Land-atmosphere coupling manifested in warm-season observations on the U.S. southern great plains

Abstract

This study examines several observational aspects of land-atmosphere coupling on daily average time scales during warm seasons of the years 1997 to 2008 at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility site near Lamont, Oklahoma. Characteristics of the local land-atmosphere coupling are inferred by analyzing the covariability of selected land and atmospheric variables that include precipitation and soil moisture, surface air temperature, relative humidity, radiant and turbulent fluxes, as well as low-level cloud base height and fractional coverage. For both the energetic and hydrological aspects of this coupling, it is found that large-scale atmospheric forcings predominate, with local feedbacks of the land on the atmosphere being comparatively small much of the time. The relatively weak land feedbacks are manifested especially by (1) the inability of soil moisture to comprehensively impact the coupled land-atmosphere energetics and (2) the limited recycling of local surface moisture under conditions where most of the rainfall derives from convective cells that originate at remote locations. There is some evidence, nevertheless, that the local land feedback becomes stronger as the soil dries out in the aftermath of precipitation events, or on days when the local boundary layer clouds are influenced by thermal updrafts associated with convection that originates at the surface. Potential implications of these results for climate-model representation of regional land-atmosphere coupling also are discussed. Key Points Statistically significant SGP land-atmosphere interactions occur Atmospheric forcings predominate over land feedbacks Land feedbacks grow stronger as the soil becomes drier ©2013. The Authors.