Articles | Volume 29, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2293-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-29-2293-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Substantial root-zone water storage capacity observed by GRACE and GRACE/FO
Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, US
Erica L. McCormick
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, US
Geruo A
Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92617, US
Alexandra G. Konings
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, US
Bailing Li
Hydrological Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, US
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, US
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Tao Yuan, Shijie Zhong, and Geruo A
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 1445–1461, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1445-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1445-2025, 2025
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Earth and other planets deform under various forces. Numerical modeling is critical in understanding the nature of various dynamic deformation processes. This article introduces a newly developed open-source package, CitcomSVE-3.0, which efficiently solves the viscoelastic deformation of planetary bodies. We present benchmark results against a semi-analytical code. With its accuracy and efficiency, CitcomSVE-3.0 could advance research in planetary and climatic sciences.
Inès N. Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Erik R. Ivins, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Charles Amory, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Martin Horwath, Ian Joughin, Michalea D. King, Gerhard Krinner, Sophie Nowicki, Anthony J. Payne, Eric Rignot, Ted Scambos, Karen M. Simon, Benjamin E. Smith, Louise S. Sørensen, Isabella Velicogna, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Geruo A, Cécile Agosta, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Alejandro Blazquez, William Colgan, Marcus E. Engdahl, Xavier Fettweis, Rene Forsberg, Hubert Gallée, Alex Gardner, Lin Gilbert, Noel Gourmelen, Andreas Groh, Brian C. Gunter, Christopher Harig, Veit Helm, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Christoph Kittel, Hannes Konrad, Peter L. Langen, Benoit S. Lecavalier, Chia-Chun Liang, Bryant D. Loomis, Malcolm McMillan, Daniele Melini, Sebastian H. Mernild, Ruth Mottram, Jeremie Mouginot, Johan Nilsson, Brice Noël, Mark E. Pattle, William R. Peltier, Nadege Pie, Mònica Roca, Ingo Sasgen, Himanshu V. Save, Ki-Weon Seo, Bernd Scheuchl, Ernst J. O. Schrama, Ludwig Schröder, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Thomas Slater, Giorgio Spada, Tyler C. Sutterley, Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma, Jan Melchior van Wessem, David Wiese, Wouter van der Wal, and Bert Wouters
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1597–1616, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, 2023
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By measuring changes in the volume, gravitational attraction, and ice flow of Greenland and Antarctica from space, we can monitor their mass gain and loss over time. Here, we present a new record of the Earth’s polar ice sheet mass balance produced by aggregating 50 satellite-based estimates of ice sheet mass change. This new assessment shows that the ice sheets have lost (7.5 x 1012) t of ice between 1992 and 2020, contributing 21 mm to sea level rise.
David N. Dralle, W. Jesse Hahm, K. Dana Chadwick, Erica McCormick, and Daniella M. Rempe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2861–2867, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2861-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2861-2021, 2021
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Root zone water storage capacity determines how much water can be stored belowground to support plants during periods without precipitation. Here, we develop a satellite remote sensing method to estimate this key variable at large scales that matter for management. Importantly, our method builds on previous approaches by accounting for snowpack, which may bias estimates from existing approaches. Ultimately, our method will improve large-scale understanding of plant access to subsurface water.
Yanlan Liu, Nataniel M. Holtzman, and Alexandra G. Konings
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2399–2417, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2399-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2399-2021, 2021
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The flow of water through plants varies with species-specific traits. To determine how they vary across the world, we mapped the traits that best allowed a model to match microwave satellite data. We also defined average values across a few clusters of trait behavior. These form a tractable solution for use in large-scale models. Transpiration estimates using these clusters were more accurate than if using plant functional types. We expect our maps to improve transpiration forecasts.
Caroline A. Famiglietti, T. Luke Smallman, Paul A. Levine, Sophie Flack-Prain, Gregory R. Quetin, Victoria Meyer, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Stephanie G. Stettz, Yan Yang, Damien Bonal, A. Anthony Bloom, Mathew Williams, and Alexandra G. Konings
Biogeosciences, 18, 2727–2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2727-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2727-2021, 2021
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Model uncertainty dominates the spread in terrestrial carbon cycle predictions. Efforts to reduce it typically involve adding processes, thereby increasing model complexity. However, if and how model performance scales with complexity is unclear. Using a suite of 16 structurally distinct carbon cycle models, we find that increased complexity only improves skill if parameters are adequately informed. Otherwise, it can degrade skill, and an intermediate-complexity model is optimal.
