Improved meteorology and surface energy fluxes in mesoscale modelling using adjusted initial vertical soil moisture profiles

Abstract. The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) is being used for different and diverse purposes, ranging from atmospheric and dispersion of pollutants forecasting to agricultural meteorology and ecological modelling as well as for hydrological purposes, among others. The current paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the RAMS forecasts, comparing the results not only with observed standard surface meteorological variables, measured at FLUXNET stations and other portable and permanent weather stations located over the region of study, but also with non-standard observed variables, such as the surface energy fluxes, with the aim of evaluating the surface energy budget and its relation with a proper representation of standard observations and key physical processes for a wide range of applications. In this regard, RAMS is assessed against in-situ surface observations during a selected period within July 2011 over Eastern Spain. In addition, the simulation results are also compared with different surface remote sensing data derived from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) (MSG-SEVIRI) as well as the uncoupled Land Surface Models (LSM) Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Both datasets complement the available in-situ observations and are used in the current study as the reference or ground truth when no observations are available on a selected location. Several sensitivity tests have been performed involving the initial soil moisture content, by adjusting this parameter in the vertical soil profile ranging from the most superficial soil layers to those located deeper underground. A refined adjustment of this parameter in the initialization of the model has shown to better represent the observed surface energy fluxes. The results obtained also show an improvement in the model forecasts found in previous studies in relation to standard observations, such as the air temperature and the moisture fields. Therefore, the application of a drier or wetter soil in distinct soil layers within the whole vertical soil profile has been found to be crucial in order to produce a better agreement between the simulation and the observations, thus reiterating the determining role of the initial soil moisture field in mesoscale modelling, but in this case considering the variation of this parameter vertically.