Soil Moisture Conditions Determine Land‐Atmosphere Coupling and Drought Risk in the Northeastern United States

Alessi, Marc J.; Herrera, Dimitris A.; Evans, Colin P.; DeGaetano, Arthur T.; Ault, Toby R.

doi:10.1029/2021jd034740

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(89 reference statements)

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“…Regional and local scale hydroclimate changes in a warming climate might be enhanced by local feedback processes, including changes in moisture transport and mass convergence (Fig 1 ) and other land-atmosphere coupling controls, such as soil moisture [51,52], land-use changes, and water management [34]. Modeling studies indicate that regional to local scale increases in precipitation are closer to Clausius-Clapeyron [9] and might be higher (>10% K -1 ) in certain regions, especially considering extreme events alone [53].…”

Section: Understanding the Causes Of The Anthropogenic Hydroclimate C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Observed changes in hydroclimate attributed to human forcing

Herrera,

Cook,

Fasullo

et al. 2023

PLOS Clim

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Observational and modeling studies indicate significant changes in the global hydroclimate in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries due to anthropogenic climate change. In this review, we analyze the recent literature on the observed changes in hydroclimate attributable to anthropogenic forcing, the physical and biological mechanisms underlying those changes, and the advantages and limitations of current detection and attribution methods. Changes in the magnitude and spatial patterns of precipitation minus evaporation (P–E) are consistent with increased water vapor content driven by higher temperatures. While thermodynamics explains most of the observed changes, the contribution of dynamics is not yet well constrained, especially at regional and local scales, due to limitations in observations and climate models. Anthropogenic climate change has also increased the severity and likelihood of contemporaneous droughts in southwestern North America, southwestern South America, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. An increased frequency of extreme precipitation events and shifts in phenology has also been attributed to anthropogenic climate change. While considerable uncertainties persist on the role of plant physiology in modulating hydroclimate and vice versa, emerging evidence indicates that increased canopy water demand and longer growing seasons negate the water-saving effects from increased water-use efficiency.

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Section: Understanding the Causes Of The Anthropogenic Hydroclimate C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Observed changes in hydroclimate attributed to human forcing

Herrera,

Cook,

Fasullo

et al. 2023

PLOS Clim

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“…As θ RS shifts farther below θ X , the ratio of sensible‐to latent heat flux increases. This accentuates further drying of soil and decreases the moist static energy (MSE, i.e., low‐level moisture) in the atmospheric boundary layer, which reduces the likelihood of precipitation (Alessi et al., 2022). Wet‐preferential state, on the contrary, indicate the prevalence of a “ climate‐controlled ” state where the primary mechanism of θ RS loss is gravity drainage or ET at potential/near‐potential rates, limited by the radiative fluxes (Seneviratne et al., 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferential Hydrologic States and Tipping Characteristics of Global Surface Soil Moisture

Sehgal,

Mohanty

2024

Water Resources Research

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A dynamic transition in soil hydrologic states through meteorological variability and terrestrial feedback governs soil‐vegetation‐climate (SVC) interactions, constrained by critical soil moisture (SM) thresholds. However, observational and scaling constraints limit critical SM threshold estimation at the remote‐sensing (RS) footprint scale. Using global surface SM (θRS) from NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, we characterize the seasonal preferential hydrologic states of θRS and derive three tipping characteristics to estimate the intensity (Mean Tipping Depth, ), frequency (Tipping Count, η), and duration (Mean Tipped Time, ) of the excursion of θRS from wet‐ to dry‐average conditions. The preferential state provides the seasonally dominant hydrological states of θRS, while tipping characteristics capture the ecosystem linkages of the dynamic transition in θRS hydrologic states. Globally, θRS predominantly exhibits a (unimodal) dry‐preferential state, especially over arid/semi‐arid drylands and a unimodal wet‐preferential θRS state in high‐latitude boreal forests and tundra biomes. Prevalence of (bimodal) bistable θRS state overlaps with regions of strong positive SM‐precipitation coupling and monsoonal climate in semi‐arid/subhumid climates. Seasonal preferential hydrologic states co‐vary with the regional variability in plant water stress threshold and land‐atmospheric coupling strength. Tipping characteristics of θRS show sensitivity to intra‐biome variability in SVC coexistence patterns and display high skill in partitioning global ecoregions. While and η are climate‐controlled, is moderated by soil and vegetation through their influence over θRS drydown during water‐limited evapotranspiration. Preferential states and tipping characteristics find applications in quantifying SVC coexistence patterns, climate model diagnosis, and assessing ecosystem sensitivity to climate change.

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“…As shown in Figure 10c, the PBL height in the Afforestation scenario decreases. The above‐mentioned conditions favor lower lifting condensation level (LCL, Figure 10d) and increase atmospheric instability, which tends to further trigger deep convection and rainfall (Alessi et al., 2022; Ford et al., 2018; Pal & Eltahir, 2001). The WRF‐tagging model also provides the change in the recycled P (or P tag ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Moisture Recycling With Convection‐Permitting WRF‐Tagging Modeling in the Agro‐Pastoral Ecotone of Northern China

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2023

JGR Atmospheres

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Land use and land cover change (LUCC) can influence the regional atmospheric water budget. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting model embedded with evapotranspiration (ET)‐tagging (WRF‐tagging) is used to investigate the atmospheric pathways of ET as well as where and to what extent ET returns as precipitation (P) in the agro‐pastoral ecotone of northern China (APENC). First, we updated the default land use and vegetation indices in the WRF‐tagging with high‐resolution and real‐time datasets. WRF‐tagging modeling reproduces the spatial distribution of P and ET reasonably after updating surface characteristics. Second, we analyzed and quantified the contribution of ET to atmospheric moisture and regional P in the APENC. The water vapor originating as ET is advected in the atmosphere below 600 hPa to hundreds of kilometers by the prevailing winds. Moisture recycling shows that 5.83% of P comes from local ET during the growing season in the core region of the APENC. Furthermore, to quantify the impact of LUCC on moisture recycling, we designed two different vegetation scenarios (Afforestation and Degradation) by changing land use and vegetation indices in the model. Results show that the precipitation recycling ratio increased to 6.31% in the Afforestation scenario, and decreased to 5.19% in the Degradation scenario, demonstrating the non‐neglectable positive feedback of vegetation on P. An analysis of land surface‐precipitation feedback processes indicates that the LUCC‐induced change in precipitation efficiency dominates P changes. Our findings highlight the importance of LUCC on local and regional moisture recycling in the APENC.

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Soil Moisture Conditions Determine Land‐Atmosphere Coupling and Drought Risk in the Northeastern United States

Cited by 16 publications

References 45 publications

Observed changes in hydroclimate attributed to human forcing

Observed changes in hydroclimate attributed to human forcing

Preferential Hydrologic States and Tipping Characteristics of Global Surface Soil Moisture

Quantifying the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Moisture Recycling With Convection‐Permitting WRF‐Tagging Modeling in the Agro‐Pastoral Ecotone of Northern China

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