Articles | Volume 26, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2997-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2997-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
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15 Jun 2022
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 15 Jun 2022
| 15 Jun 2022
The influence of vegetation water dynamics on the ASCAT backscatter–incidence angle relationship in the Amazon
Ashwini Petchiappan
Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2600 GA Delft, the Netherlands
Susan C. Steele-Dunne
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2600 GA Delft, the Netherlands
Mariette Vreugdenhil
Department of Geodesy and Geo-Information, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Sebastian Hahn
Department of Geodesy and Geo-Information, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Wolfgang Wagner
Department of Geodesy and Geo-Information, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Rafael Oliveira
Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, P.O. Box 6109, University of Campinas – UNICAMP 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
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Wolfgang Knorr, Matthew Williams, Tea Thum, Thomas Kaminski, Michael Voßbeck, Marko Scholze, Tristan Quaife, T. Luke Smallman, Susan C. Steele-Dunne, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Tim Green, Sönke Zaehle, Mika Aurela, Alexandre Bouvet, Emanuel Bueechi, Wouter Dorigo, Tarek S. El-Madany, Mirco Migliavacca, Marika Honkanen, Yann H. Kerr, Anna Kontu, Juha Lemmetyinen, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Arnaud Mialon, Tuuli Miinalainen, Gaétan Pique, Amanda Ojasalo, Shaun Quegan, Peter J. Rayner, Pablo Reyes-Muñoz, Nemesio Rodríguez-Fernández, Mike Schwank, Jochem Verrelst, Songyan Zhu, Dirk Schüttemeyer, and Matthias Drusch
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 2137–2159, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2137-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2137-2025, 2025
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When it comes to climate change, the land surface is where the vast majority of impacts happen. The task of monitoring those impacts across the globe is formidable and must necessarily rely on satellites – at a significant cost: the measurements are only indirect and require comprehensive physical understanding. We have created a comprehensive modelling system that we offer to the research community to explore how satellite data can be better exploited to help us capture the changes that happen on our lands.
Ruxandra-Maria Zotta, Leander Moesinger, Robin van der Schalie, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Thomas Frederikse, Richard de Jeu, and Wouter Dorigo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4573–4617, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4573-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4573-2024, 2024
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VODCA v2 is a dataset providing vegetation indicators for long-term ecosystem monitoring. VODCA v2 comprises two products: VODCA CXKu, spanning 34 years of observations (1987–2021), suitable for monitoring upper canopy dynamics, and VODCA L (2010–2021), for above-ground biomass monitoring. VODCA v2 has lower noise levels than the previous product version and provides valuable insights into plant water dynamics and biomass changes, even in areas where optical data are limited.
Jaime Gaona, Davide Bavera, Guido Fioravanti, Sebastian Hahn, Pietro Stradiotti, Paolo Filippucci, Stefania Camici, Luca Ciabatta, Hamidreza Mossaffa, Silvia Puca, Nicoletta Roberto, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-182, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-182, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
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Soil moisture is crucial for the water cycle since it is the frontline of drought. Satellite, model, and in-situ data help identify soil moisture stress but challenged by data uncertainties. This study evaluates trends and data coherence of common active/passive microwave sensors and model-based soil moisture data against in-situ stations across Europe from 2007 to 2022. Data reliability is increasing but combining data types improves soil moisture monitoring capabilities.
J. Zhao, F. Roth, B. Bauer-Marschallinger, W. Wagner, M. Chini, and X. X. Zhu
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., X-1-W1-2023, 911–918, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-1-W1-2023-911-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-1-W1-2023-911-2023, 2023
Florian Roth, Bernhard Bauer-Marschallinger, Mark Edwin Tupas, Christoph Reimer, Peter Salamon, and Wolfgang Wagner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3305–3317, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3305-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3305-2023, 2023
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In August and September 2022, millions of people were impacted by a severe flood event in Pakistan. Since many roads and other infrastructure were destroyed, satellite data were the only way of providing large-scale information on the flood's impact. Based on the flood mapping algorithm developed at Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien), we mapped an area of 30 492 km2 that was flooded at least once during the study's time period. This affected area matches about the total area of Belgium.
Jacopo Dari, Luca Brocca, Sara Modanesi, Christian Massari, Angelica Tarpanelli, Silvia Barbetta, Raphael Quast, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Vahid Freeman, Anaïs Barella-Ortiz, Pere Quintana-Seguí, David Bretreger, and Espen Volden
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1555–1575, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1555-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1555-2023, 2023
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Irrigation is the main source of global freshwater consumption. Despite this, a detailed knowledge of irrigation dynamics (i.e., timing, extent of irrigated areas, and amounts of water used) are generally lacking worldwide. Satellites represent a useful tool to fill this knowledge gap and monitor irrigation water from space. In this study, three regional-scale and high-resolution (1 and 6 km) products of irrigation amounts estimated by inverting the satellite soil moisture signals are presented.
M. Tupas, C. Navacchi, F. Roth, B. Bauer-Marschallinger, F. Reuß, and W. Wagner
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-4-W1-2022, 495–502, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-495-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W1-2022-495-2022, 2022
Lorenzo Alfieri, Francesco Avanzi, Fabio Delogu, Simone Gabellani, Giulia Bruno, Lorenzo Campo, Andrea Libertino, Christian Massari, Angelica Tarpanelli, Dominik Rains, Diego G. Miralles, Raphael Quast, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Huan Wu, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3921–3939, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3921-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3921-2022, 2022
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This work shows advances in high-resolution satellite data for hydrology. We performed hydrological simulations for the Po River basin using various satellite products, including precipitation, evaporation, soil moisture, and snow depth. Evaporation and snow depth improved a simulation based on high-quality ground observations. Interestingly, a model calibration relying on satellite data skillfully reproduces observed discharges, paving the way to satellite-driven hydrological applications.
