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Results for “Sensible heat flux”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis of Coastal Fog from a Ship During the C-FOG Campaign

This work presents ship-based measurements of fog off St John’s Newfoundland on 13 September 2018 during the Coastal Fog (C-FOG) field campaign. The measurements included cloud-particle spectra, cloud-base height and aerosol backscatter, radiation, turbulence, visibility, and sea surface temperature. Radiosonde soundings were made at intervals less than 2 hours. Fog occurred in two episodes under the center of eastward-moving synoptic low-pressure system. The boundary layer structure during the first fog episode consisted of 3 layers, separated by 2 saturated air temperature inversions and capped by a subsidence inversion. The lowest layer was fog and the upper layers were cloud. The second fog episode consisted of one well-mixed fog layer capped by a subsidence inversion. Low wind speeds and stable stratification maintained low surface-layer turbulence during fog. Droplet size distributions had typical bimodal distributions. The visibility correlated with the droplet number concentration and liquid water content. The air temperature was higher than the sea surface temperature for the first 30 minutes of the first fog episode but was colder than the sea for the remainder of all fog. The sensible heat flux was upward, from sea to air, for the first 62 % of the first fog episode and then reversed to downward, from air to sea, for the remainder of the first fog episode and the second fog episode. Here, the counter-gradient heat fluxes observed (i.e., opposite to what is expected from the instantaneous air-sea temperature difference) appear to be related to turbulence, entrainment and stratification in the fog layer that overwhelmed the influence of air-sea temperature difference. While the synoptic-scale dynamics preconditioned the area for fog formation, the final step of fog appearance in this case was nuanced by stratification-turbulence interactions, local advective processes and microphysical environment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Lower Tropospheric Processes: A Control on the Global Mean Precipitation Rate

The spread in global mean precipitation among climate models is explored in two ensembles using the complementary perspectives of surface evaporation and energy budgets. Models with higher global mean precipitation have stronger oceanic evaporation, driven by drier near-surface air. The drier surface conditions occur alongside increases in near-surface temperature and moisture at 925 hPa, which point to stronger boundary layer mixing. Correlations suggest that the degree of lower tropospheric mixing explains 18%–49% of the intermodel precipitation variance. To test this hypothesis, the degree of mixing is indirectly varied in a single-model experiment by adjusting the relative humidity threshold that controls low-cloud fraction. Indeed, increasing lower tropospheric mixing results in more global mean precipitation. Energetically, increased precipitation rates are associated with more downwelling longwave radiation to the surface and weaker sensible heat fluxes. These results highlight how lower-tropospheric processes must be better constrained to reduce the precipitation discrepancy among climate models.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characterization of Surface Heterogeneity-Induced Convection Using Cluster Analysis

Land-atmosphere interactions and boundary layer processes often control the formation of shallow clouds and subsequently deep convective precipitation over the Southern Great Plains. In this study, we examine the impacts of large-scale advection on the cloud populations and land-atmospheric coupling observed during the Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land-Ecosystems (HI-SCALE) field campaign in 2016. In this work, we performed two Large Eddy Simulations (LES) using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model for a day in which the transition from clear-sky to shallow precipitating clouds and isolated deep convection was observed. The control simulation reproduced the overall distribution of cloud populations by using realistic soil conditions with an interactive land model. In the sensitivity simulation where large-scale advection is removed, a strong relationship between the land and boundary layer is found. To study the timing, location, and intensity of convective initiation and the relationship of clouds with land surface properties, a cluster analysis of equivalent potential temperature is performed for the simulation without large-scale advection. That analysis shows that convective clouds first form over regions with higher surface sensible heat flux. Precipitation from those convective clouds likely triggers new updrafts nearby about two hours later through the lifting associated with cold pools. Furthermore, the cluster analysis also shows that in addition to the spatial pattern of soil moisture, land use and soil texture in western Oklahoma also influence the location of convective initiation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interpreting the Diurnal Cycle of Clouds and Precipitation in the ARM GoAmazon Observations: Shallow to Deep Convection Transition

The Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon) 2014/5 field campaign data are used to study the diurnal cycle of clouds and precipitation. Through a careful classification of days with shallow cumulus, congestus and deep convection, we investigate the major differences among locally generated convection regimes and the most important environmental factors governing the shallow-to-deep convection transition. On shallow cumulus days, a greater sensible heat flux drives deeper boundary layer growth, which entrains drier free-tropospheric air and lowers the relative humidity, thus leading to a significantly higher cloud base than those on days with deeper convection. Congestus and deep convection regimes exhibit distinct cloud top height distributions with noticeable differences in the vertical wind shear in the mid-troposphere, suggesting an important role of wind shear in limiting the vertical extent of convection. On deep convection days, with preexisting nocturnal convection or cold-pools from external disturbances, the timing of peak surface precipitation (12:00–13:00 LST) tends to be in-phase with the diurnal variation in surface fluxes. However, it takes longer for local deep convection to develop without these disturbances. A plume model with thermodynamic and dynamical constraints is developed to explore the relative importance of various convection-controlling factors. Initial cloud-base vertical velocity and buoyancy are important in helping parcels ascend to the level of free convection (LFC). After parcels reach the LFC, entrainment of environmental air and lower free troposphere humidity become crucial in determining cloud top. Entrainment rate differentiates among convection regimes, which may be tied to the cloud size distribution at cloud base.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Impacts of Degradation on Water, Energy, and Carbon Cycling of the Amazon Tropical Forests

Selective logging, fragmentation, and understory fires directly degrade forest structure and composition. However, studies addressing the effects of forest degradation on carbon, water, and energy cycles are scarce. Here, we integrate field observations and high-resolution remote sensing from airborne lidar to provide realistic initial conditions to the Ecosystem Demography Model (ED-2.2) and investigate how disturbances from forest degradation affect gross primary production (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET), and sensible heat flux (H). We used forest structural information retrieved from airborne lidar samples (13,500 ha) and calibrated with 817 inventory plots (0.25 ha) across precipitation and degradation gradients in the eastern Amazon as initial conditions to ED-2.2 model. Our results show that the magnitude and seasonality of fluxes were modulated by changes in forest structure caused by degradation. During the dry season and under typical conditions, severely degraded forests (biomass loss ≥66%) experienced water stress with declines in ET (up to 34%) and GPP (up to 35%) and increases of H (up to 43%) and daily mean ground temperatures (up to 6.5°C) relative to intact forests. In contrast, the relative impact of forest degradation on energy, water, and carbon cycles markedly diminishes under extreme, multiyear droughts, as a consequence of severe stress experienced by intact forests. Our results highlight that the water and energy cycles in the Amazon are driven by not only climate and deforestation but also the past disturbance and changes of forest structure from degradation, suggesting a much broader influence of human land use activities on the tropical ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Winter Warming in North America Induced by Urbanization in China

Rapid urbanization in China in the past several decades has been shown to affect surface air temperature (SAT) locally, but its global impact is unclear. Using a global climate model, we have investigated the potential impact of urbanization in China on SAT at the global scale. The expansion of urban areas in China from 1985 to 2017 leads to winter surface air warming by as much as 0.8°C in North America (NA), largely caused by warm temperature advection due to global-scale atmospheric circulation changes. The East Asian jet stream moves northward in eastern and northeastern China where the expansion of urban areas has increased SAT and sensible heat flux, forcing change of the atmospheric stationary waves and so the structure of the jet streams.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

A New Post‐Hoc Method to Reduce the Energy Imbalance in Eddy Covariance Measurements

Abstract Latent and sensible heat flux observations are essential for understanding land–atmosphere interactions. Measurements from the eddy covariance technique are widely used but suffer from systematic energy imbalance problems, partly due to missing large eddies from sub‐mesoscale transport. Because available energy drives the development of large eddies, we propose an available energy based correction method for turbulent flux measurements. We apply our method to 172 flux tower sites and show that we can reduce the energy imbalance from −14.99 to −0.65 W m −2 on average, together with improved consistency between turbulent fluxes and available energy and associated increases inr 2 at individual sites and across networks. Our results suggest that our method is conceptually and empirically preferable over the method implemented in the ONEFlux processing. This can contribute to the efforts in understanding and addressing the energy imbalance issue, which is crucial for the evaluation and calibration of land surface models.