Andrew F. Feldman, Daniel J. Short Gianotti, Alexandra G. Konings, Pierre Gentine, and Dara Entekhabi
Biogeosciences, 18, 831–847, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-831-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-831-2021, 2021
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We quantify global plant water uptake durations after rainfall using satellite-based plant water content measurements. In wetter regions, plant water uptake occurs within a day due to rapid coupling between soil and plant water content. Drylands show multi-day plant water uptake after rain pulses, providing widespread evidence for slow rehydration responses and pulse-driven growth responses. Our results suggest that drylands are sensitive to projected shifts in rainfall intensity and frequency.
Nataniel M. Holtzman, Leander D. L. Anderegg, Simon Kraatz, Alex Mavrovic, Oliver Sonnentag, Christoforos Pappas, Michael H. Cosh, Alexandre Langlois, Tarendra Lakhankar, Derek Tesser, Nicholas Steiner, Andreas Colliander, Alexandre Roy, and Alexandra G. Konings
Biogeosciences, 18, 739–753, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-739-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-739-2021, 2021
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Microwave radiation coming from Earth's land surface is affected by both soil moisture and the water in plants that cover the soil. We measured such radiation with a sensor elevated above a forest canopy while repeatedly measuring the amount of water stored in trees at the same location. Changes in the microwave signal over time were closely related to tree water storage changes. Satellites with similar sensors could thus be used to monitor how trees in an entire region respond to drought.
A. Anthony Bloom, Kevin W. Bowman, Junjie Liu, Alexandra G. Konings, John R. Worden, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Victoria Meyer, John T. Reager, Helen M. Worden, Zhe Jiang, Gregory R. Quetin, T. Luke Smallman, Jean-François Exbrayat, Yi Yin, Sassan S. Saatchi, Mathew Williams, and David S. Schimel
Biogeosciences, 17, 6393–6422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6393-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6393-2020, 2020
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We use a model of the 2001–2015 tropical land carbon cycle, with satellite measurements of land and atmospheric carbon, to disentangle lagged and concurrent effects (due to past and concurrent meteorological events, respectively) on annual land–atmosphere carbon exchanges. The variability of lagged effects explains most 2001–2015 inter-annual carbon flux variations. We conclude that concurrent and lagged effects need to be accurately resolved to better predict the world's land carbon sink.
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.
Alexandra G. Konings, A. Anthony Bloom, Junjie Liu, Nicholas C. Parazoo, David S. Schimel, and Kevin W. Bowman
Biogeosciences, 16, 2269–2284, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2269-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2269-2019, 2019
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We estimate heterotrophic respiration (Rh) – the respiration from microbes in the soil – using satellite estimates of the net carbon flux and other quantities. Rh is an important carbon flux but is rarely studied by itself. Our method is the first to estimate how Rh varies in both space and time. The resulting new estimate of Rh is compared to the best currently available alternative, which is based on interpolating field measurements globally. The two estimates disagree and are both uncertain.
Kristi R. Arsenault, Sujay V. Kumar, James V. Geiger, Shugong Wang, Eric Kemp, David M. Mocko, Hiroko Kato Beaudoing, Augusto Getirana, Mahdi Navari, Bailing Li, Jossy Jacob, Jerry Wegiel, and Christa D. Peters-Lidard
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3605–3621, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3605-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3605-2018, 2018
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The Earth’s land surface hydrology and physics can be represented in highly sophisticated models known as land surface models. The Land surface Data Toolkit (LDT) software was developed to meet these models’ input processing needs. LDT supports a variety of land surface and hydrology models and prepares the inputs (e.g., meteorological data, satellite observations to be assimilated into a model), which can be used for inter-model studies and to initialize weather and climate forecasts.
