THE PROJECT FOR INTERCOMPARISON OF LAND-SURFACE PARAMETERIZATION SCHEMES (PILPS) PHASE 2(C) RED-ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN EXPERIMENT - 2 - SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF ENERGY FLUXES

The energy components of sixteen Soil-Vegetation Atmospheric Transfer (SVAT) schemes were analyzed and intercompared using 10 years of surfa ce meteorological and radiative forcing data from the Red-Arkansas Riv er basin in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. Comparison s of simulated surface energy fluxes among models showed that the net radiation and surface temperature generally had the best agreement amo ng the schemes. On an average (annual and monthly) basis, the estimate d latent heat fluxes agreed (to within approximate estimation errors) with the latent heat fluxes derived from a radiosonde-based atmospheri c budget method for slightly more than half of the schemes. The sensib le heat fluxes had larger differences among the schemes than did the l atent heat fluxes, and the model-simulated ground heat fluxes had larg e variations among the schemes. The spatial patterns of the model-comp uted net radiation and surface temperature were generally similar amon g the schemes, and appear reasonable and consistent with observations of related variables, such as surface air temperature. The spatial mea n patterns of latent and sensible heat fluxes were less similar than f or net radiation, and the spatial patterns of the ground heat flux var y greatly among the 16 schemes. Generally, there is less similarity am ong the models in the temporal (interannual) variability of surface fl uxes and temperature than there is in the mean fields, even for scheme s with similar mean fields. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.