Geology↗
DOE OSTI2023

Incorporating an Interactive Fire Plume-Rise Model in the DOE's Energy Exascale Earth System Model Version 1 (E3SMv1) and Examining Aerosol Radiative Effect

The vertical distribution of biomass burning aerosol (BBA) is important in regulating their impacts on weather and climate. The plume-rise process affects the injection height of BBA and interacts with the air parcel lifting and cloud processes. However, these processes are not represented in most global climate models. In this study, we replaced the fixed vertical profiles of monthly BBA emissions in the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 1 (E3SMv1) with an interactive fire plume-rise model. The vertical distribution of BBA emissions was calculated as a function of ambient thermodynamic conditions from the host E3SMv1, with distributions of fire sizes and sensible heat fluxes derived from the observations. The maximum fire radiative power (FRP) technique was used to determine the fire size. Scaling-FRP technique is used to calculate the wildfire heat release. Daily BBA emission, superimposed with a fire diurnal cycle retrieved from the satellite observation, was included in model simulations. The model shows improved agreement with satellite retrievals and in situ measurement during the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Wildfire Experiment for Cloud chemistry, Aerosol absorption, and Nitrogen campaign. The model-observation comparison demonstrates the importance of the plume-rise model and fire diurnal cycle assumption in determining the BBA fields. We also find that E3SMv1 with new features produces a larger carbonaceous aerosol burden, leading to 0.13 W m –2 warming at the top of atmosphere compared to the default E3SMv1. This highlights the importance of accurately representing the BBA injection height and indicates a no-linear nature in the BBA-induced radiative effect.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Simulating Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds Using a Multiscale Wildfire Simulation Framework

Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds, driven by extreme fires under favorable meteorological conditions, can inject smoke into the stratosphere at magnitudes comparable to those of moderate volcanic eruptions, potentially altering the global radiative balance and atmospheric composition. However, simulating pyroCb is particularly challenging in Earth system models. Using the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), we developed a novel global multiscale framework to model pyroCb events in California, which includes a high‐resolution fire radiative power time series, a one‐dimensional plume‐rise parameterization, a fire‐induced vertical water vapor transport scheme, and a surface wildfire sensible heat flux representation. Our simulation successfully reproduces many pyroCb features, including cloud height, spatiotemporal evolution, and convective intensity in comparison with satellite and ground‐based observations. Sensitivity experiments show that realistic pyroCb simulation depends on vertical water vapor transport. These advances provide a basis for future exploration of pyroCb impacts at regional and global scales within climate models.

E3SM↗
DOE OSTI2025

Influence of Soil Moisture on the Development of Organized Convective Systems in South America

Abstract This study investigates the role of soil moisture (SM) on the initiation and organization of convective systems using the convection‐permitting ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic (ICON) model. We conduct two sets of experiments: a Control experiment with interactive SM and a fixed SM experiment (FixedSM) with invariable SM conditions. We focus on two regions in South America: the Amazon and southeastern South America (SESA). Larger organized convective systems are associated with greater SM heterogeneity in both regions, though other large‐scale synoptic influences affect the robustness of this relationship in SESA. These results remain largely unaffected by disabling the effects of precipitation on SM in the FixedSM experiment, and complementary analyses using satellite‐based estimates of SM and precipitation support these findings. Spatial compositing of mesoscale environments in the Amazon shows the presence of well‐defined SM gradients, at a length scale of a few hundred kilometers, many hours before convective system detection. Larger SM gradients correspond to larger gradients in thermodynamic variables, particularly surface temperature and sensible heat flux, and are associated with larger convective systems. Overall, our findings suggest that surface heterogeneities such as SM gradients not only affect deep convection initiation, as previously suggested, but they can also encourage the growth and organization of convective systems into larger clusters, particularly in the absence of significant synoptic influences.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sensitivity of Regional WRF‐Chem Air Quality and Weather Simulations to Biomass‐Burning Emission Data Sets: A Case Study of the Impact of Canadian Wildfire on the US°

