CAREER: Investigation of Regional Land-Atmosphere Interactions Using a Hierarchical Modeling and Data Assimilation Approach

提高对陆地表面非均质性、混合层日生长和大气边界层顶部挟带的理解和更好的表征是在大尺度模式中准确捕获陆地-大气日相互作用的必要条件。在这个项目中，我们将应用一种先进的数据同化方案来估计区域域上的高分辨率根区土壤水分场。这个新的数据库将提供能力，以扩展以前的研究，分析可变性和尺度的表面土壤湿度场。然后，根区土壤湿度场将用于初始化大涡模拟，以研究观测到的地表非均质性的重要性，并深入了解各种地表和天气条件下陆地-大气耦合系统的反馈。从这些努力中获得的知识将用于研究在集成数据同化框架中使用低维模型的复杂相互作用的表示。该项目的教育部分主要是为工程本科生提供广泛的环境教育，同时也为那些没有充分接触科学的人提供广泛的环境教育，以提高对我们社会重要的环境问题的认识。基于这一目标，拟议的教育计划有三个主要组成部分：1)向洛杉矶高中中未被充分代表的少数民族和女性学生提供实践环境教育；2)加州大学洛杉矶分校非理工科新生环境意识教育；3)将有效的教育技术，重点是更好地整合研究，纳入本科工程课程。拟议的项目旨在通过研究和教育促进对环境的认识和理解，从而作出重大贡献。研究计划的广泛影响最终将包括更好地估计区域水和能源预算，改进数值天气和气候预测，而教育计划最终将培养更多具有环保意识的公民以及更好地解决未来环境问题的科学家和工程师。

Margulis0348778Improved understanding and better representation of land surface heterogeneity, diurnal mixed-layer growth, and entrainment at the top of the atmospheric boundary layer is necessary for accurately capturing diurnal land-atmosphere interactions in large-scale models. In this project, we will apply an advanced data assimilation scheme to estimate high-resolution rootzone soil moisture fields over regional domains. This new database will provide the ability to extend previous studies that analyzed the variability and scaling of surface soil moisture fields. The rootzone soil moisture fields will then be used to initialize large-eddy simulations in order to investigate the importance of observed surface heterogeneity and provide insight into feedbacks in the coupled land-atmosphere system under a variety of surface and synoptic conditions. The knowledge gained from these efforts will be used to investigate the representation of the complex interactions using low-dimensional models in an ensemble data assimilation framework.The education component of the project is centered around providing broad-based environmental education to not only engineering undergraduates, but to those not sufficiently exposed to science, in an effort to increase awareness of environmental issues that are important to our society. Based on this goal, the proposed education plan has three main components: 1) hands-on environmental education outreach to underrepresented minority and women students in Los Angeles high schools; 2) environmental awareness education for non-science and engineering freshman at UCLA; and 3) incorporating effective educational techniques, with a focus on better integration of research, into undergraduate engineering courses.The proposed project aims to make a significant contribution by furthering environmental knowledge and understanding through research and education. Broad impacts from the research plan will ultimately include better estimates of regional water and energy budgets and improved numerical weather and climate prediction, while the education plan will ultimately produce more environmentally aware citizens as well as scientists and engineers that are better equipped to solve future environmental problems.