The SAFRAN-ISBA-MODCOU hydrometeorological model applied over France

An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright (2008) American Geophysical UnionThe hydrometeorological model SIM consists in a meterological analysis system (SAFRAN), a land surface model (ISBA) and a hydrogeological model (MODCOU). It generates atmospheric forcing at an hourly time step, and it computes water and surface energy budgets, the river ow at more than 900 rivergauging stations, and the level of several aquifers. SIM was extended over all of France in order to have a homogeneous nation-wide monitoring of the water resources: it can therefore be used to forecast flood risk and to monitor drought risk over the entire nation. The hydrometeorologival model was applied over a 10-year period from 1995 to 2005. In this paper the databases used by the SIM model are presented, then the 10-year simulation is assessed by using the observations of daily stream-flow, piezometric head, and snow depth. This assessment shows that SIM is able to reproduce the spatial and temporal variabilities of the water fluxes. The efficiency is above 0.55 (reasonable results) for 66 % of the simulated rivergages, and above 0.65 (rather good results) for 36 % of them. However, the SIM system produces worse results during the driest years, which is more likely due to the fact that only few aquifers are simulated explicitly. The annual evolution of the snow depth is well reproduced, with a square correlation coeficient around 0.9 over the large altitude range in the domain. The stream ow observations were used to estimate the overall error of the simulated latent heat ux, which was estimated to be less than 4 %

Effects of frozen soil on soil temperature, spring infiltration, and runoff: results from the PILPS 2(d) experiment at Valdai, Russia

Permission to place copies of these works on this server has been provided by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The AMS does not guarantee that the copies provided here are accurate copies of the published work. © Copyright 2003 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form on servers, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or [email protected] Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes phase 2(d) experiment at Valdai, Russia, offers a unique opportunity to evaluate land surface schemes, especially snow and frozen soil parameterizations. Here, the ability of the 21 schemes that participated in the experiment to correctly simulate the thermal and hydrological properties of the soil on several different timescales was examined. Using observed vertical profiles of soil temperature and soil moisture, the impact of frozen soil schemes in the land surface models on the soil temperature and soil moisture simulations was evaluated. It was found that when soil-water freezing is explicitly included in a model, it improves the simulation of soil temperature and its variability at seasonal and interannual scales. Although change of thermal conductivity of the soil also affects soil temperature simulation, this effect is rather weak. The impact of frozen soil on soil moisture is inconclusive in this experiment due to the particular climate at Valdai, where the top 1 m of soil is very close to saturation during winter and the range for soil moisture changes at the time of snowmelt is very limited. The results also imply that inclusion of explicit snow processes in the models would contribute to substantially improved simulations. More sophisticated snow models based on snow physics tend to produce better snow simulations, especially of snow ablation. Hysteresis of snow-cover fraction as a function of snow depth is observed at the catchment but not in any of the models

Effects of Frozen Soil on Soil Temperature, Spring Infiltration, and Runoff: Results from the PILPS 2(d) Experiment at Valdai, Russia

The Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes phase 2(d) experiment at Valdai, Russia, offers a unique opportunity to evaluate land surface schemes, especially snow and frozen soil parameterizations. Here, the ability of the 21 schemes that participated in the experiment to correctly simulate the thermal and hydrological properties of the soil on several different timescales was examined. Using observed vertical profiles of soil temperature and soil moisture, the impact of frozen soil schemes in the land surface models on the soil temperature and soil moisture simulations was evaluated. It was found that when soil-water freezing is explicitly included in a model, it improves the simulation of soil temperature and its variability at seasonal and interannual scales. Although change of thermal conductivity of the soil also affects soil temperature simulation, this effect is rather weak. The impact of frozen soil on soil moisture is inconclusive in this experiment due to the particular climate at Valdai, where the top 1 m of soil is very close to saturation during winter and the range for soil moisture changes at the time of snowmelt is very limited. The results also imply that inclusion of explicit snow processes in the models would contribute to substantially improved simulations. More sophisticated snow models based on snow physics tend to produce better snow simulations, especially of snow ablation. Hysteresis of snow-cover fraction as a function of snow depth is observed at the catchment but not in any of the models

The representation of snow in land surface schemes: results from PILPS 2(d)