This study focuses on the period from June 26 to 29, 2023, when record‐breaking Canadian wildfires severely impacted air quality in the Midwest United States. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF‐Chem) and four biomass‐burning data sets (Fire Inventory from NCAR version 1, Fire Inventory from NCAR version 2.5, Quick Fire Emissions Data set [QFED], and Regional ABI‐VIIRS Emission), we analyzed aerosol transport from Canada to the US and assessed the model's accuracy in predicting PM 2.5 , O 3 , CO and aerosol weather feedback. Model simulations were compared with ground‐based and remote sensing observations as well as field measurements from the Community Research on Climate and Urban Science (CROCUS) project. Our findings show that the movement of a low‐pressure system from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, combined with the high‐pressure system over the Atlantic, caused the transport of aerosols from Canadian wildfires to the US. Results show WRF‐Chem significantly underestimated key atmospheric components: aerosol optical depth (AOD) by over 50%, PM 2.5 by 65%–90% and peak O 3 concentrations by 50%–55% across four biomass burning data sets. Additionally, CO and NO 2 concentrations were underpredicted. The substantial underestimation of PM 2.5 led to an overestimation of temperature by up to 3.6 °C primarily due to excessive downward shortwave radiation, which resulted from the underestimation of direct aerosol effects and an increase in sensible heat flux. Among the biomass‐burning data sets, QFED produced the most accurate AOD and PM 2.5 predictions due to improved wildfire emission estimates, leading to a 1.0 to 1.5 °C reduction in temperature overestimation during the daytime. These findings underscore the need for improving wildfire emission estimates for trace gases and aerosols to enhance air quality and weather feedback predictions.

WRF-chem model↗
DOE OSTI2022

Aerosol-boundary layer interaction modulated entrainment process

Abstract Aerosol-boundary layer interactions play an important role in affecting atmospheric thermodynamics and air pollution. As a key factor in dictating the development of the boundary layer, the entrainment process in the context of aerosol-boundary layer interactions is still poorly understood. Using comprehensive field observations made at a superstation in Beijing, we gain insight into the response of the entrainment process to aerosols. We found that high aerosol loading can significantly suppress the entrainment rate, breaking the conventional linear relationship between sensible heat fluxes and entrainment fluxes. Related to aerosol vertical distributions, aerosol heating effects can alter vertical heat fluxes, leading to a strong interaction between aerosols and the entrainment process in the upper boundary layer. Such aerosol-entrainment coupling can inhibit boundary layer development and explains the great sensitivity of observed entrainment rates to aerosols than can traditional calculations. The notable impact of aerosols on the entrainment process raises holistic thinking about the dynamic framework of the boundary layer in a polluted atmosphere, which may have a significant bearing on the dispersion of air pollutants and the land-atmosphere coupling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

A novel approach to partitioning evapotranspiration into evaporation and transpiration in flooded ecosystems

