The Implementation and Validation of Improved Landsurface Hydrology in an Atmospheric General Circulation Model
Name
24854502.pdf
Size
8.48 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Johnson, Kevin D.
Entekhabi, Dara
Eagleson, Peter S.
Date Issued
October 1991
Publisher
Cambridge, Mass. : Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory, Hydrology and Water Resource Systems, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Series/Report no.
R (Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil Engineering) ; 91-23.
Report (Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory for Water Resources and Hydrodynamics) ; 334.
Abstract
New landsurface hydrological parameterizations are implemented into the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) General Circulation Model (GCM). These parameterizations are: 1) runoff and evapotranspiration functions that include the effects of subgrid scale spatial variability and use physically-based equations of hydrologic flux at the soil surface, and 2) a realistic soil moisture diffusion scheme for the movement of water in the soil column. A one-dimensional climate model with a complete hydrologic cycle is used to screen the basic sensitivities of the hydrological parameterizations before implementation into the full three-dimensional GCM. Results of the final simulation with the GISS GCM and the new landsurface hydrology indicate that the runoff rate, especially in the tropics, is significantly improved. As a result, the remaining components of the heat and moisture balance show comparable improvements when compared to observations. The validation of model results is carried from the large global (ocean and landsurface) scale, to the zonal, continental, and finally the finer river basin scales. (Key words: Climate modeling, Global hydrology)
Description
Supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NAG 5-743. Supported by the Ralph M. Parson Foundation.
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