Seyed Hamed Alemohammad, Bin Fang, Alexandra G. Konings, Filipe Aires, Julia K. Green, Jana Kolassa, Diego Miralles, Catherine Prigent, and Pierre Gentine
Biogeosciences, 14, 4101–4124, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4101-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4101-2017, 2017
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Water, Energy, and Carbon with Artificial Neural Networks (WECANN) is a statistically based estimate of global surface latent and sensible heat fluxes and gross primary productivity. The retrieval uses six remotely sensed observations as input, including the solar-induced fluorescence. WECANN provides estimates on a 1° × 1° geographic grid and on a monthly time scale and outperforms other global products in capturing the seasonality of the fluxes when compared to eddy covariance tower data.
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Subject: Ecohydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Remote Sensing and GIS
Critical soil moisture detection and water–energy limit shift attribution using satellite-based water and carbon fluxes over China
Revealing joint evolutions and causal interactions in complex ecohydrological systems by a network-based framework
Circumarctic land cover diversity considering wetness gradients
Multi-decadal floodplain classification and trend analysis in the Upper Columbia River valley, British Columbia
Estimating leaf moisture content at global scale from passive microwave satellite observations of vegetation optical depth
Simulating carbon and water fluxes using a coupled process-based terrestrial biosphere model and joint assimilation of leaf area index and surface soil moisture
Untangling irrigation effects on maize water and heat stress alleviation using satellite data
Information-based uncertainty decomposition in dual-channel microwave remote sensing of soil moisture
Assessing the large-scale plant–water relations in the humid, subtropical Pearl River basin of China
Technical note: Accounting for snow in the estimation of root zone water storage capacity from precipitation and evapotranspiration fluxes
Long-term water stress and drought assessment of Mediterranean oak savanna vegetation using thermal remote sensing
Temporal interpolation of land surface fluxes derived from remote sensing – results with an unmanned aerial system
Pattern and structure of microtopography implies autogenic origins in forested wetlands
The influence of water table depth on evapotranspiration in the Amazon arc of deforestation
Does the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index explain spatial and temporal variability in sap velocity in temperate forest ecosystems?
Comparison of MODIS and SWAT evapotranspiration over a complex terrain at different spatial scales
Evolution of the vegetation system in the Heihe River basin in the last 2000 years
Laser vision: lidar as a transformative tool to advance critical zone science
Attribution of satellite-observed vegetation trends in a hyper-arid region of the Heihe River basin, Western China
Evapotranspiration and water yield over China's landmass from 2000 to 2010
Satellite-based analysis of recent trends in the ecohydrology of a semi-arid region
Soil moisture controls on patterns of grass green-up in Inner Mongolia: an index based approach
Groundwater surface water interactions and the role of phreatophytes in identifying recharge zones
Quantifying the performance of automated GIS-based geomorphological approaches for riparian zone delineation using digital elevation models
Climate change, growing season water deficit and vegetation activity along the north–south transect of eastern China from 1982 through 2006
Hydrological differentiation and spatial distribution of high altitude wetlands in a semi-arid Andean region derived from satellite data
The impact of in-canopy wind profile formulations on heat flux estimation in an open orchard using the remote sensing-based two-source model
The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia
Yi Liu, Jingfeng Xiao, Xing Li, and Yue Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1241–1258, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1241-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1241-2025, 2025
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This work demonstrates that multi-source satellite-based water and carbon fluxes can capture critical soil moisture at a large spatial scale. In particular, grassland and clay with critical soil moisture higher than average soil moisture may be in a state of water limitation for long periods. Increased water demand could expose western grassland to more vulnerability.
Lu Wang, Haiting Gu, Li Liu, Xiao Liang, Siwei Chen, and Yue-Ping Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 361–379, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-361-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-361-2025, 2025
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To understand how ecohydrological variables evolve jointly and why, this study develops a framework using correlation and causality to construct complex relationships between variables at the system level. Causality provides more detailed information that the compound causes of evolutions regarding any variable can be traced. Joint evolution is controlled by the combination of external drivers and direct causality. Overall, the study facilitates the comprehension of ecohydrological processes.