Reliable partitioning of micrometeorologically measured evapotranspiration (ET) into evaporation (E) and transpiration (T) would greatly enhance our understanding of the water cycle and its response to climate change related shifts in local-to-regional climate conditions and rising global levels of vapor pressure deficit (VPD). While some methods on ET partitioning have been developed, their underlying assumptions make them difficult to apply more generally, especially in sites with large contributions of E. Here, we report a novel ET partitioning method using artificial neural networks (ANNs) in combination with a range of environmental input variables to predict daytime E from nighttime ET measurements. The study uses eddy covariance data from four restored wetlands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA, as well as leaf-level T data for validation. The four wetlands vary in their vegetation make-up and structure, representing a range of ET conditions. The ANNs were built with increasing complexity by adding the input variable that resulted in the next highest average value of model testing R 2 across all sites. The order of variable inclusion (and importance) was: VPD > gap-filled sensible heat flux (H_gf) > air temperature (T air ) > friction velocity (u * ) > other variables. The model using VPD, H_gf, T air , and u * showed the best performance during validation with independent data and had a mean testing R 2 value of 0.853 (averaged across all sites, range from 0.728 to 0.910). In comparison to other methods, our ANN method generated T/ET partitioning results which were more consistent with CO 2 exchange data especially for more heterogeneous sites with large E contributions. Further, our method improves the understanding of T/ET partitioning. While it may be particularly suited to flooded ecosystems, it can also improve T/ET partitioning in other systems, increasing our knowledge of the global water cycle and ecosystem functioning.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Forest Breeze–Cold Pool Interactions Drive Convective Organization over Heterogeneous Vegetation

Heterogeneous landscapes can influence the development of convection through the generation of thermally driven mesoscale circulations. To assess the impacts of these circulations and their interaction with sea breezes, we simulated convection in an idealized coastal environment using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). We compared simulations with striped patterns of surface vegetation to those of uniform vegetation to identify the importance of vegetation heterogeneity in impacting convective development. Under dry soil conditions representative of those during the Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER) and Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Environment (ESCAPE) campaigns in June 2022, we found that these vegetation-induced circulations, referred to in the literature as “forest breezes,” are more important than the sea breeze in determining the location of convection initiation. Convection and precipitation are also found to be favored over forests and suppressed over pasture and suburban landscapes as a result of greater surface sensible heat flux over the forest. Our findings also indicate that forest breezes are important for initiating convection along the boundaries of the forest, but that cold pools may play a key role in propagating the forest breezes toward the center of the forest stripe. In our simulations, the collisions of these breezes in the center of the forest stripe lead to uplift and strong convection there; however, a different width of the forest stripe would alter when the forest breezes collide or whether they collide at all. The presence of these cold pools may therefore impact the “ideal stripe width,” the width of each vegetation stripe which maximizes domain-wide precipitation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Modulation of Gulf Stream Influence on the Troposphere by the Eddy-Driven Jet

This study suggests that the Gulf Stream influence on the wintertime North Atlantic troposphere is most pronounced when the eddy-driven jet (EDJ) is farthest south and better collocated with the Gulf Stream. Using the reanalysis dataset NCEP-CFSR for December–February 1979–2009, the daily EDJ latitude is separated into three regimes (northern, central, and southern). It is found that the average trajectory of atmospheric fronts covaries with EDJ latitude. In the southern EDJ regime (~19% of the time), the frequency of near-surface atmospheric fronts that pass across the Gulf Stream is maximized. Analysis suggests that this leads to significant strengthening in near-surface atmospheric frontal convergence resulting from strong air–sea sensible heat flux gradients (due to strong temperature gradients in the atmosphere and ocean). In recent studies, it was shown that the pronounced band of time-mean near-surface wind convergence across the Gulf Stream is set by atmospheric fronts. Here, it is shown that an even smaller subset of atmospheric fronts—those associated with a southern EDJ—primarily sets the time mean, due to enhanced Gulf Stream air–sea interaction. Furthermore, statistically significant anomalies in vertical velocity extending well above the boundary layer are identified in association with changes in EDJ latitude. These anomalies are particularly strong for a southern EDJ and are spatially consistent with increases in near-surface atmospheric frontal convergence over the Gulf Stream. These results imply that much of the Gulf Stream influence on the time-mean atmosphere is modulated on synoptic time scales, and enhanced when the EDJ is farthest south.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mechanical and Thermal Forcing for Upslope Flows and Cumulus Convection over the Sierras de Córdoba

