HR: 1340h
AN: A23A-0932    [Abstracts]
TI: A global 0.05° maximum albedo dataset of snow-covered land based on MODIS observations and its sensitivity in the WRF/NOAH model
AU: * Barlage, M
EM: barlage@atmo.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Arizona, 1118 E 4th St., Tucson, AZ 85721
AU: Zeng, X
EM: zeng@atmo.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Arizona, 1118 E 4th St., Tucson, AZ 85721
AB: A new global maximum albedo for snow-covered land is developed. The dataset is based on BRDF/Albedo, reflectance and land cover measured from the MODIS sensor on board the Terra and Aqua satellites, and is available at 0.05° resolution. The dataset is similar to the 1° maximum snow albedo dataset of Robinson and Kukla[1985], but is available at much higher resolution. Both datasets display: (1) a high albedo at very high latitudes with tundra and open shrub land cover; (2) a local minimum in zonally-averaged albedo of about 0.35 at 56-60°N due to evergreen needleleaf forest cover; and (3) a local maximum in zonally-averaged albedo of about 0.7 at 42-45°N due to crop and grassland. This dataset is tested in the Noah model at 0.125° resolution as used in the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) and in the WRF model with NOAH as its land surface component. Compared with the original 1° data, the new dataset leads to a significant spatial heterogeneity in the Noah model simulation during winter. Sensible heat flux differences of 10 W/m2 between simulations with and without the new dataset are found during the snowmelt period over several regions of the United States and Canada.
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (0736, 0738, 0776, 1827)
DE: 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions (1218, 1631, 1843)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005