Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex

Abstract The Tibetan Plateau has substantial dynamic and thermal effects on regional and global climate, with plateau vortices (TPVs) playing a key role in summer precipitation. However, current land surface models often overlook the influence of gravel on soil hydrology and thermodynamics, which ma...

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Main Authors: Yue Xu, Yaoming Ma, Shihua Lyu, Hongchao Zuo, Wei Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004923
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author Yue Xu
Yaoming Ma
Shihua Lyu
Hongchao Zuo
Wei Hu
author_facet Yue Xu
Yaoming Ma
Shihua Lyu
Hongchao Zuo
Wei Hu
author_sort Yue Xu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Tibetan Plateau has substantial dynamic and thermal effects on regional and global climate, with plateau vortices (TPVs) playing a key role in summer precipitation. However, current land surface models often overlook the influence of gravel on soil hydrology and thermodynamics, which may influence vortex evolution. In this study, we incorporated the influence of gravel on soil properties into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to explore its effect on TPV dynamics. Two simulations were conducted: one without gravel parameterization (WRF‐Ctl) and one with gravel (WRF‐Gravel). Results showed that WRF‐Gravel produced a more rapidly developing vortex with better alignment to observational data in terms of position and scale. Sensitivity experiments with gravel content set to 0%, 50%, and 100% indicate that increased gravel content enhances soil permeability, reduces soil moisture, and decreases surface latent heat flux. This reduction weakens atmospheric instability, limits convective energy, and leads to reduced precipitation and vortex intensity. While these results provide preliminary insights into the potential role of gravel in modulating TPV thermodynamic and dynamic processes, further multi‐case and long‐term studies are needed to validate these findings and assess their broader applicability.
format Article
id doaj-art-5cc3243838e240a883bb83bb528a6c81
institution DOAJ
issn 1942-2466
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher American Geophysical Union (AGU)
record_format Article
series Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
spelling doaj-art-5cc3243838e240a883bb83bb528a6c812025-08-20T03:09:19ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems1942-24662025-07-01177n/an/a10.1029/2024MS004923Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau VortexYue Xu0Yaoming Ma1Shihua Lyu2Hongchao Zuo3Wei Hu4College of Atmospheric Science Lanzhou University Lanzhou ChinaCollege of Atmospheric Science Lanzhou University Lanzhou ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Chengdu University of Information Technology Chengdu ChinaCollege of Atmospheric Science Lanzhou University Lanzhou ChinaLand‐Atmosphere Interaction and its Climatic Effects Group State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System Resources and Environment (TPESER) Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaAbstract The Tibetan Plateau has substantial dynamic and thermal effects on regional and global climate, with plateau vortices (TPVs) playing a key role in summer precipitation. However, current land surface models often overlook the influence of gravel on soil hydrology and thermodynamics, which may influence vortex evolution. In this study, we incorporated the influence of gravel on soil properties into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to explore its effect on TPV dynamics. Two simulations were conducted: one without gravel parameterization (WRF‐Ctl) and one with gravel (WRF‐Gravel). Results showed that WRF‐Gravel produced a more rapidly developing vortex with better alignment to observational data in terms of position and scale. Sensitivity experiments with gravel content set to 0%, 50%, and 100% indicate that increased gravel content enhances soil permeability, reduces soil moisture, and decreases surface latent heat flux. This reduction weakens atmospheric instability, limits convective energy, and leads to reduced precipitation and vortex intensity. While these results provide preliminary insights into the potential role of gravel in modulating TPV thermodynamic and dynamic processes, further multi‐case and long‐term studies are needed to validate these findings and assess their broader applicability.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004923gravel parameterizationWRFsoil hydrothermal transportTPV
spellingShingle Yue Xu
Yaoming Ma
Shihua Lyu
Hongchao Zuo
Wei Hu
Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
gravel parameterization
WRF
soil hydrothermal transport
TPV
title Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex
title_full Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex
title_fullStr Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex
title_full_unstemmed Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex
title_short Coupling Soil Gravel Parameterization Into WRF: A Case Study of the Tibetan Plateau Vortex
title_sort coupling soil gravel parameterization into wrf a case study of the tibetan plateau vortex
topic gravel parameterization
WRF
soil hydrothermal transport
TPV
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004923
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AT hongchaozuo couplingsoilgravelparameterizationintowrfacasestudyofthetibetanplateauvortex
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