Annett Bartsch, Aleksandra Efimova, Barbara Widhalm, Xaver Muri, Clemens von Baeckmann, Helena Bergstedt, Ksenia Ermokhina, Gustaf Hugelius, Birgit Heim, and Marina Leibman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2421–2481, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2421-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2421-2024, 2024
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Wetness gradients and landcover diversity for the entire Arctic tundra have been assessed using a novel satellite-data-based map. Patterns of lakes, wetlands, general soil moisture conditions and vegetation physiognomy are represented at 10 m. About 40 % of the area north of the treeline falls into three units of dry types, with limited shrub growth. Wetter regions have higher landcover diversity than drier regions.
Italo Sampaio Rodrigues, Christopher Hopkinson, Laura Chasmer, Ryan J. MacDonald, Suzanne E. Bayley, and Brian Brisco
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2203–2221, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2203-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2203-2024, 2024
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The research evaluated the trends and changes in land cover and river discharge in the Upper Columbia River Wetlands using remote sensing and hydroclimatic data. The river discharge increased during the peak flow season, resulting in a positive trend in the open-water extent in the same period, whereas open-water area declined on an annual basis. Furthermore, since 2003 the peak flow has occurred 11 d earlier than during 1903–1928, which has led to larger discharges in a shorter time.
Matthias Forkel, Luisa Schmidt, Ruxandra-Maria Zotta, Wouter Dorigo, and Marta Yebra
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 39–68, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-39-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-39-2023, 2023
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The live fuel moisture content (LFMC) of vegetation canopies is a driver of wildfires. We investigate the relation between LFMC and passive microwave satellite observations of vegetation optical depth (VOD) and develop a method to estimate LFMC from VOD globally. Our global VOD-based estimates of LFMC can be used to investigate drought effects on vegetation and fire risks.
Sinan Li, Li Zhang, Jingfeng Xiao, Rui Ma, Xiangjun Tian, and Min Yan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6311–6337, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6311-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6311-2022, 2022
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Accurate estimation for global GPP and ET is important in climate change studies. In this study, the GLASS LAI, SMOS, and SMAP datasets were assimilated jointly and separately in a coupled model. The results show that the performance of joint assimilation for GPP and ET is better than that of separate assimilation. The joint assimilation in water-limited regions performed better than in humid regions, and the global assimilation results had higher accuracy than other products.
Peng Zhu and Jennifer Burney
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 827–840, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-827-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-827-2022, 2022
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Satellite data were used to disentangle water and heat stress alleviation due to irrigation. Our findings are as follows. (1) Irrigation-induced cooling was captured by satellite LST but air temperature failed. (2) Irrigation extended maize growing season duration, especially during grain filling. (3) Water and heat stress alleviation constitutes 65 % and 35 % of the irrigation benefit. (4) The crop model simulating canopy temperature better captures the irrigation benefit.
Bonan Li and Stephen P. Good
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5029–5045, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5029-2021, 2021
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We found that satellite retrieved soil moisture has large uncertainty, with uncertainty caused by the algorithm being closely related to the satellite soil moisture quality. The information provided by the two main inputs is mainly redundant. Such redundant components and synergy components provided by two main inputs to the satellite soil moisture are related to how the satellite algorithm performs. The satellite remote sensing algorithms may be improved by performing such analysis.
Hailong Wang, Kai Duan, Bingjun Liu, and Xiaohong Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4741–4758, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4741-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4741-2021, 2021
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Using remote sensing and reanalysis data, we examined the relationships between vegetation development and water resource availability in a humid subtropical basin. We found overall increases in total water storage and surface greenness and vegetation production, and the changes were particularly profound in cropland-dominated regions. Correlation analysis implies water availability leads the variations in greenness and production, and irrigation may improve production during dry periods.
David N. Dralle, W. Jesse Hahm, K. Dana Chadwick, Erica McCormick, and Daniella M. Rempe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2861–2867, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2861-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2861-2021, 2021
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Root zone water storage capacity determines how much water can be stored belowground to support plants during periods without precipitation. Here, we develop a satellite remote sensing method to estimate this key variable at large scales that matter for management. Importantly, our method builds on previous approaches by accounting for snowpack, which may bias estimates from existing approaches. Ultimately, our method will improve large-scale understanding of plant access to subsurface water.
