Evaluation of soil moisture simulations in the GLACE-CMIP5 experiment using satellite and in situ observations over CONUS

Abstract:

Soil moisture is one of important components of land surface process. It plays critical role in the earth system through affecting both surface energy and water balances at boundary layer. Because of spatial and temporal discontinuities in observed soil moisture, model-simulated soil moisture is widely used instead. The accuracy of the model-simulated soil moisture has a significant impact on soil moisture-related research, such as investigations of soil moisture–climate interactions. This project aims will evaluate the performance of soil moisture simulations in 6 earth system models from the Global Land Atmosphere Coupling Experiment – Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (GLACE-CMIP5) by using both in situ and satellite-based soil moisture observations over CONUS. In situ soil moisture (top 5 cm and total soil column) will be derived from the North American Soil Moisture Database. Satellite-based observations, specifically the Soil Moisture Essential Climate Variable (ECV), will also be used to evaluate the models. This project will help to assess the performance of these models and to identify areas where further improvement in the accuracy of the soil moisture simulations are needed.