Paolo Filippucci, Luca Brocca, Raphael Quast, Luca Ciabatta, Carla Saltalippi, Wolfgang Wagner, and Angelica Tarpanelli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2481–2497, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2481-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2481-2022, 2022
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A high-resolution (1 km) rainfall product with 10–30 d temporal resolution was obtained starting from SM data from Sentinel-1. Good performances are achieved using observed data (gauge and radar) over the Po River Valley, Italy, as a benchmark. The comparison with a product characterized by lower spatial resolution (25 km) highlights areas where the high spatial resolution of Sentinel-1 has great benefits. Possible applications include water management, agriculture and index-based insurances.
Rui Tong, Juraj Parajka, Borbála Széles, Isabella Greimeister-Pfeil, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jürgen Komma, Peter Valent, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1779–1799, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1779-2022, 2022
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The role and impact of using additional data (other than runoff) for the prediction of daily hydrographs in ungauged basins are not well understood. In this study, we assessed the model performance in terms of runoff, soil moisture, and snow cover predictions with the existing regionalization approaches. Results show that the best transfer methods are the similarity and the kriging approaches. The performance of the transfer methods differs between lowland and alpine catchments.
Paul C. Vermunt, Susan C. Steele-Dunne, Saeed Khabbazan, Jasmeet Judge, and Nick C. van de Giesen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1223–1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1223-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1223-2022, 2022
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This study investigates the use of hydrometeorological sensors to reconstruct variations in internal vegetation water content of corn and relates these variations to the sub-daily behaviour of polarimetric L-band backscatter. The results show significant sensitivity of backscatter to the daily cycles of vegetation water content and dew, particularly on dry days and for vertical and cross-polarizations, which demonstrates the potential for using radar for studies on vegetation water dynamics.
Wouter Dorigo, Irene Himmelbauer, Daniel Aberer, Lukas Schremmer, Ivana Petrakovic, Luca Zappa, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Angelika Xaver, Frank Annor, Jonas Ardö, Dennis Baldocchi, Marco Bitelli, Günter Blöschl, Heye Bogena, Luca Brocca, Jean-Christophe Calvet, J. Julio Camarero, Giorgio Capello, Minha Choi, Michael C. Cosh, Nick van de Giesen, Istvan Hajdu, Jaakko Ikonen, Karsten H. Jensen, Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Ileen de Kat, Gottfried Kirchengast, Pankaj Kumar Rai, Jenni Kyrouac, Kristine Larson, Suxia Liu, Alexander Loew, Mahta Moghaddam, José Martínez Fernández, Cristian Mattar Bader, Renato Morbidelli, Jan P. Musial, Elise Osenga, Michael A. Palecki, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Isabella Pfeil, Jarrett Powers, Alan Robock, Christoph Rüdiger, Udo Rummel, Michael Strobel, Zhongbo Su, Ryan Sullivan, Torbern Tagesson, Andrej Varlagin, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jeffrey Walker, Jun Wen, Fred Wenger, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Mel Woods, Kun Yang, Yijian Zeng, Xiang Zhang, Marek Zreda, Stephan Dietrich, Alexander Gruber, Peter van Oevelen, Wolfgang Wagner, Klaus Scipal, Matthias Drusch, and Roberto Sabia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5749–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, 2021
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The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) is a community-based open-access data portal for soil water measurements taken at the ground and is accessible at https://ismn.earth. Over 1000 scientific publications and thousands of users have made use of the ISMN. The scope of this paper is to inform readers about the data and functionality of the ISMN and to provide a review of the scientific progress facilitated through the ISMN with the scope to shape future research and operations.
A. Iglseder, M. Bruggisser, A. Dostálová, N. Pfeifer, S. Schlaffer, W. Wagner, and M. Hollaus
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B3-2021, 567–574, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-567-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B3-2021-567-2021, 2021
Rui Tong, Juraj Parajka, Andreas Salentinig, Isabella Pfeil, Jürgen Komma, Borbála Széles, Martin Kubáň, Peter Valent, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Wolfgang Wagner, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1389–1410, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1389-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1389-2021, 2021
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We used a new and experimental version of the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) soil water index data set and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) C6 snow cover products for multiple objective calibrations of the TUWmodel in 213 catchments of Austria. Combined calibration to runoff, satellite soil moisture, and snow cover improves runoff (40 % catchments), soil moisture (80 % catchments), and snow (~ 100 % catchments) simulation compared to traditional calibration to runoff only.
Hylke E. Beck, Ming Pan, Diego G. Miralles, Rolf H. Reichle, Wouter A. Dorigo, Sebastian Hahn, Justin Sheffield, Lanka Karthikeyan, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Robert M. Parinussa, Albert I. J. M. van Dijk, Jinyang Du, John S. Kimball, Noemi Vergopolan, and Eric F. Wood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 17–40, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-17-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-17-2021, 2021
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We evaluated the largest and most diverse set of surface soil moisture products ever evaluated in a single study. We found pronounced differences in performance among individual products and product groups. Our results provide guidance to choose the most suitable product for a particular application.
J. Zhao, M. Chini, R. Pelich, P. Matgen, R. Hostache, S. Cao, and W. Wagner
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-1-2020, 395–400, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-1-2020-395-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-1-2020-395-2020, 2020
W. Wagner, V. Freeman, S. Cao, P. Matgen, M. Chini, P. Salamon, N. McCormick, S. Martinis, B. Bauer-Marschallinger, C. Navacchi, M. Schramm, C. Reimer, and C. Briese
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-3-2020, 641–648, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2020-641-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2020-641-2020, 2020
Elahe Jamalinia, Phil Vardon, and Susan Steele-Dunne
Proc. IAHS, 382, 481–485, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-481-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-481-2020, 2020
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This proof-of-concept study shows that near surface displacement due to interaction with the atmosphere has a strong relation with the water availability in the slope and therefore the Factor of Safety (FoS).
Angelika Xaver, Luca Zappa, Gerhard Rab, Isabella Pfeil, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Drew Hemment, and Wouter Arnoud Dorigo
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 9, 117–139, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-117-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-117-2020, 2020
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Soil moisture plays a key role in the hydrological cycle and the climate system. Although soil moisture can be observed by the means of satellites, ground observations are still crucial for evaluating and improving these satellite products. In this study, we investigate the performance of a consumer low-cost soil moisture sensor in the lab and in the field. We demonstrate that this sensor can be used for scientific applications, for example to create a dataset valuable for satellite validation.
