The importance of model resolution for predicting precipitation and runoff in complex terrain
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (US)
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (US)
As the demand for limited stores of fresh water grows, optimum use of water resources becomes paramount, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In order to make the best use of these limited resources, it is important to understand the entire hydrologic cycle in these regions and to be able to explore the potential effects of increased use and of changes in the regional climate. As part of Los Alamos' coupled environmental modeling initiative, the authors are linking a suite of environmental models to simulate the hydrologic cycle within river basins. Their goal is to produce a fully interactive coupling of atmospheric, surface hydrology, river, and groundwater models to allow feedbacks throughout the system. This paper focuses on the interaction between the atmospheric and surface hydrology models. The role of the complex topography in determining the spatial distribution of winter precipitation is investigated through sensitivity tests carried out using different horizontal resolutions in the modeling system.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Management and Administration, Washington, DC (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 676917
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-98-2256; CONF-980854-; ON: DE99001076; TRN: US200304%%389
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8. conference on mountain meteorology, Flagstaff, AZ (US), 08/03/1998--08/07/1998; Other Information: Supercedes report DE99001076; PBD: [1998]; PBD: 1 Dec 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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