Verifying the boundary layer properties over heterogeneous surfaces using the LEAD portal

Surface-atmosphere exchanges estimated by current land surface models may not be representative of inhomogeneous surface types that are manifest at fine spatial scales. A recent study aimed at characterizing the partitioning of the available energy at the Howard University Beltsville research site, a rural site dominated by typical temperate mixed deciduous and coniferous forests but abutted by urban settings, showed a modulation of the microclimate at the site via microscale heat advection from the urban surfaces during the winter months as opposed to the dominance of local convection during the warm season of 2006. The goal of this study is to exploit the LEAD portal capability to contrast turbulent fluxes and near-surface thermodynamic quantities simulated by the WRF ARW model with those observed at the Howard University Beltsville site. The North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data will be used to initialize the model. Current by-default land use and surface albedo will be also replaced in the model by the more updated MODIS data to account for the change in land use properties and their impacts on local weather.