Luca Brocca, Paolo Filippucci, Sebastian Hahn, Luca Ciabatta, Christian Massari, Stefania Camici, Lothar Schüller, Bojan Bojkov, and Wolfgang Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1583–1601, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1583-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1583-2019, 2019
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SM2RAIN–ASCAT is a new 12-year (2007–2018) global-scale rainfall dataset obtained by applying the SM2RAIN algorithm to ASCAT soil moisture data. The dataset has a spatiotemporal sampling resolution of 12.5 km and 1 d. Results show that the new dataset performs particularly well in Africa and South America, i.e. in the continents in which ground observations are scarce and the need for satellite rainfall data is high. SM2RAIN–ASCAT is available at http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.340556.
Alexander Gruber, Tracy Scanlon, Robin van der Schalie, Wolfgang Wagner, and Wouter Dorigo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 717–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-717-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-717-2019, 2019
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Soil moisture is a key variable in our Earth system. Knowledge of soil moisture and its dynamics across scales is vital for many applications such as the prediction of agricultural yields or irrigation demands, flood and drought monitoring, weather forecasting and climate modelling. To date, the ESA CCI SM products are the only consistent long-term multi-satellite soil moisture data sets available. This paper reviews the evolution of these products and their underlying merging methodology.
Tim van Emmerik, Susan Steele-Dunne, Pierre Gentine, Rafael S. Oliveira, Paulo Bittencourt, Fernanda Barros, and Nick van de Giesen
Biogeosciences, 15, 6439–6449, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6439-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6439-2018, 2018
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Trees are very important for the water and carbon cycles. Climate and weather models often assume constant vegetation parameters because good measurements are missing. We used affordable accelerometers to measure tree sway of 19 trees in the Amazon rainforest. We show that trees respond very differently to the same weather conditions, which means that vegetation parameters are dynamic. With our measurements trees can be accounted for more realistically, improving climate and weather models.
Luca Ciabatta, Christian Massari, Luca Brocca, Alexander Gruber, Christoph Reimer, Sebastian Hahn, Christoph Paulik, Wouter Dorigo, Richard Kidd, and Wolfgang Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 267–280, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-267-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-267-2018, 2018
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In this study, rainfall is estimated starting from satellite soil moisture observation on a global scale, using the ESA CCI soil moisture datasets. The new obtained rainfall product has proven to correctly identify rainfall events, showing performance sometimes higher than those obtained by using classical rainfall estimation approaches.
Matthew F. McCabe, Matthew Rodell, Douglas E. Alsdorf, Diego G. Miralles, Remko Uijlenhoet, Wolfgang Wagner, Arko Lucieer, Rasmus Houborg, Niko E. C. Verhoest, Trenton E. Franz, Jiancheng Shi, Huilin Gao, and Eric F. Wood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3879–3914, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3879-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3879-2017, 2017
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We examine the opportunities and challenges that technological advances in Earth observation will present to the hydrological community. From advanced space-based sensors to unmanned aerial vehicles and ground-based distributed networks, these emergent systems are set to revolutionize our understanding and interpretation of hydrological and related processes.
Christopher J. Merchant, Frank Paul, Thomas Popp, Michael Ablain, Sophie Bontemps, Pierre Defourny, Rainer Hollmann, Thomas Lavergne, Alexandra Laeng, Gerrit de Leeuw, Jonathan Mittaz, Caroline Poulsen, Adam C. Povey, Max Reuter, Shubha Sathyendranath, Stein Sandven, Viktoria F. Sofieva, and Wolfgang Wagner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 511–527, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-511-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-511-2017, 2017
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Climate data records (CDRs) contain data describing Earth's climate and should address uncertainty in the data to communicate what is known about climate variability or change and what range of doubt exists. This paper discusses good practice for including uncertainty information in CDRs for the essential climate variables (ECVs) derived from satellite data. Recommendations emerge from the shared experience of diverse ECV projects within the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative.
Natthachet Tangdamrongsub, Susan C. Steele-Dunne, Brian C. Gunter, Pavel G. Ditmar, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Yu Sun, Ting Xia, and Zhongjing Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2053–2074, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2053-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2053-2017, 2017
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This paper investigates the assimilation of terrestrial water storage variation estimates derived from GRACE data using an EnKF 3D approach. The spatially correlated errors in GRACE data derived from its full error variance–covariance matrices were taken into account. The experiments showed that GRACE DA improved the accuracy of groundwater storage estimates by as much as 25 % over the Hexi Corridor. The inclusion of error correlations provided an equal or greater improvement in the estimates.
Markus Enenkel, Christoph Reimer, Wouter Dorigo, Wolfgang Wagner, Isabella Pfeil, Robert Parinussa, and Richard De Jeu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4191–4208, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4191-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4191-2016, 2016
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Soil moisture is a crucial variable for a variety of applications, ranging from weather forecasting and agricultural production to the monitoring of floods and droughts. Satellite observations are particularly important in regions where no in situ measurements are available. Our study presents a method to integrate global near-real-time satellite observations from different sensors into one harmonized, daily data set. A first validation shows good results on a global scale.
M. K. van der Molen, R. A. M. de Jeu, W. Wagner, I. R. van der Velde, P. Kolari, J. Kurbatova, A. Varlagin, T. C. Maximov, A. V. Kononov, T. Ohta, A. Kotani, M. C. Krol, and W. Peters
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 605–624, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-605-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-605-2016, 2016
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Boreal Eurasia contains extensive forests, which play an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Droughts can modify this cycle considerably, although very few ground-based observations are available in the region. We test whether satellite-observed soil moisture may be used to improve carbon cycle models in this region. This paper explains when and where this works best. The interpretation of satellite soil moisture is best in summer conditions, and is hampered by snow, ice and ponding.
