Impacts of Real-time Satellite-derived Vegetation on WRF-Hydro Simulated Streamflow

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Weather Research and Forecasting hydrological extension package (WRF-Hydro) is a hydrological modeling and coupling framework that is the basis for the operational National Water Model (NWM). The Noah Land Surface Model with Multi-Parameterization Options (Noah-MP), which is routinely coupled with WRF-Hydro, includes vegetation parameterizations which use monthly climatological tables to define green vegetation fraction (GVF) within the model. However, seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation, and therefore GVF, can deviate greatly from climatology. Previous studies have shown that changes in vegetation influence soil moisture and surface runoff, which are intrinsically linked to streamflow; therefore, there is a need for accurate, real-time GVF for hydrology applications. This study couples Noah-MP with WRF-Hydro to investigate the impact of replacing climatological values of GVF in Noah-MP with real-time Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Green Vegetation Fraction (GVF) when simulating streamflow in WRF-Hydro. Several case studies comparing WRF-Hydro simulated streamflow to United States Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow measurements will be presented.