Evaluation of Noah-MP Snow Simulation across Site Conditions in the Western United States

Details

• Journal Title:
  Journal of Hydrometeorology
• Personal Author:
  von Kaenel, Manon ; Margulis, Steven A.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
• Description:
  Quantifying spatiotemporal variability in snow water resources is a challenge especially relevant for regions that rely on snowmelt for water supply. Model accuracy is often limited by uncertainties in meteorological forcings and/or suboptimal physics representation. In this study, we evaluate the performance and sensitivity of Noah land surface model with multiparameterization options (Noah-MP) snow simulations from ten model configurations across 199 sites in the western United States. Nine experiments are constrained by observed meteorology to test snow-related physics options, and the 10th experiment tests an alternative source of meteorological forcings. We find that the base case, which aligns with the National Water Model configuration and uses observation-based forcings, overestimates observed accumulated snow water equivalent (SWE) at 90% of stations by a median of 9.6%. The model performs better in the accumulation season at colder, drier sites and in the melt season at wetter, warmer sites. Accumulation metrics are sensitive to model configuration in two experiments, and melt metrics, in six experiments. Alterations to model physics cause changes to median accumulation metrics from −13% to 2.3% with the greatest change due to precipitation partitioning and to melt metrics from −10% to 3% with the greatest change due to surface resistance configuration. The experiment with alternative forcings causes even greater and wider-ranging changes (medians ranging from −29% to 6%). Not all stations share the same best-performing model configuration. At most stations, the base case is outperformed by four alternative physics options which also significantly impact snow simulation. This research provides insights into the performance and sensitivity of snow predictions across site conditions and model configurations.
• Keywords:
  Snow Land Surface Model Model Evaluation Model Performance Water Resources
• Source:
  J. Hydrometeor., 25, 1389–1406
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-23-0211.1
• Format:
  PDF
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA18OAR4590396
• Place as Subject:
  North America
• Rights Information:
  Other
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5e7f9b5195328a4f6765178a50777240965d0006ab01ddb286923a52eb9ab6e11b30b9a01e81adeb0be37f6804af4b1c086180e4c325340143de8ea7678b478d
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/70623/noaa_70623_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 35.96 MB ]