G. Blöschl, A. P. Blaschke, M. Broer, C. Bucher, G. Carr, X. Chen, A. Eder, M. Exner-Kittridge, A. Farnleitner, A. Flores-Orozco, P. Haas, P. Hogan, A. Kazemi Amiri, M. Oismüller, J. Parajka, R. Silasari, P. Stadler, P. Strauss, M. Vreugdenhil, W. Wagner, and M. Zessner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 227–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-227-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-227-2016, 2016
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This paper illustrates the experimental and monitoring set-up of the 66 ha Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Petzenkirchen, Lower Austria, which allows meaningful hypothesis testing. The HOAL catchment features a range of different runoff generation processes (surface runoff, springs, tile drains, wetlands), and is convenient from a logistic point of view as all instruments can be connected to the power grid and a high-speed glassfibre local area network.
F. Todisco, L. Brocca, L. F. Termite, and W. Wagner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 3845–3856, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3845-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3845-2015, 2015
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We developed a new formulation of USLE, named Soil Moisture for Erosion (SM4E), that directly incorporates soil moisture information. SM4E is applied here by using modeled data and satellite observations obtained from the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT). SM4E is found to outperform USLE and USLE-MM models in silty–clay soil in central Italy. Through satellite data, there is the potential of applying SM4E for large-scale monitoring and quantification of the soil erosion process.
N. Tangdamrongsub, S. C. Steele-Dunne, B. C. Gunter, P. G. Ditmar, and A. H. Weerts
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2079–2100, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2079-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2079-2015, 2015
Related subject area
Subject: Hydrometeorology | Techniques and Approaches: Remote Sensing and GIS
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Statistical characteristics of raindrop size distribution during rainy seasons in the Beijing urban area and implications for radar rainfall estimation
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Performance of bias-correction schemes for CMORPH rainfall estimates in the Zambezi River basin
The El Niño event of 2015–2016: climate anomalies and their impact on groundwater resources in East and Southern Africa
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Integrating multiple satellite observations into a coherent dataset to monitor the full water cycle – application to the Mediterranean region
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Exploring seasonal and regional relationships between the Evaporative Stress Index and surface weather and soil moisture anomalies across the United States
Development of soil moisture profiles through coupled microwave–thermal infrared observations in the southeastern United States
Evaluation of multiple climate data sources for managing environmental resources in East Africa
Precipitation downscaling using a probability-matching approach and geostationary infrared data: an evaluation over six climate regions
Regional co-variability of spatial and temporal soil moisture–precipitation coupling in North Africa: an observational perspective
Regional evapotranspiration from an image-based implementation of the Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC1.2) model and its validation across an aridity gradient in the conterminous US
Regional frequency analysis of extreme rainfall in Belgium based on radar estimates
An assessment of the performance of global rainfall estimates without ground-based observations
Water–food–energy nexus with changing agricultural scenarios in India during recent decades
Intensity–duration–frequency curves from remote sensing rainfall estimates: comparing satellite and weather radar over the eastern Mediterranean
The effect of satellite-derived surface soil moisture and leaf area index land data assimilation on streamflow simulations over France
Reservoir storage and hydrologic responses to droughts in the Paraná River basin, south-eastern Brazil
Remote sensing algorithm for surface evapotranspiration considering landscape and statistical effects on mixed pixels
Comparison of satellite-based evapotranspiration estimates over the Tibetan Plateau
Evaluation of soil moisture downscaling using a simple thermal-based proxy – the REMEDHUS network (Spain) example
The SPARSE model for the prediction of water stress and evapotranspiration components from thermal infra-red data and its evaluation over irrigated and rainfed wheat
Evaluation of precipitation estimates over CONUS derived from satellite, radar, and rain gauge data sets at daily to annual scales (2002–2012)
Scoping a field experiment: error diagnostics of TRMM precipitation radar estimates in complex terrain as a basis for IPHEx2014
Comparison of rainfall estimations by TRMM 3B42, MPEG and CFSR with ground-observed data for the Lake Tana basin in Ethiopia
Downscaling of seasonal soil moisture forecasts using satellite data
Long term soil moisture mapping over the Tibetan plateau using Special Sensor Microwave/Imager
Aatralarasi Saravanan, Daniel Karthe, Selvaprakash Ramalingam, and Niels Schütze
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2369, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2369, 2024
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In water-scarce regions, precipitation is a highly variable and essential resource for crop production. Developing countries like India have an uneven distribution of rain gauges, so reliance on satellite and reanalysis-based precipitation products is critical for their prudent management. Hence, the study statistically evaluated different precipitation products against the station data for water-scarce regions in Tamil Nadu and found that ERA5-Land performed the best, followed by MSWEP.
Gopi Goteti and James Famiglietti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3435–3455, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3435-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3435-2024, 2024
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Underestimation of precipitation (UoP) in India is a substantial issue not just within gauge-based precipitation datasets but also within state-of-the-art satellite and reanalysis-based datasets. UoP is prevalent across most river basins of India, including those that have experienced catastrophic flooding in the recent past. This paper highlights not only a major limitation of existing precipitation products for India but also other data-related obstacles faced by the research community.
Mohammed Abdallah, Ke Zhang, Lijun Chao, Abubaker Omer, Khalid Hassaballah, Kidane Welde Reda, Linxin Liu, Tolossa Lemma Tola, and Omar M. Nour
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1147–1172, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1147-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1147-2024, 2024
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A D-vine copula-based quantile regression (DVQR) model is used to merge satellite precipitation products. The performance of the DVQR model is compared with the simple model average and one-outlier-removed average methods. The nonlinear DVQR model outperforms the quantile-regression-based multivariate linear and Bayesian model averaging methods.
Jin Feng, Ke Zhang, Huijie Zhan, and Lijun Chao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 363–383, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-363-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-363-2023, 2023
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Here we improved a satellite-driven evaporation algorithm by introducing the modified versions of the two constraint schemes. The two moisture constraint schemes largely improved the evaporation estimation on two barren-dominated basins of the Tibetan Plateau. Investigation of moisture constraint uncertainty showed that high-quality soil moisture can optimally represent moisture, and more accessible precipitation data generally help improve the estimation of barren evaporation.
