P93 Exploring the influence of soil moisture on the land surface hydrologic processes over the mountainous regions in Taiwan

Lin, Tzu-Shun, and Fang-Yi Cheng, National Central University, Taiwan

Previous studies have indicated that the soil water content is critical in determining the surface fluxes components. The soil moisture is quite variable and is affected by the variability of precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater, different vital processes of runoff, surface and subsurface runoff. In order to understand the role of each processes and to better predict weather and climate, researchers use a complicated land surface model to provide lower boundary conditions. However, the runoff processes in the land surface model is too simplistic and ignores the lateral flow that would cause problems in the meteorological simulations over the mountainous areas. In this study, we targeted on the WRF simulations over an experimental watershed, Lien-Hua-Chih (LHC), situated in Nantou county, central mountainous regions of Taiwan. The objective is to understand the role of runoff processes on the variation of the soil moisture and its subsequent influence on the surface fluxes predictions. The preliminary results show that the soil moisture distributes in a more homogenous pattern that is unrealistic. More conclusive results will be presented during the workshop.