A model framework to investigate the role of anomalous land surface processes in the amplification of summer drought across Ireland during 2018

Abstract

Due to its latitude and ample year-round rainfall, Ireland is typically an energy-limited regime in the context of soil moisture availability and evapotranspiration. However, during the summer of 2018, regions within the country displayed significant soil moisture deficits, associated with anomalous atmospheric forcing conditions, with consequent impacts on the surface energy balance. Here, we explore the utility of a physically based land surface scheme coupled with observational, global gridded reanalysis and satellitederived data products to analyse the spatial and temporal evolution of the 2018 summer drought event in Ireland over grassland, which represents the dominant agricultural land-cover. While the surface-air energy exchanges were initially dominated by atmospheric anomalies, soil moisture constraints became increasingly important in regulating these exchanges, as the accumulated rainfall deficit increased throughout the summer months. This was particularly