Effects of plant growth and development on interannual variability in mesoscale atmospheric simulations

Elena Tsvetsinskaya, Linda O. Mearns, William E. Easterling

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

We introduced daily crop development and growth functions into the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) coupled to the National Center for Atmospheric Research Regional Climate Model (NCAR RegCM2). Coupled RegCM/BATS simulations were performed over the conterminous United States for a dry (1988) and a favorably moist (1991) growing seasons at a spatial resolution of 90 × 90 km. We found that differences in air and ground temperature, mixing ratio, and precipitation between these two seasons were significantly larger in the interactive cases compared to the control ones. The differences in interannual variability were due to the fact that the interactive version of the model was able to capture extensive plant wilt that resulted from drought conditions of summer 1988, the control version was not. Inhibited plant growth resulted in significant decreases in the surface moisture flux to the atmosphere, therefore increasing the sensible heat flux. This acted as a positive feedback to the climate model's suggested dry conditions of 1988. The interactive version of RegCM/BATS that we developed agreed better with observations for the maximum daily air temperature over the central Great Plains for each of the two years in question compared to the control version. Interannual variability ranges simulated with the interactive version of the model also agreed better with observations compared to control ones.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages729-736
Number of pages8
StatePublished - Jan 1 2000
EventProceeedings of the 10th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference - Seattle, WA, USA
Duration: May 28 2000Jun 2 2000

Other

OtherProceeedings of the 10th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference
CitySeattle, WA, USA
Period5/28/006/2/00

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Ocean Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of plant growth and development on interannual variability in mesoscale atmospheric simulations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this