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Title
Japanese: 
English:Representing Variability in Subgrid Snow Cover and Snow Depth in a Global Land Model: Offline Validation 
Author
Japanese: 新田友子, 芳村圭, 高田久美子, 大石龍太, 末吉哲雄, 鼎 信次郎, 沖大幹, 阿部彩子, Liston, G. E..  
English: Nitta, T., Yoshimura, K., Takata, K., O’ishi, R., Sueyoshi, T., Kanae, S., Oki, T., Abe-Ouchi, A., Liston, G. E..  
Language English 
Journal/Book name
Japanese: 
English:Journal of Climate 
Volume, Number, Page Vol. 27        pp. 3318–3330
Published date May 2014 
Publisher
Japanese: 
English:American Meteorological Society 
Conference name
Japanese: 
English: 
Conference site
Japanese: 
English: 
Official URL http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00310.1
 
DOI https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00310.1
Abstract Subgrid snow cover is one of the key parameters in global land models since snow cover has large impacts on the surface energy and moisture budgets, and hence the surface temperature. In this study, the Subgrid Snow Distribution (SSNOWD) snow cover parameterization was incorporated into the Minimal Advanced Treatments of Surface Interaction and Runoff (MATSIRO) land surface model. SSNOWD assumes that the subgrid snow water equivalent (SWE) distribution follows a lognormal distribution function, and its parameters are physically derived from geoclimatic information. Two 29-yr global offline simulations, with and without SSNOWD, were performed while forced with the Japanese 25-yr Reanalysis (JRA-25) dataset combined with an observed precipitation dataset. The simulated spatial patterns of mean monthly snow cover fraction were compared with satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations. The snow cover fraction was improved by the inclusion of SSNOWD, particularly for the accumulation season and/or regions with relatively small amounts of snowfall; snow cover fraction was typically underestimated in the simulation without SSNOWD. In the Northern Hemisphere, the daily snow-covered area was validated using Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) snow analysis datasets. In the simulation with SSNOWD, snow-covered area largely agreed with the IMS snow analysis and the seasonal cycle in the Northern Hemisphere was improved. This was because SSNOWD formulates the snow cover fraction differently for the accumulation season and ablation season, and represents the hysteresis of the snow cover fraction between different seasons. The effects of including SSNOWD on hydrological properties and snow mass were also examined.

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