Use of an observation network in the great basin to evaluate gridded climate data

Abstract

Predicting sharp hydroclimatic gradients in the complex terrain of the Great Basin can prove to be challenging because of the lack of climate observations that are gradient focused. Furthermore, evaluating gridded data products (GDPs) of climate in such environments for use in local hydroclimatic assessments is also challenging and typically ignored because of the lack of observations. In this study, independent Nevada Climate-Ecohydrological Assessment Network (NevCAN) observations of temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation collected along large altitudinal gradients of the Snake and Sheep mountain ranges from water-year 2012 (October-September) are utilized to evaluate four GDPs of different spatial resolutions: Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) 4 km, PRISM 800 m, Daymet 1 km, and a North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS)-PRISM hybrid 4-km product. Inconsistencies and biases in precipitation measurements due to station siting and gauge type proved to be problematic with respect to comparisons to GDPs. This study highlights a weakness of GDPs in complex terrain: an underestimation of inversion strength and resulting minimum temperature in foothill regions, where cold air regularly drains into neighboring valleys. Results also clearly indicate that for semiarid regions, the assumption that daily average dewpoint temperature Tdew equals daily minimum temperature does not hold true and should not be used to interpolate Tdew spatially. Comparison statistics of GDPs to observations varied depending on the climate variable and grid spatial resolution, highlighting the importance of conducting local evaluations for hydroclimatic assessments.