Kunlong He, Wei Zhao, Luca Brocca, and Pere Quintana-Seguí
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 169–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-169-2023, 2023
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In this study, we developed a soil moisture-based precipitation downscaling (SMPD) method for spatially downscaling the GPM daily precipitation product by exploiting the connection between surface soil moisture and precipitation according to the soil water balance equation. Based on this physical method, the spatial resolution of the daily precipitation product was downscaled to 1 km and the SMPD method shows good potential for the development of the high-resolution precipitation product.
Elias Nkiaka, Robert G. Bryant, Joshua Ntajal, and Eliézer I. Biao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5899–5916, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5899-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5899-2022, 2022
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Achieving water security in poorly gauged regions is hindered by a lack of in situ hydrometeorological data. In this study, we validated nine existing gridded water resource reanalyses and eight evapotranspiration products in eight representative gauged basins in Central–West Africa. Our results show the strengths and and weaknesses of the existing products and that these products can be used to assess water security in ungauged basins. However, it is imperative to validate these products.
Shijie Li, Guojie Wang, Chenxia Zhu, Jiao Lu, Waheed Ullah, Daniel Fiifi Tawia Hagan, Giri Kattel, and Jian Peng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3691–3707, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3691-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3691-2022, 2022
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We found that the precipitation variability dominantly controls global evapotranspiration (ET) in dry climates, while the net radiation has substantial control over ET in the tropical regions, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) impacts ET trends in boreal mid-latitude climate. The critical role of VPD in controlling ET trends is particularly emphasized due to its influence in controlling the carbon–water–energy cycle.
Paul C. Vermunt, Susan C. Steele-Dunne, Saeed Khabbazan, Jasmeet Judge, and Nick C. van de Giesen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1223–1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1223-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1223-2022, 2022
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This study investigates the use of hydrometeorological sensors to reconstruct variations in internal vegetation water content of corn and relates these variations to the sub-daily behaviour of polarimetric L-band backscatter. The results show significant sensitivity of backscatter to the daily cycles of vegetation water content and dew, particularly on dry days and for vertical and cross-polarizations, which demonstrates the potential for using radar for studies on vegetation water dynamics.
Xiaolu Ling, Ying Huang, Weidong Guo, Yixin Wang, Chaorong Chen, Bo Qiu, Jun Ge, Kai Qin, Yong Xue, and Jian Peng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4209–4229, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4209-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4209-2021, 2021
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Soil moisture (SM) plays a critical role in the water and energy cycles of the Earth system, for which a long-term SM product with high quality is urgently needed. In situ observations are generally treated as the true value to systematically evaluate five SM products, including one remote sensing product and four reanalysis data sets during 1981–2013. This long-term intercomparison study provides clues for SM product enhancement and further hydrological applications.
Maoshan Li, Xiaoran Liu, Lei Shu, Shucheng Yin, Lingzhi Wang, Wei Fu, Yaoming Ma, Yaoxian Yang, and Fanglin Sun
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2915–2930, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2915-2021, 2021
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In this study, using MODIS satellite data and site atmospheric turbulence observation data in the Nagqu area of the northern Tibetan Plateau, with the Massman-retrieved model and a single height observation to determine aerodynamic surface roughness, temporal and spatial variation characteristics of the surface roughness were analyzed. The result is feasible, and it can be applied to improve the model parameters of the land surface model and the accuracy of model simulation in future work.
Jessica C. A. Baker, Luis Garcia-Carreras, Manuel Gloor, John H. Marsham, Wolfgang Buermann, Humberto R. da Rocha, Antonio D. Nobre, Alessandro Carioca de Araujo, and Dominick V. Spracklen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2279–2300, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2279-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2279-2021, 2021
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Evapotranspiration (ET) is a vital part of the Amazon water cycle, but it is difficult to measure over large areas. In this study, we compare spatial patterns, seasonality, and recent trends in Amazon ET from a water-budget analysis with estimates from satellites, reanalysis, and global climate models. We find large differences between products, showing that many widely used datasets and climate models may not provide a reliable representation of this crucial variable over the Amazon.
Jianxiu Qiu, Jianzhi Dong, Wade T. Crow, Xiaohu Zhang, Rolf H. Reichle, and Gabrielle J. M. De Lannoy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1569–1586, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1569-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1569-2021, 2021
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The SMAP L4 dataset has been extensively used in hydrological applications. We innovatively use a machine learning method to analyze how the efficiency of the L4 data assimilation (DA) system is determined. It shows that DA efficiency is mainly related to Tb innovation, followed by error in precipitation forcing and microwave soil roughness. Since the L4 system can effectively filter out precipitation error, future development should focus on correctly specifying the SSM–RZSM coupling strength.
Tanel Voormansik, Roberto Cremonini, Piia Post, and Dmitri Moisseev
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1245–1258, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1245-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1245-2021, 2021
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A long set of operational polarimetric weather radar rainfall accumulations from Estonia and Italy are generated and investigated. Results show that the combined product of specific differential phase and horizontal reflectivity yields the best results when compared to rain gauge measurements. The specific differential-phase-based product overestimates weak precipitation, and the horizontal-reflectivity-based product underestimates heavy rainfall in all analysed accumulation periods.
Rogier van der Velde, Andreas Colliander, Michiel Pezij, Harm-Jan F. Benninga, Rajat Bindlish, Steven K. Chan, Thomas J. Jackson, Dimmie M. D. Hendriks, Denie C. M. Augustijn, and Zhongbo Su
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 473–495, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-473-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-473-2021, 2021
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NASA’s SMAP satellite provides estimates of the amount of water in the soil. With measurements from a network of 20 monitoring stations, the accuracy of these estimates has been studied for a 4-year period. We found an agreement between satellite and in situ estimates in line with the mission requirements once the large mismatches associated with rapidly changing water contents, e.g. soil freezing and rainfall, are excluded.
Moctar Dembélé, Bettina Schaefli, Nick van de Giesen, and Grégoire Mariéthoz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5379–5406, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, 2020
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This study evaluates 102 combinations of rainfall and temperature datasets from satellite and reanalysis sources as input to a fully distributed hydrological model. The model is recalibrated for each input dataset, and the outputs are evaluated with streamflow, evaporation, soil moisture and terrestrial water storage data. Results show that no single rainfall or temperature dataset consistently ranks first in reproducing the spatio-temporal variability of all hydrological processes.
