Correcting surface solar radiation of two data assimilation systems against FLUXNET observations in North America

[1] Solar radiation at the Earth's surface is an important driver of meteorological and ecological processes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the reanalysis solar radiation produced by NARR (North American Regional Reanalysis) and MERRA (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications) against the FLUXNET measurements in North America. We found that both assimilation systems systematically overestimated the surface solar radiation flux on the monthly and annual scale, with an average bias error of +37.2 Wm−2 for NARR and of +20.2 Wm−2 for MERRA. The bias errors were larger under cloudy skies than under clear skies. A postreanalysis algorithm consisting of empirical relationships between model bias, a clearness index, and site elevation was proposed to correct the model errors. Results show that the algorithm can remove the systematic bias errors for both FLUXNET calibration sites (sites used to establish the algorithm) and independent validation sites. After correction, the average annual mean bias errors were reduced to +1.3 Wm−2 for NARR and +2.7 Wm−2 for MERRA. Applying the correction algorithm to the global domain of MERRA brought the global mean surface incoming shortwave radiation down by 17.3 W m−2 to 175.5 W m−2. Under the constraint of the energy balance, other radiation and energy balance terms at the Earth's surface, estimated from independent global data products, also support the need for a downward adjustment of the MERRA surface solar radiation.

[1]  Katsunori Tanaka,et al.  Transpiration peak over a hill evergreen forest in northern Thailand in the late dry season: Assessing the seasonal changes in evapotranspiration using a multilayer model , 2003 .

[2]  Carl J. Bernacchi,et al.  Corrigendum to “Carbon budget of mature no-till ecosystem in North Central Region of the United States [Agric. For. Meteorol. 130 (2005) 59–69]” , 2006 .

[3]  Stephen B. Fels,et al.  The Simplified Exchange Approximation: A New Method for Radiative Transfer Calculations , 1975 .

[4]  Andrew D. Richardson,et al.  Microclimatology of treeline spruce–fir forests in mountains of the northeastern United States , 2004 .

[5]  Christine Wiedinmyer,et al.  A Preliminary Synthesis of Modeled Climate Change Impacts on U.S. Regional Ozone Concentrations , 2009 .

[6]  L. Mickley,et al.  Linking global to regional models to assess future climate impacts on surface ozone levels in the United States , 2008 .

[7]  S. Seneviratne,et al.  Global intercomparison of 12 land surface heat flux estimates , 2011 .

[8]  Xiquan Dong,et al.  Evaluation and Intercomparison of Cloud Fraction and Radiative Fluxes in Recent Reanalyses over the Arctic Using BSRN Surface Observations , 2012 .

[9]  Henry L. Gholz,et al.  Energy exchange across a chronosequence of slash pine forests in Florida , 2002 .

[10]  J. Morcrette,et al.  The distribution of solar energy at the Earth's surface as calculated in the ECMWF re‐analysis , 1998 .

[11]  Ming Zhao,et al.  Comparison of Arctic clouds between European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts simulations and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility long‐term observations at the North Slope of Alaska Barrow site , 2010 .

[12]  M. Bosilovich,et al.  Evaluation of the Reanalysis Products from GSFC, NCEP, and ECMWF Using Flux Tower Observations , 2012 .

[13]  B. Stevens,et al.  On the Structure of the Lower Troposphere in the Summertime Stratocumulus Regime of the Northeast Pacific , 2007 .

[14]  Mark Heuer,et al.  Direct and indirect effects of atmospheric conditions and soil moisture on surface energy partitioning revealed by a prolonged drought at a temperate forest site , 2006 .

[15]  Ping Zhao,et al.  Variability of Tibetan Spring Snow and Its Associations with the Hemispheric Extratropical Circulation and East Asian Summer Monsoon Rainfall: An Observational Investigation , 2007 .

[16]  Scott D. Miller,et al.  SEASONALITY OF WATER AND HEAT FLUXES OVER A TROPICAL FOREST IN EASTERN AMAZONIA , 2004 .

[17]  Carl J. Bernacchi,et al.  Carbon budget of mature no-till ecosystem in North Central Region of the United States , 2005 .

[18]  Mark C. Serreze,et al.  Climate change and variability using European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis (ERA‐40) temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau , 2005 .

