|
The interactions between the atmosphere and underlying land surface have important implications for the near-surface climate behavior over land. One key land-atmosphere interaction involves the potential feedback between soil moisture and rainfall. This project will consider how the behavior of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the portion of atmosphere in direct contact with the surface, affects the sign and strength of the soil moisture-precipitation feedback. To explore the ABL characteristics contributing to the soil moisture-rainfall feedback, the project will make use of a simple numerical model, the Chemistry Land-Atmosphere Soil Slab (CLASS) model. Site level observational data, including exchanges of water and energy between the land surface and atmosphere, temperature and moisture profiles of the overlying atmosphere, and the soil moisture content, will be used to perform and validate the CLASS model simulations. Simulations will be performed for a diverse set of sites, including a tropical site over Costa Rica, a monsoonal climate regime site in the southwestern US, and a humid temperate site over the northeastern US. Results from these simulations will be used to construct diagnostics of soil moisture-rainfall feedbacks and how these feedbacks vary across sites. Insights gained from the planned analyses are expected to inform our understanding of the near-surface response to climate change.
|
Sign in
to view more information about this project.
