Even though knowing the contributions of transpiration (T), soil and open water evaporation (E), and interception (I) to terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET = T + E + I) is crucial for understanding the hydrological cycle and its connection to ecological processes, the fraction of T is unattainable by traditional measurement techniques over large scales. Previously reported global mean T/(E + T + I) from multiple independent sources, including satellite‐based estimations, reanalysis, land surface models, and isotopic measurements, varies substantially from 24% to 90%. Here we develop a new ET partitioning algorithm, which combines global evapotranspiration estimates and relationships between leaf area index (LAI) and T/(E + T) for different vegetation types, to upscale a wide range of published site‐scale measurements. We show that transpiration accounts for about 57.2% (with standard deviation ± 6.8%) of global terrestrial ET. Our approach bridges the scale gap between site measurements and global model simulations,and can be simply implemented into current global climate models to improve biological CO2 flux simulations.

Partitioning ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) into soil evaporation (E) and transpiration (T) is crucial for understanding hydrological processes. In this study, by using high-frequency isotope measurements and continuous surface water measurements, we investigated the isotope ratios in soil-vegetationatmosphere transfer and the physical mechanisms involved over a paddy field for a full growing season. The isotopic signals of d ET , d T , and d E were determined by the Keeling plot method, surface water isotopic measurements, and the Craig-Gordon model, respectively. The fraction of transpiration in evapotranspiration (FT) ranged from 0.2 to 1, with an almost continuous increase in the early growing season and a relatively constant value close to 1 later in the year. The result was supported by FT derived from simulated T and eddy correlation measured ET. The seasonal change in the transpiration fraction could be described quite well as a function of the LAI (FT 5 0.67LAI 0.25 , R 2 5 0.80), implying that transpiration plays a dominant role in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere continuum during the growing season. The two end-member uncertainty analysis suggested that further improvement in the estimation of d T and d ET is necessary for partitioning evapotranspiration using the isotopic method. In the estimation of d ET , the assumptions underlying Keeling plot method were rarely met and the uncertainty was quite large. A high frequency of precise isotopic measurements in surface water was also necessary for d T estimation. Furthermore, special care must be taken concerning the kinetic fractionation parameter in the Craig and Gordon Equation for d E estimation under low-LAI conditions. The results demonstrated the robustness of using isotope measurements for partitioning evapotranspiration.

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Hydrological extremes, in the form of droughts and floods, have impacts on a wide range of sectors including water availability, food security, and energy production. Given continuing large impacts of droughts and floods and the expectation for significant regional changes projected in the future, there is an urgent need to provide estimates of past events and their future risk, globally. However, current estimates of hydrological extremes are not robust and accurate enough, due to lack of long-term data records, standardized methods for event identification, geographical inconsistencies, and data uncertainties. To tackle these challenges, this article presents the development of the first Global Drought and Flood Catalogue (GDFC) for 1950–2016 by merging the latest in situ and remote sensing datasets with state-of-the-art land surface and hydrodynamic modeling to provide a continuous and consistent estimate of the terrestrial water cycle and its extremes. This GDFC also includes an unprecedented level of detailed analysis of drought and large-scale flood events using univariate and multivariate risk assessment frameworks, which incorporates regional spatial–temporal characteristics (i.e., duration, spatial extent, severity) and global hazard maps for different return periods. This Catalogue forms a basis for analyzing the changing risk of droughts and floods and can underscore national and international climate change assessments and provide a key reference for climate change studies and climate model evaluations. It also contributes to the growing interests in multivariate and compounding risk analysis.