[19]  Michael G. Bosilovich,et al.  Global Energy and Water Budgets in MERRA , 2011 .

[20]  Paul W. Stackhouse,et al.  The Global Character of the Flux of Downward Longwave Radiation , 2012 .

[21]  T. Andrews,et al.  An update on Earth's energy balance in light of the latest global observations , 2012 .

[22]  T. A. Black,et al.  Observed increase in local cooling effect of deforestation at higher latitudes , 2011, Nature.

[23]  Pedro Viterbo,et al.  The land surface‐atmosphere interaction: A review based on observational and global modeling perspectives , 1996 .

[24]  Eric A. Davidson,et al.  Seasonal patterns and environmental control of carbon dioxide and water vapour exchange in an ecotonal boreal forest , 1999 .

[25]  J. Walsh,et al.  Arctic Cloud Fraction and Radiative Fluxes in Atmospheric Reanalyses , 2009 .

[26]  Maosheng Zhao,et al.  Improvements to a MODIS global terrestrial evapotranspiration algorithm , 2011 .

[27]  Nicholas Skowronski,et al.  Invasive insects impact forest carbon dynamics , 2010 .

[28]  Hans Peter Schmid,et al.  Measurements of CO2 and energy fluxes over a mixed hardwood forest in the mid-western United States , 2000 .

[29]  Bruce K. Wylie,et al.  Integration of CO 2 flux and remotely-sensed data for primary production and ecosystem respiration analyses in the Northern Great Plains: potential for quantitative spatial extrapolation , 2005 .

[30]  K. Trenberth,et al.  Earth's annual global mean energy budget , 1997 .

[31]  A. Arneth,et al.  Global patterns of land-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide, latent heat, and sensible heat derived from eddy covariance, satellite, and meteorological observations , 2011 .

[32]  M. Hodnett,et al.  Comparative measurements and seasonal variations in energy and carbon exchange over forest and pasture in South West Amazonia , 2004 .

[33]  X. Lee,et al.  Evaluation of the CLM4 Lake Model at a Large and Shallow Freshwater Lake , 2013 .

[34]  A. Lacis,et al.  Calculation of radiative fluxes from the surface to top of atmosphere based on ISCCP and other global data sets: Refinements of the radiative transfer model and the input data , 2004 .

[35]  S. Schubert,et al.  MERRA: NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications , 2011 .

[36]  T. Meyers,et al.  The Spatial Variability of Energy and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes at the Floor of a Deciduous Forest , 2001 .

[37]  Hans Peter Schmid,et al.  Ecosystem‐atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide over a mixed hardwood forest in northern lower Michigan , 2003 .

[38]  X. Lee,et al.  Long-term observation of the atmospheric exchange of CO 2 with a temperate deciduous forest in southern Ontario , Canada , 1999 .

[39]  D. Baldocchi,et al.  Inter-annual variability in carbon dioxide exchange of an oak/grass savanna and open grassland in California , 2007 .

[40]  Colin G. Jones,et al.  The surface radiation budget over North America: gridded data assessment and evaluation of regional climate models , 2009 .

[41]  M. Lerdau,et al.  Kudzu (Pueraria montana) invasion doubles emissions of nitric oxide and increases ozone pollution , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[42]  Andrew A. Lacis,et al.  Calculation of surface and top of atmosphere radiative fluxes from physical quantities based on ISCCP data sets: 1. Method and sensitivity to input data uncertainties , 1995 .

[43]  Martin Wild,et al.  Global dimming and brightening: A review , 2009 .

[44]  N. Loeb,et al.  Surface Irradiances Consistent With CERES-Derived Top-of-Atmosphere Shortwave and Longwave Irradiances , 2013 .

[45]  D. Jacob,et al.  Climate response to the increase in tropospheric ozone since preindustrial times: A comparison between ozone and equivalent CO2 forcings , 2004 .

[46]  J. Hansen,et al.  A parameterization for the absorption of solar radiation in the earth's atmosphere , 1974 .

[47]  Praveena Krishnan,et al.  Energy exchange and evapotranspiration over two temperate semi-arid grasslands in North America , 2012 .

[48]  P. Duynkerke,et al.  Comparison of the ECMWF Reanalysis with FIRE I Observations: Diurnal Variation of Marine Stratocumulus , 2001 .

