Modeling of surface energy partitioning, surface temperature, and soil wetness in the Tibetan prairie using the Simple Biosphere Model 2 (SiB2)

Abstract

This paper examines the performance of a stand‐alone version of the Simple Biosphere Model 2 (SiB2) to investigate the accuracy of the modeled surface energy components, surface effective radiative temperature, and soil wetness in a Tibetan short grass prairie from 15 July to 14 September 1998. During this monsoon period the mean canopy height and the leaf area index were 0.05 m and 0.5, respectively. The study site represented the prevailing conditions of the high Tibetan plateau with an average elevation of 4500 m. The model was initialized using in situ measurements and was driven by half‐hourly atmospheric observations. The modeled values for the two months period were compared with micrometeorological field measurements made through the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Asian Monsoon Experiment (GAME)‐Tibet project. Results show that (1) when underestimating net radiation by 11%, the model overestimated sensible, latent, and soil heat fluxes by 8, 3, and 13% respectively; (2) the model generated warmer (colder) ground surface in daytime (nighttime); and (3) soil wetness was estimated reasonably.