Permission to place copies of these works on this server has been provided by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The AMS does not guarantee that the copies provided here are accurate copies of the published work. © Copyright 2001 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form on servers, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or [email protected] land surface schemes (LSSs) performed simulations forced by 18 yr of observed meteorological data from a grassland catchment at Valdai, Russia, as part of the Project for the Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS) Phase 2(d). In this paper the authors examine the simulation of snow. In comparison with observations, the models are able to capture the broad features of the snow regime on both an intra- and interannual basis. However, weaknesses in the simulations exist, and early season ablation events are a significant source of model scatter. Over the 18-yr simulation, systematic differences between the models’ snow simulations are evident and reveal specific aspects of snow model parameterization and design as being responsible. Vapor exchange at the snow surface varies widely among the models, ranging from a large net loss to a small net source for the snow season. Snow albedo, fractional snow cover, and their interplay have a large effect on energy available for ablation, with differences among models most evident at low snow depths. The incorporation of the snowpack within an LSS structure affects the method by which snow accesses, as well as utilizes, available energy for ablation. The sensitivity of some models to longwave radiation, the dominant winter radiative flux, is partly due to a stability-induced feedback and the differing abilities of models to exchange turbulent energy with the atmosphere. Results presented in this paper suggest where weaknesses in macroscale snow modeling lie and where both theoretical and observational work should be focused to address these weaknesses

Modélisation du cycle continental de l'eau à l'échelle régionale. Impact de la modélisation de la neige sur l'hydrologie du Rhône

In order to study the water cycle at regional scale, Habets (1998) coupled the SVAT ISBA (developed by Meteo-France) with the hydrological model MODCOU (developed by the Ecole ds Mines de Paris) and applied them to the Rhone Basin for one year (1987/88). Due to the strong snow influence, the ssophisticated snow model Crocus has been included in the system in the framework of the present thesis. The simulation of the Rhone catchment has been extended for 14 years (from 1981 to 1994). The meteorological input data have been derived from the SAFRAN analysis, especially relevant for the mountainous areas. Since the discharge observations were not used for calibration, they were used for validation. Daily discharge observations were compared with simulation for 145 gauge stations located on the Rhone and main rivers of the basin. The simulated snowpack has also been validated by comparison with independent daily snow-depth observations provided for 24 sites. The water budget is very contrasted and puts into light three main ensembles : the northern snowy-rainy catchments (Saône, Doubs, Ain), the southern rainy catchements (low Durance, Ardèche) and the alpine catchments with a strong snowy component (Isère, Drac, high Durance). After its validation, the tool has been used to estimate the impact of a climate change on the main Rhone basin hydrological components. A particular attention was paid to an increase of the spatial resolution on the simulation of the high Durance snowy catchment.Afin d'étudier le cycle de l'eau à l'échelle régionale, le couplage d'ISBA (le schéma de surface de Météo-France) avec MODCOU (le modèle hydrologique de l'Ecole des Mines de Paris) a été mis au point sur le Rhône pour l'année 1987/88 par Habets (1998). En raison de la forte composante nivale alpine du bassin, CROCUS (le modèle de neige de Météo-France) a été rajouté dans le système complet. La simulation du bassin versant du Rhône a ensuite été étendue à 14 années (de 1981 à 1994). Les forçages atmosphériques ont été analysés à l'aide du système SAFRAN, spécialement conçu pour les zones de relief. Bien qu'aucun étalonnage sur les débits n'ait été réalisé, les résultats du système sont validés de manière satisfaisante par comparaison avec les débits quotidiens observés en 145 stations de jaugeage sur les grands cours d'eau du bassin versant du Rhône. L'enneigement simulé reproduit bien les hauteurs de neige observées quotidiennement pour 24 postes d'altitude. Le bilan hydrique du bassin apparaît très contrasté et met en lumière trois grands ensembles : les bassins nivo-pluviaux et humides du nord (Saône, Doubs, Ain), les bassins pluviaux et secs du sud (basse Durance, Ardèche) et les bassins alpins fortement enneigés (Isère, Drac, Haute-Durance). L'outil ainsi validé a ensuite été utilisé pour évaluer l'impact d'un changement climatique sur les grandes composantes hydriques du bassin versant. Une attention particulière a également été apportée à l'impact d'une augmentation de la résolution des calculs sur la qualité de la simulation du bassin nival de la Haute-Durance