[49]  Robert A. Weller,et al.  Multidecade Global Flux Datasets from the Objectively Analyzed Air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project: Latent and Sensible Heat Fluxes, Ocean Evaporation, and Related Surface Meteorological Variables , 2008 .

[50]  Michael G. Bosilovich,et al.  The Energy Budget of the Polar Atmosphere in MERRA , 2012 .

[51]  E. Kalnay,et al.  North American Regional Reanalysis: Evaluation Highlights and Early Usage , 2005 .

[52]  Dan Yakir,et al.  Contribution of Semi-Arid Forests to the Climate System , 2010, Science.

[53]  Peter D. Blanken,et al.  Energy balance and canopy conductance of a boreal aspen forest: Partitioning overstory and understory components , 1997 .

[54]  Dennis D. Baldocchi,et al.  Seasonal variation of energy and water vapor exchange rates above and below a boreal jack pine forest canopy , 1997 .

[55]  Despina Hatzidimitriou,et al.  Global distribution of Earth's surface shortwave radiation budget , 2005, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

[56]  A. Betts,et al.  Observationally based evaluation of NWP reanalyses in modeling cloud properties over the Southern Great Plains , 2012 .

[57]  T. A. Black,et al.  Comparison of carbon dioxide fluxes over three boreal black spruce forests in Canada , 2007 .

[58]  Xubin Zeng,et al.  Evaluation of multireanalysis products with in situ observations over the Tibetan Plateau , 2012 .

[59]  W. Oechel,et al.  FLUXNET: A New Tool to Study the Temporal and Spatial Variability of Ecosystem-Scale Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapor, and Energy Flux Densities , 2001 .

[60]  Aaron Kennedy,et al.  A Comparison of MERRA and NARR Reanalyses with the DOE ARM SGP Data , 2011 .

[61]  Lawrence L. Takacs,et al.  Data Assimilation Using Incremental Analysis Updates , 1996 .

[62]  R. Monson,et al.  Carbon sequestration in a high‐elevation, subalpine forest , 2001 .

[63]  Cheng-I Hsieh,et al.  Estimating the uncertainty in annual net ecosystem carbon exchange: spatial variation in turbulent fluxes and sampling errors in eddy‐covariance measurements , 2006 .

[64]  Xin-Zhong Liang,et al.  A Thermal Infrared Radiation Parameterization for Atmospheric Studies , 2001 .

[65]  T. Black,et al.  Annual and seasonal variability of sensible and latent heat fluxes above a coastal Douglas-fir forest, British Columbia, Canada , 2003 .

[66]  Andres Schmidt,et al.  Empirical assessment of uncertainties of meteorological parameters and turbulent fluxes in the AmeriFlux network , 2012 .

[67]  John Moncrieff,et al.  Seasonal variation of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy exchanges of a boreal black spruce forest , 1997 .

[68]  Max J. Suarez,et al.  A Solar Radiation Parameterization for Atmospheric Studies , 2013 .

[69]  Jason P. Kaye,et al.  Long‐term impact of a stand‐replacing fire on ecosystem CO2 exchange of a ponderosa pine forest , 2008 .

[70]  X. Lee,et al.  Long‐term observation of the atmospheric exchange of CO2 with a temperate deciduous forest in southern Ontario, Canada , 1999 .

[71]  Ge Sun,et al.  Response of carbon fluxes to drought in a coastal plain loblolly pine forest , 2010 .

[72]  B. McArthur,et al.  Baseline surface radiation network (BSRN/WCRP) New precision radiometry for climate research , 1998 .

[73]  T. Andrew Black,et al.  Carbon dioxide fluxes in coastal Douglas-fir stands at different stages of development after clearcut harvesting , 2006 .

[74]  L. Leung,et al.  Potential regional climate change and implications to U.S. air quality , 2005 .

[75]  T. A. Black,et al.  Responses of net ecosystem exchanges of carbon dioxide to changes in cloudiness: Results from two North American deciduous forests , 1999 .

[76]  Martin Wild,et al.  Validation of general circulation model radiative fluxes using surface observations , 1995 .

[77]  William B. Rossow,et al.  Calculation of surface and top of atmosphere radiative fluxes from physical quantities based on ISCCP data sets: 2. Validation and first results , 1995 .