Technical documentation for the hybrid 100-m global land cover dataset with Local Climate Zones for WRF

This technical documentation describes the development of a hybrid 100-m global land cover dataset and its implementation in the state-of-the-art Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model version 4.5. This hybrid CGLC-MODIS-LCZ dataset is based on 1) the Copernicus Global Land Service Land Cover (CGLC) product resampled to MODIS IGBP classes (CGLC-MODIS), and 2) the global map of Local Climate Zones (LCZ) that describes the heterogeneous urban land surface. Both the CGLC and LCZ products are available at a 100-m spatial resolution, are representative for the year 2018, and cover -180°W to 180°E and -60°S to 78°N. Remaining areas are filled with the MODIS land cover classes. This dataset has been implemented into the WRF Preprocessing System (WPS) as tiled binary data files with a new GEOGRID table entry to allow WRF/WPS users to flexibly use this dataset in their studies particularly relevant for urban modeling applications.

The corresponding dataset can be found at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7670653.