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Snow process modeling in the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS): 1. Evaluation of model-simulated snow cover extent
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Environmental Modeling Center, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NOAA, National Weather Service, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Hydrological Sciences Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Office of Hydrologic Development, NOAA, National Weather Service, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Environmental Modeling Center, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NOAA, National Weather Service, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Hydrological Sciences Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Office of Hydrologic Development, NOAA, National Weather Service, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Climate Prediction Center, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, NOAA, National Weather Service, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Office of Research and Applications, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Office of Research and Applications, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
This study evaluates the cold season process modeling in the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and consists of two parts: (1) assessment of land surface model simulations of snow cover extent and (2) evaluation of snow water equivalent. In this first part, simulations of snow cover extent from the four land surface models (Noah, MOSAIC, Sacramento land surface model (SAC), and variable infiltration capacity land surface model (VIC)) in the NLDAS were compared with observational data from the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System for a 3 year retrospective period over the conterminous United States. In general, all models simulate reasonably well the regional-scale spatial and seasonal dynamics of snow cover. Systematic biases are seen in the model simulations, with consistent underestimation of snow cover extent by MOSAIC (−19.8% average bias) and Noah (−22.5%), and overestimation by VIC (22.3%), with SAC being essentially unbiased on average. However, the level of bias at the regional scale varies with geographic location and elevation variability. Larger discrepancies are seen over higher elevation regions of the northwest of the United States that may be due, in part, to errors in the meteorological forcings and also at the snow line boundary, where most temporal and spatial variability in snow cover extent is likely to occur. The spread between model simulations is fairly low and generally envelopes the observed data at the mean regional scale, indicating that the models are quite capable of simulating the general behavior of snow processes at these scales. Intermodel differences can be explained to some extent by differences in the model representations of subgrid variability and parameterizations of snow cover extent.
Received 2 December 2002; accepted 30 July 2003; published 21 November 2003.
Citation: (2003), Snow process modeling in the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS): 1. Evaluation of model-simulated snow cover extent, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D22), 8849, doi:10.1029/2002JD003274.
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