Development of a catchment-based hydrometeorological forcing data set for land surface modeling applications

A catchment-based, bias-reduced hydrometeorological forcing dataset has been developed for use over North America for the following variables; two meter air and dew point temperatures, ten meter wind speed, convective and total precipitation, long and short-wave downward radiation, and surface pressure. The data set extends 15 years from 01/1979 - 12/1993 and includes four observations per day. Sources for this data set include the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-analysis (advanced global surface data) and numerous observational data sets. For each variable the re-analysis product was merged with observations in an attempt to minimize model bias and match monthly mean observations. To demonstrate applications of the data set, simulations with Koster et al (2000) catchment-based land surface model were driven with the new data set and compared to those forced by ISLSCP Initiative I data.