Michael W. Burnett, Gregory R. Quetin, and Alexandra G. Konings
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4189–4211, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4189-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4189-2020, 2020
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Water that evaporates from Africa's tropical forests provides rainfall throughout the continent. However, there are few sources of meteorological data in central Africa, so we use observations from satellites to estimate evaporation from the Congo Basin at different times of the year. We find that existing evaporation estimates in tropical Africa do not accurately capture seasonal variations in evaporation and that fluctuations in soil moisture and solar radiation drive evaporation rates.
Suwash Chandra Acharya, Rory Nathan, Quan J. Wang, Chun-Hsu Su, and Nathan Eizenberg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2951–2962, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2951-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2951-2020, 2020
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BARRA is a high-resolution reanalysis dataset over the Oceania region. This study evaluates the performance of sub-daily BARRA precipitation at point and spatial scales over Australia. We find that the dataset reproduces some of the sub-daily characteristics of precipitation well, although it exhibits some spatial displacement errors, and it performs better in temperate than in tropical regions. The product is well suited to complement other estimates derived from remote sensing and rain gauges.
Christian Massari, Luca Brocca, Thierry Pellarin, Gab Abramowitz, Paolo Filippucci, Luca Ciabatta, Viviana Maggioni, Yann Kerr, and Diego Fernandez Prieto
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2687–2710, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2687-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2687-2020, 2020
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Rain gauges are unevenly spaced around the world with extremely low gauge density over places like Africa and South America. Here, water-related problems like floods, drought and famine are particularly severe and able to cause fatalities, migration and diseases. We have developed a rainfall dataset that exploits the synergies between rainfall and soil moisture to provide accurate rainfall observations which can be used to face these problems.
Floyd Vukosi Khosa, Mohau Jacob Mateyisi, Martina Reynita van der Merwe, Gregor Timothy Feig, Francois Alwyn Engelbrecht, and Michael John Savage
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1587–1609, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1587-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1587-2020, 2020
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The paper evaluates soil moisture outputs from three structurally distinct models against in situ data. Our goal is to find how representative the model outputs are for site and region. This is a question of interest as some of the models have a specific regional focus on their inceptions. Much focus is placed on how the models capture the soil moisture signal. We find that there is agreement on seasonal patterns between the models and observations with a tolerable level of model uncertainty.
Yu Ma, Guangheng Ni, Chandrasekar V. Chandra, Fuqiang Tian, and Haonan Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4153–4170, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4153-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4153-2019, 2019
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Raindrop size distribution (DSD) information is fundamental in understanding the precipitation microphysics and quantitative precipitation estimation. This study extensively investigates the DSD characteristics during rainy seasons in the Beijing urban area using 5-year DSD observations from a Parsivel2 disdrometer. The statistical distributions of DSD parameters are examined and the polarimetric radar rainfall algorithms are derived to support the ongoing development of an X-band radar network.
Suwash Chandra Acharya, Rory Nathan, Quan J. Wang, Chun-Hsu Su, and Nathan Eizenberg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3387–3403, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3387-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3387-2019, 2019
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BARRA is a novel regional reanalysis for Australia. Our research demonstrates that it is able to characterize a rich spatial variation in daily precipitation behaviour. In addition, its ability to represent large rainfalls is valuable for the analysis of extremes. It is a useful complement to existing precipitation datasets for Australia, especially in sparsely gauged regions.
Webster Gumindoga, Tom H. M. Rientjes, Alemseged Tamiru Haile, Hodson Makurira, and Paolo Reggiani
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2915–2938, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2915-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2915-2019, 2019
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We evaluate the influence of elevation and distance from large-scale open water bodies on bias for CMORPH satellite rainfall in the Zambezi basin. Effects of distance > 10 km from water bodies are minimal, whereas the effects at shorter distances are indicated but are not conclusive for lack of rain gauges. Taylor diagrams show station elevation influencing CMORPH performance. The
spatio-temporaland newly developed
elevation zonebias schemes proved more effective in removing CMORPH bias.
Seshagiri Rao Kolusu, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Martin C. Todd, Richard G. Taylor, David Seddon, Japhet J. Kashaigili, Girma Y. Ebrahim, Mark O. Cuthbert, James P. R. Sorensen, Karen G. Villholth, Alan M. MacDonald, and Dave A. MacLeod
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1751–1762, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1751-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1751-2019, 2019
Frédéric Satgé, Denis Ruelland, Marie-Paule Bonnet, Jorge Molina, and Ramiro Pillco
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 595–619, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-595-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-595-2019, 2019
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This paper assesses the potential of satellite precipitation estimates (SPEs) for precipitation measurement and hydrological and snow modelling. A total of 12 SPEs is considered to provide a global overview of available SPE accuracy for users interested in such datasets. Results show that, over poorly monitored regions, SPEs represent a very efficient alternative to traditional precipitation gauges to follow precipitation in time and space and for hydrological and snow modelling.
Maik Renner, Claire Brenner, Kaniska Mallick, Hans-Dieter Wizemann, Luigi Conte, Ivonne Trebs, Jianhui Wei, Volker Wulfmeyer, Karsten Schulz, and Axel Kleidon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 515–535, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-515-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-515-2019, 2019
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We estimate the phase lag of surface states and heat fluxes to incoming solar radiation at the sub-daily timescale. While evapotranspiration reveals a minor phase lag, the vapor pressure deficit used as input by Penman–Monteith approaches shows a large phase lag. The surface-to-air temperature gradient used by energy balance residual approaches shows a small phase shift in agreement with the sensible heat flux and thus explains the better correlation of these models at the sub-daily timescale.
