Final Report: Cloud Water Interception in Hawai‘i: Building Spatial Pattern Maps for the Present-day Climate and Projected Changes by the Later 21st Century using the Hawai’i Regional Climate Model
Dates
Publication Date
2017-12-27
Citation
Final Report - Cloud Water Interception in Hawai‘i: Building Spatial Pattern Maps for the Present-day Climate and Projected Changes by the Later 21st Century using the Hawai’i Regional Climate Model: .
Summary
Clouds often come in contact with vegetation (often named fogs) within a certain elevation range on Hawaii’s mountains. Propelled by strong winds, cloud droplets are driven onto the stems and leaves of plants where they are deposited. Some of the water that accumulates on the plants in this way drips to the ground, adding additional water over and above the water supplied by rainfall. Prior observations show that the amount of cloud water intercepted by vegetation is substantial, but also quite variable from place to place. It is, therefore, important to create a map for the complex spatial patterns of cloud water interception (CWI) in Hawaii. In this project, we created the CWI map at 0.8-km resolution based on the 20-year present-day [...]
Summary
Clouds often come in contact with vegetation (often named fogs) within a certain elevation range on Hawaii’s mountains. Propelled by strong winds, cloud droplets are driven onto the stems and leaves of plants where they are deposited. Some of the water that accumulates on the plants in this way drips to the ground, adding additional water over and above the water supplied by rainfall. Prior observations show that the amount of cloud water intercepted by vegetation is substantial, but also quite variable from place to place. It is, therefore, important to create a map for the complex spatial patterns of cloud water interception (CWI) in Hawaii. In this project, we created the CWI map at 0.8-km resolution based on the 20-year present-day climate simulations using the Hawai’i Regional Climate Model (HRCM) equipped with a well-tested fog deposition scheme. The map is simply verified at two observational stations on Maui. The projected future CWI changes by the late 21st century (2080-2099) forced with a high emission scenario (RCP8.5) and a medium emission scenario (RCP4.5) are delivered.
