A study of rainfall interception using a land surface parameterization for mesoscale meteorological models

Abstract

A set of 24 h simulations, fully interactive with the boundary layer, is carried out with a one-dimensional model in order to examine the sensitivity of the interception scheme to vegetation properties. The evaporation from the interception reservoir is strongly enhanced by high values of the roughness length. The leaf area index, acting on the maximum storage capacity, modifies the drying time of the foliage. A validation of the interception scheme is made using micrometeorological data from the HAPEX-MOBILHY experiment. Six simulations lasting 24 h indicate that the parameterization reproduces quite well the daily evolution of the components of the surface energy balance for various surface conditions and various rainfall distributions. -from Authors