Victor Pellet, Filipe Aires, Simon Munier, Diego Fernández Prieto, Gabriel Jordá, Wouter Arnoud Dorigo, Jan Polcher, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 465–491, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-465-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-465-2019, 2019
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This study is an effort for a better understanding and quantification of the water cycle and related processes in the Mediterranean region, by dealing with satellite products and their uncertainties. The aims of the paper are 3-fold: (1) developing methods with hydrological constraints to integrate all the datasets, (2) giving the full picture of the Mediterranean WC, and (3) building a model-independent database that can evaluate the numerous regional climate models (RCMs) for this region.
Samiro Khodayar, Amparo Coll, and Ernesto Lopez-Baeza
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 255–275, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-255-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-255-2019, 2019
Franziska K. Fischer, Tanja Winterrath, and Karl Auerswald
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6505–6518, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6505-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6505-2018, 2018
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The potential of rain to cause soil erosion by runoff is called rain erosivity. Rain erosivity is highly variable in space and time even over distances of less than 1 km. Contiguously measured radar rain data depict for the first time this spatio-temporal variation, but scaling factors are required to account for differences in spatial and temporal resolution compared to rain gauge data. These scaling factors were obtained from more than 2 million erosive events.
Phu Nguyen, Mohammed Ombadi, Soroosh Sorooshian, Kuolin Hsu, Amir AghaKouchak, Dan Braithwaite, Hamed Ashouri, and Andrea Rose Thorstensen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5801–5816, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5801-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5801-2018, 2018
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The goal of this article is to first provide an overview of the available PERSIANN precipitation retrieval algorithms and their differences. We evaluate the products over CONUS at different spatial and temporal scales using CPC data. Daily scale is the finest temporal scale used for the evaluation over CONUS. We provide a comparison of the available products at a quasi-global scale. We highlight the strengths and limitations of the PERSIANN products.
Jason A. Otkin, Yafang Zhong, David Lorenz, Martha C. Anderson, and Christopher Hain
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5373–5386, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5373-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5373-2018, 2018
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Correlation analyses were used to explore relationships between the Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) – which depicts anomalies in evapotranspiration (ET) – and various land and atmospheric variables that impact ET. The results revealed that the ESI is more strongly correlated to anomalies in soil moisture and near-surface vapor pressure deficit than to precipitation and temperature anomalies. Large regional and seasonal dependencies in the strengths of the correlations were also observed.
Vikalp Mishra, James F. Cruise, Christopher R. Hain, John R. Mecikalski, and Martha C. Anderson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4935–4957, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4935-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4935-2018, 2018
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Multiple satellite observations can be used for surface and subsurface soil moisture estimations. In this study, satellite observations along with a mathematical model were used to distribute and develop multiyear soil moisture profiles over the southeastern US. Such remotely sensed profiles become particularly useful at large spatiotemporal scales, can be a significant tool in data-scarce regions of the world, can complement various land and crop models, and can act as drought indicators etc.
Solomon Hailu Gebrechorkos, Stephan Hülsmann, and Christian Bernhofer
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4547–4564, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4547-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4547-2018, 2018
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In Africa field-based meteorological data are scarce; therefore global data sources based on remote sensing and climate models are often used as alternatives. To assess their suitability for a large and topographically complex area in East Africa, we evaluated multiple climate data products with available ground station data at multiple timescales over 21 regions. The comprehensive evaluation resulted in identification of preferential data sources to be used for climate and hydrological studies.
Ruifang Guo, Yuanbo Liu, Han Zhou, and Yaqiao Zhu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3685–3699, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3685-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3685-2018, 2018
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Existing satellite products are often insufficient for use in small-scale (< 10 km) hydrological and meteorological studies. We propose a new approach based on the cumulative distribution of frequency to downscale satellite precipitation products with geostationary (GEO) data. This paper uses CMORPH and FY2-E GEO data to examine the approach in six different climate regions. The downscaled precipitation performed better for convective systems.
Irina Y. Petrova, Chiel C. van Heerwaarden, Cathy Hohenegger, and Françoise Guichard
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3275–3294, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3275-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3275-2018, 2018
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In North Africa rain storms can be as vital as they are devastating. The present study uses multi-year satellite data to better understand how and where soil moisture conditions affect development of rainfall in the area. Our results reveal two major regions in the southwest and southeast, where drier soils show higher potential to cause rainfall development. This knowledge is essential for the hydrological sector, and can be further used by models to improve prediction of rainfall and droughts.
Nishan Bhattarai, Kaniska Mallick, Nathaniel A. Brunsell, Ge Sun, and Meha Jain
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2311–2341, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2311-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2311-2018, 2018
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We report the first ever regional-scale implementation of the Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC1.2) model for mapping evapotranspiration (ET) using MODIS land surface and gridded climate datasets to overcome the existing uncertainties in aerodynamic temperature and conductance estimation in global ET models. Validation and intercomparison with SEBS and MOD16 products across an aridity gradient in the US manifested better ET mapping potential of STIC1.2 in different climates and biomes.
Edouard Goudenhoofdt, Laurent Delobbe, and Patrick Willems
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5385–5399, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5385-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5385-2017, 2017
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Knowing the characteristics of extreme precipitation is useful for flood management applications like sewer system design. The potential of a 12-year high-quality weather radar precipitation dataset is investigated by comparison with rain gauges. Despite known limitations, a good agreement is found between the radar and the rain gauges. Using the radar data allow us to reduce the uncertainty of the extreme value analysis, especially for short duration extremes related to thunderstorms.
Christian Massari, Wade Crow, and Luca Brocca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4347–4361, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4347-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4347-2017, 2017
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The paper explores a method for the assessment of the performance of global rainfall estimates without relying on ground-based observations. Thanks to this method, different global correlation maps are obtained (for the first time without relying on a benchmark dataset) for some of the most used globally available rainfall products. This is central for hydroclimatic studies within data-scarce regions, where ground observations are scarce to evaluate the relative quality of a rainfall product
Beas Barik, Subimal Ghosh, A. Saheer Sahana, Amey Pathak, and Muddu Sekhar
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3041–3060, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3041-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3041-2017, 2017
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The article summarises changing patterns of the water-food-energy nexus in India during recent decades. The work first analyses satellite data of water storage with a validation using the observed well data. Northern India shows a declining trend of water storage and western-central India shows an increasing trend of the same. Major droughts result in a drop in water storage which is not recovered due to uncontrolled ground water irrigation for agricultural activities even in good monsoon years.