Abstract The upslope flow processes affecting the vertical extent of orographic cumulus convection are examined using observations from the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. Specifically, clear air returns from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) second-generation C-band scanning Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) precipitation radar (CSAPR2) are used to characterize the structure and variability of the ridge-normal (i.e., up/downslope) flow components, which transport mass to the crest of Argentina’s Sierras de Córdoba and contribute to convective initiation. Data are compiled for the entire CACTI period (October–April), including days with clear skies, shallow cumuli, cumulus congestus, and deep convection. To examine shared variability among >70 000 radar scans, we use (i) a principal component analysis (PCA) to isolate modes of variability in the upslope flow and (ii) composite analysis based on convective outcomes, determined from GOES-16 satellite observations. These data are contextualized with observed surface sensible heat fluxes, thermodynamic profiles, and synoptic-scale analysis. Results indicate distinct thermally and mechanically forced upslope flow modes, modulated by diurnal heating and synoptic-scale variations, respectively. In some instances, there is a superposition of thermal and mechanical forcing, yielding either deeper or shallower upslope flow. The composite analyses based on satellite data show that successively deeper convective outcomes are associated with successively deeper upslope flow layers that more readily transport mass to the ridge crest in conjunction with lower lifting condensation levels, facilitating convective initiation. These results help to isolate the forcing mechanisms for orographic convection and thus provide a foundation for parameterizing orographic convective processes in coarse resolution models.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2023

The winter central Arctic surface energy budget: A model evaluation using observations from the MOSAiC campaign

This study evaluates the simulation of wintertime (15 October, 2019, to 15 March, 2020) statistics of the central Arctic near-surface atmosphere and surface energy budget observed during the MOSAiC campaign with short-term forecasts from 7 state-of-the-art operational and experimental forecast systems. Five of these systems are fully coupled ocean-sea ice-atmosphere models. Forecast systems need to simultaneously simulate the impact of radiative effects, turbulence, and precipitation processes on the surface energy budget and near-surface atmospheric conditions in order to produce useful forecasts of the Arctic system. This study focuses on processes unique to the Arctic, such as, the representation of liquid-bearing clouds at cold temperatures and the representation of a persistent stable boundary layer. It is found that contemporary models still struggle to maintain liquid water in clouds at cold temperatures. Given the simple balance between net longwave radiation, sensible heat flux, and conductive ground flux in the wintertime Arctic surface energy balance, a bias in one of these components manifests as a compensating bias in other terms. This study highlights the different manifestations of model bias and the potential implications on other terms. Three general types of challenges are found within the models evaluated: representing the radiative impact of clouds, representing the interaction of atmospheric heat fluxes with sub-surface fluxes (i.e., snow and ice properties), and representing the relationship between stability and turbulent heat fluxes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sensitivity of Near-Surface Variables in the RUC Land Surface Model in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model

In this study, we investigate the parametric sensitivity of near-surface variables, such as sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, ground heat flux, hub-height wind speed and land surface temperature, to the parameters used in the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) land surface model (LSM) during a wintertime and summertime period. The model simulations are compared with observations collected from the second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP2) field campaign. The results suggest that parameters related to snow/ice and thermal processes can have significant impact on the simulated near-surface variables. Out of the 11 examined parameters, only 6 of them have considerable influences on the model behaviors and explain about 60 ~ 80 % of the estimated total variance of the simulated variables. In addition, the magnitude of the parametric sensitivity varies with season. For instance, parameters associated with snow/ice processes are dominant during the wintertime whereas those associated with thermal processes are more important during the summertime. Furthermore, the impact of the identified parameters on the simulated variables is highly related to the topography. There is a high degree of sensitivity to the parameter values over the slope region. This points out the importance of collecting field observations over steep areas to better quantity the appropriate values of key parameters. Overall, our findings provide a better understanding of the RUC LSM behavior associated with parameter uncertainties and can be used to improve the forecasting skill of land surface processes via calibration of the most uncertain model parameters.

17 WIND ENERGY↗