Biogeosciences
www.biogeosciences.net
1726-4170
1726-4189
4
6
2007
10.5194/bg-4-1115-2007
http://www.biogeosciences.net/4/1115/2007/
http://www.biogeosciences.net/4/1115/2007/bg-4-1115-2007.html
http://www.biogeosciences.net/4/1115/2007/bg-4-1115-2007.pdf
1115
1126
2007-12-17
Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> modeling at the regional scale: an intercomparison of 5 meso-scale atmospheric models
C. Sarrat
claire.sarrat@cnrm.meteo.fr
J. Noilhan
A. J. Dolman
C. Gerbig
R. Ahmadov
L. F. Tolk
A. G. C. A. Meesters
R. W. A. Hutjes
H. W. Ter Maat
G. Pérez-Landa
S. Donier
CNRM-GAME Météo France, 42 avenue Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse cedex France
Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085,1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Str.10, 07745 Jena, Germany
ALTERRA, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen,The Netherlands
CEAM,Parque Tecnológico C/Charles R. Darwin, 14, 46980-Paterna-Valencia, Spain
Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> modeling in interaction with the surface fluxes, at the regional scale is developed
within the frame of the European project CarboEurope-IP and its Regional
Experiment component. In this context, five meso-scale meteorological models at 2 km resolution participate in an intercomparison exercise.
Using a common experimental protocol that imposes a large number of rules,
two days of the CarboEurope Regional Experiment Strategy (CERES) campaign are simulated.
A systematic evaluation of the models is done in confrontation with the observations, using statistical
tools and direct comparisons. Thus, temperature and relative humidity at 2 m, wind direction, surface energy
and CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes, vertical profiles of potential temperature as well as in-situ CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations
comparisons between observations and simulations are examined. These comparisons reveal a cold bias in
the simulated temperature at 2 m, the latent heat flux is often underestimated. Nevertheless, the CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations
heterogeneities are well captured by most of the models.
<br><br>
This intercomparison exercise shows also the models ability to represent the meteorology and carbon cycling
at the synoptic and regional scale in the boundary layer, but also points out some of the major shortcomings of the models.
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