Francesco Marra, Efrat Morin, Nadav Peleg, Yiwen Mei, and Emmanouil N. Anagnostou
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2389–2404, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2389-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2389-2017, 2017
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Rainfall frequency analyses from radar and satellite estimates over the eastern Mediterranean are compared examining different climatic conditions. Correlation between radar and satellite results is high for frequent events and decreases with return period. The uncertainty related to record length is larger for drier climates. The agreement between different sensors instills confidence on their use for rainfall frequency analysis in ungauged areas of the Earth.
David Fairbairn, Alina Lavinia Barbu, Adrien Napoly, Clément Albergel, Jean-François Mahfouf, and Jean-Christophe Calvet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2015–2033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2015-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2015-2017, 2017
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This study assesses the impact on river discharge simulations over France of assimilating ASCAT-derived surface soil moisture (SSM) and leaf area index (LAI) observations into the ISBA land surface model. Wintertime LAI has a notable impact on river discharge. SSM assimilation degrades river discharge simulations. This is caused by limitations in the simplified versions of the Kalman filter and ISBA model used in this study. Implementing an observation operator for ASCAT is needed.
Davi de C. D. Melo, Bridget R. Scanlon, Zizhan Zhang, Edson Wendland, and Lei Yin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4673–4688, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4673-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4673-2016, 2016
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Drought propagation from rainfall deficits to reservoir depletion was studied based on remote sensing, monitoring and modelling data. Regional droughts were shown by widespread depletion in total water storage that reduced soil moisture storage and runoff, greatly reducing reservoir storage. The multidisciplinary approach to drought assessment shows the linkages between meteorological and hydrological droughts that are essential for managing water resources subjected to climate extremes.
Zhi Qing Peng, Xiaozhou Xin, Jin Jun Jiao, Ti Zhou, and Qinhuo Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4409–4438, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4409-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4409-2016, 2016
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A remote sensing algorithm named temperature sharpening and flux aggregation (TSFA) was applied to HJ-1B satellite data to estimate evapotranspiration over heterogeneous surface considering landscape and statistical effects on mixed pixels. Footprint validation results showed TSFA was more accurate and less uncertain than other two upscaling methods. Additional analysis and comparison showed TSFA can capture land surface heterogeneities and integrate the effect of landscapes within mixed pixels.
Jian Peng, Alexander Loew, Xuelong Chen, Yaoming Ma, and Zhongbo Su
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3167–3182, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3167-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3167-2016, 2016
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The Tibetan Plateau plays a major role in regional and global climate. The knowledge of latent heat flux can help to better describe the complex interactions between land and atmosphere. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed cross-comparison of existing latent heat flux products over the TP. The results highlight the recently developed latent heat product – High Resolution Land Surface Parameters from Space (HOLAPS).
J. Peng, J. Niesel, and A. Loew
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 4765–4782, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4765-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4765-2015, 2015
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This paper gives a comprehensive evaluation of a simple newly developed downscaling scheme using in situ measurements from REMEDHUS network, a first cross-comparison of the performance of the downscaled soil moisture from MODIS and MSG SEVIRI, an evaluation of the performance of the downscaled soil moisture at different spatial resolutions, and an exploration of the influence of LST, vegetation index, terrain, clouds, and land cover heterogeneity on the performance of VTCI.
G. Boulet, B. Mougenot, J.-P. Lhomme, P. Fanise, Z. Lili-Chabaane, A. Olioso, M. Bahir, V. Rivalland, L. Jarlan, O. Merlin, B. Coudert, S. Er-Raki, and J.-P. Lagouarde
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 4653–4672, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4653-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4653-2015, 2015
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The paper presents a new model (SPARSE) to estimate total evapotranspiration as well as its components (evaporation and transpiration) from remote-sensing data in the thermal infra-red domain. The limits of computing two unknowns (evaporation and transpiration) out of one piece of information (one surface temperature) are assessed theoretically. The model performance in retrieving the components as well as the water stress is assessed for two wheat crops (one irrigated and one rainfed).
O. P. Prat and B. R. Nelson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2037–2056, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2037-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2037-2015, 2015
Y. Duan, A. M. Wilson, and A. P. Barros
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1501–1520, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1501-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1501-2015, 2015
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A diagnostic analysis of the space-time structure of error in quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) from the precipitation radar on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission satellite is presented here in preparation for the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) in 2014. A high-density raingauge network over the southern Appalachians allows for direct comparison between ground-based measurements and satellite-based QPE (PR 2A25 Version 7 with 5 years of data 2008-2013).
A. W. Worqlul, B. Maathuis, A. A. Adem, S. S. Demissie, S. Langan, and T. S. Steenhuis
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4871–4881, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4871-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4871-2014, 2014
S. Schneider, A. Jann, and T. Schellander-Gorgas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2899–2905, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2899-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2899-2014, 2014
R. van der Velde, M. S. Salama, T. Pellarin, M. Ofwono, Y. Ma, and Z. Su
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 1323–1337, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1323-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1323-2014, 2014
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Executive editor
How vegetation responds to changing climate will have large implications for our global carbon and water cycles. This study shows the potential of using C-band scatterometer data to investigate vegetation status-- with over a 30 year record. Many applications related to biosphere-atmosphere interactions could potentially develop from here and improve weather and climate predictions, and model evaluation in terms of their representation of vegetation dynamics.
How vegetation responds to changing climate will have large implications for our global carbon...
Short summary
This study investigates spatial and temporal patterns in the incidence angle dependence of backscatter from the ASCAT C-band scatterometer and relates those to precipitation, humidity, and radiation data and GRACE equivalent water thickness in ecoregions in the Amazon. The results show that the ASCAT data record offers a unique perspective on vegetation water dynamics exhibiting sensitivity to moisture availability and demand and phenological change at interannual, seasonal, and diurnal scales.
This study investigates spatial and temporal patterns in the incidence angle dependence of...
