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Use of Geostationary Satellite Data to Force Land Surface Schemes within Atmospheric Mesoscale ModelsA technique has been developed for assimilating GOES-derived skin temperature tendencies and insolation into the surface energy budget equation of a mesoscale model so that the simulated rate of temperature change closely agrees with the satellite observations. A critical assumption of the technique is that the availability of moisture (either from the soil or vegetation) is the least known term in the model's surface energy budget. Therefore, the simulated latent heat flux, which is a function of surface moisture availability, is adjusted based upon differences between the modeled and satellite-observed skin temperature tendencies. An advantage of this technique is that satellite temperature tendencies are assimilated in an energetically consistent manner that avoids energy imbalances and surface stability problems that arise from direct assimilation of surface shelter temperatures. The fact that the rate of change of the satellite skin temperature is used rather than the absolute temperature means that sensor calibration is not as critical. The technique has been employed on a semi-operational basis at the GHCC within the PSU/NCAR MM5. Assimilation has been performed on a grid centered over the Southeastern US since November 1998. Results from the past year show that assimilation of the satellite data reduces both the bias and RMSE for simulations of surface air temperature and relative humidity. These findings are based on comparison of assimilation runs with a control using the simple 5-layer soil model available in MM5. A significant development in the past several months was the inclusion of the detailed Oregon State University land surface model (OSU/LSM) as an option within MM5. One of our working hypotheses has been that the assimilation technique, although simple, may provide better short-term forecasts than a detailed LSM that requires significant number initialized parameters. Preliminary results indicate that the assimilation out performs the OSU/LSM as it is incorporated in MM5. Details will be presented at the symposium.
Document ID
20010021327
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Lapenta, William M.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Suggs, Ron
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
McNider, Richard T.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL United States)
Jedlovec, Gary
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Dembek, Scott R.
(Universities Space Research Association United States)
Goodman, H. Michael
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2000
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Meeting Information
Meeting: Multi/Hyperspectral Sensors, Measurements, Modeling and Simulation
Location: Huntsville, AL
Country: United States
Start Date: November 7, 2000
End Date: November 9, 2000
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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