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Parameters

Elevation

WLDAS uses a digital elevation model from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and the United States Geological Survey’s 30-second GTOPO30 dataset.

Soils

WLDAS uses the 16-class hybrid STATSGO/FAO soil texture map. It contains 30-second data within the contiguous United States and 5-min data elsewhere. Soil textures are given as:

Index Texture
1 SAND
2 LOAMY SAND
3 SANDY LOAM
4 SILT LOAM
5 SILT
6 LOAM
7 SANDY CLAY LOAM
8 SILTY CLAY LOAM
9 CLAY LOAM
10 SANDY CLAY
11 SILTY CLAY
12 CLAY
13 ORGANIC MATERIAL
14 WATER
15 BEDROCK
16 OTHER (land-ice)

Vegetation Class/Mask

WLDAS uses the 1-km IGBP NCEP landcover classification

Index Texture
1 Evergreen Needleleaf Forest
2 Evergreen Broadleaf Forest
3 Deciduous Needleleaf Forest
4 Deciduous Broadleaf Forest
5 Mixed Forests
6 Closed Shrublands
7 Open Shrublands
8 Woody Savannas
9 Savannas
10 Grasslands
11 Permanent Wetland
12 Croplands
13 Urban and Built-Up
14 Cropland/Natural Vegetation Mosaic
15 Snow and Ice
16 Barren or Sparsely Vegetated
17 Ocean
18 Wooded Tundra
19 Mixed Tundra
20 Bare Ground Tundra

 

Vegetation Parameters

WLDAS uses the standard vegetation parameters distributed with the Noah-MP model

LAI/Greenness

WLDAS uses the dynamic vegetation model described in Niu et al. (2011) and Dickinson et al. (1998).

 

Dickinson, R.E., M. Shaikh, R. Bryant, and L. Graumlich, 1998. Interactive Canopies for a Climate Model. Journal of Climate 11:2823–2836.

Niu, G.Y., Z.L. Yang, K.E. Mitchell, F. Chen, M.B. Ek, M. Barlage, A. Kumar, K. Manning, D. Niyogi, E. Rosero, M. Tewari, and Y. Xia, 2011. The Community Noah Land Surface Model with Multiparameterization Options (Noah-MP): 1. Model Description and Evaluation with Local-Scale Measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 116:1–19.