TITLE:
Assessing the Impact of Using Different Land Cover Classification in Regional Modeling Studies for the Manaus Area, Brazil
AUTHORS:
Sameh Adib Abou Rafee, Ana Beatriz Kawashima, Marcos Vinícius Bueno de Morais, Viviana Urbina, Leila Droprinchinski Martins, Jorge Alberto Martins
KEYWORDS:
Land Use and Land Cover Classification, Regional Modeling Studies, Urban Air Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.3 No.6,
August
25,
2015
ABSTRACT: Land cover classification is one of the
main components of the modern weather research and forecasting models, which
can influence the meteorological variable, and in turn the concentration of air
pollutants. In this study the impact of using two traditional land use
classifications, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the
Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), were evaluated. The
Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF, version 3.2.1) was run for the
period 18 - 22 August, 2014 (dry season) at a grid spacing of 3 km centered on
the city of Manaus. The comparison between simulated and ground-based observed
data revealed significant differences in the meteorological fields, for instance,
the temperature. Compared to USGS, MODIS classification showed better skill in
representing observed temperature for urban areas of Manaus, while the two
files showed similar results for nearby areas. The analysis of the files suggests
that the better quality of the simulations favorable to the MODIS file is
straightly related to its better representation of urban class of land use,
which is observed to be not adequately represented by USGS.