes with the observed data. The results show that the annual average surface temperature simulated with the new schemes is more consistent with the observation in terms of spatial distribution, and the simulation results are significantly improved, especially in summer. From the perspective of the area-averaged variables, more precipitation simulated using the default schemes is improved except for summer. The high-level and low-level wind fields simulated by BCC_CSM significantly improve the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In general, this gravel parameterization is more suitable for areas with high gravel content, and it improves the simulation performance of BCC_CSM in some areas of China.