Evaluation of Albedo Schemes in WRF Coupled with Noah-MP on the Parlung No. 4 Glacier

Meteorological variables (e.g., air temperature (T2), radiation flux, and precipitation) determine the evolution of glacier mass and characteristics. Observations of these variables are not available with adequate spatial coverage and spatiotemporal resolution over the Tibetan Plateau. Albedo is the key factor of net radiation and is determined by the land cover and snow-related variables. This study focuses on evaluating the performance of the albedo parameterization scheme in WRF coupled with Noah-MP in terms of glacio-meteorological variables, by conducting experiments applying the standard surface albedo scheme with the default vegetation and corrected to ice cover and the modified glacial albedo scheme to the Parlung No. 4 Glacier in the 2016 ablation season. In situ glacio-meteorological element observations and MODIS-retrieved albedo are selected to assess the performance of the model. The key results are as follows. First, compared to the air temperature bias of 1.56 °C in WRF applying the standard surface albedo scheme and the default vegetation cover, realistic land-use categories considerably reduce the model warm bias on the glacier. The model using realistic land-use categories yields similar T2 diurnal patterns to the observations, with a mean bias of only −0.5 °C, no matter which glacial albedo scheme is implemented. Second, the default glacial albedo scheme gives a rather high albedo value of 0.68, causing an apparent underestimation of the net shortwave radiation and net radiation; the modified glacial albedo scheme gives a mean albedo value of 0.35, close to the in situ observations, helping to relieve underestimations of net shortwave radiation and net radiation. Compared with the MODIS albedo of the glacier, WRF applying the default glacial albedo scheme apparently overestimates the albedo with a mean error of 0.18, while WRF applying the modified glacial albedo scheme slightly underestimates the albedo with a mean error of only −0.08. Third, the mean net radiation flux (142 W m−2) and high ground heat flux (182 W m−2) values that were estimated by WRF applying the corrected land cover and the modified glacial albedo scheme result in the heating of the glacier surface and subsurface, causing ice melt and the liquid water content to increase more quickly and preferentially, equating to an estimated ice thickness decrease of 1 m by mid-June in the ablation region. Our study confirms the ability of the WRF model to reproduce glacio-meteorological variables as long as a reasonable glacial albedo scheme and the corrected land cover is applied and provides a theoretical reference for researchers that are committed to further improvement of the glacial albedo scheme.