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Assimilation of GOES Land Surface Data into a Mesoscale ModelsA technique has been developed for assimilating Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (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 assimilation technique has been applied to the Oklahoma-Kansas region during the spring-summer 2000 time period when dynamic changes in vegetation cover occur. In April, central Oklahoma is characterized by large NDVI associated with winter wheat while surrounding areas are primarily rangeland with lower NDVI. In July the vegetation pattern reverses as the central wheat area changes to low NDVI due to harvesting and the surrounding rangeland is greener than it was in April. The goal of this study is to determine if assimilating satellite land surface data can improve simulation of the complex spatial distribution of surface energy and water fluxes across this region. The PSU/NCAR NM5 V3 system is used in this study. The grid configuration consists of a 36-km CONUS domain and a 12-km nest over the area of interest. Bulk verification statistics (BIAS and RMSE) of surface air temperature and dewpoint indicates that assimilation of the satellite data results reduces both the bias and RMSE for both state variables. In addition, comparison of model data with ARM/CART EBBR flux observations reveals that the assimilation technique adjusts the bowen ratio in a realistic fashion.
Document ID
20010037931
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
(Universities Space Research Association United States)
Goodman, H. Michael
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2001
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: Numerical Weather Prediction
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: July 30, 2001
End Date: August 2, 2001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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