Modeling surface quantities over Himalaya using the Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR) Model: multi-decadal simulations and assessment using satellites and in-situ data
Abstract
We report results concerning the performance of the first long term multidecadal regional climate model (RCM) Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR) simulations over the High Mountain Asia (HMA), between 2000 and 2016. For our assessment we use remote sensing products such as albedo and surface temperature from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), reanalysis datasets from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), outputs from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2), and in situ data from automatic weather stations. ECMWF and MERRA-2 datasets were used for forcing at the lateral boundaries over the whole HMA region.
Overall, our analysis indicates that MAR overestimates albedo when compared to MODIS, with a difference in mean albedo values of 0.06. This difference is likely partially driven by MAR's overestimation of the snow cover area and the overestimation of the simulated snowfall and an underestimation of surface temperature. Consequently, a second run was performed with a reduced humidity correction at the MAR boundaries. MAR albedo was then masked with the MODIS snow cover product, resulting in an overall improvement in the consistency between MODIS and MAR albedo, with a difference in mean albedo values of 0.03. Lastly, we report results concerning the assessment of MAR surface temperatures over the region through in situ data, from automatic weather stations. Our analysis confirms that MAR is 'too cold' with temperatures biases being of the order of 0.56. Next steps are to run MAR at a higher resolution to capture complex and micro climate systems. Some of the discrepancies observed in the model outputs are probably a result of the complex topography and climate systems in the region.- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.C21E1402L
- Keywords:
-
- 0720 Glaciers;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 0758 Remote sensing;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 0798 Modeling;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 1863 Snow and ice;
- HYDROLOGY