María P. González-Dugo, Xuelong Chen, Ana Andreu, Elisabet Carpintero, Pedro J. Gómez-Giraldez, Arnaud Carrara, and Zhongbo Su
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 755–768, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-755-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-755-2021, 2021
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Drought is a devastating natural hazard and difficult to define, detect and quantify. Global meteorological data and remote-sensing products present new opportunities to characterize drought in an objective way. In this paper, we applied the surface energy balance model SEBS to estimate monthly evapotranspiration (ET) from 2001 to 2018 over the dehesa area of the Iberian Peninsula. ET anomalies were used to identify the main drought events and analyze their impacts on dehesa vegetation.
Sheng Wang, Monica Garcia, Andreas Ibrom, and Peter Bauer-Gottwein
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 3643–3661, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3643-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3643-2020, 2020
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Remote sensing only provides snapshots of rapidly changing land surface variables; this limits its application for water resources and ecosystem management. To obtain continuous estimates of surface temperature, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and ecosystem productivity, a simple and operational modelling scheme is presented. We demonstrate it with temporally sparse optical and thermal remote sensing data from an unmanned aerial system at a Danish bioenergy plantation eddy covariance site.
Jacob S. Diamond, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Robert A. Slesak, and Atticus Stovall
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 5069–5088, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-5069-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-5069-2019, 2019
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We found evidence for spatial patterning of soil elevation in forested wetlands that was well explained by hydrology. The patterns that we found were strongest at wetter sites, and were weakest at drier sites. When a site was wet, soil elevations typically only belonged to two groups: tall "hummocks" and low "hollows. The tall, hummock groups were spaced equally apart from each other and were a similar size. We believe this is evidence for a biota–hydrology feedback that creates hummocks.
John O'Connor, Maria J. Santos, Karin T. Rebel, and Stefan C. Dekker
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3917–3931, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3917-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3917-2019, 2019
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The Amazon rainforest has undergone extensive land use change, which greatly reduces the rate of evapotranspiration. Forest with deep roots is replaced by agriculture with shallow roots. The difference in rooting depth can greatly reduce access to water, especially during the dry season. However, large areas of the Amazon have a sufficiently shallow water table that may provide access for agriculture. We used remote sensing observations to compare the impact of deep and shallow water tables.
Anne J. Hoek van Dijke, Kaniska Mallick, Adriaan J. Teuling, Martin Schlerf, Miriam Machwitz, Sibylle K. Hassler, Theresa Blume, and Martin Herold
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2077–2091, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2077-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2077-2019, 2019
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Satellite images are often used to estimate land water fluxes over a larger area. In this study, we investigate the link between a well-known vegetation index derived from satellite data and sap velocity, in a temperate forest in Luxembourg. We show that the link between the vegetation index and transpiration is not constant. Therefore we suggest that the use of vegetation indices to predict transpiration should be limited to ecosystems and scales where the link has been confirmed.
Olanrewaju O. Abiodun, Huade Guan, Vincent E. A. Post, and Okke Batelaan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2775–2794, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2775-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2775-2018, 2018
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In recent decades, evapotranspiration estimation has been improved by remote sensing methods as well as by hydrological models. However, comparing these methods shows differences of up to 31 % at a spatial resolution of 1 km2. Land cover differences and catchment averaged climate data in the hydrological model were identified as the principal causes of the differences in results. The implication is that water management will have to deal with large uncertainty in estimated water balances.
Shoubo Li, Yan Zhao, Yongping Wei, and Hang Zheng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4233–4244, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4233-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4233-2017, 2017
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This study aims to investigate the evolution of natural and crop vegetation systems over the past 2000 years accommodated with the changes in water regimes at the basin scale. It is based on remote-sensing data and previous historical research. The methods developed and the findings obtained from this study could assist in understanding how current ecosystem problems were created in the past and what their implications for future river basin management are.
A. A. Harpold, J. A. Marshall, S. W. Lyon, T. B. Barnhart, B. A. Fisher, M. Donovan, K. M. Brubaker, C. J. Crosby, N. F. Glenn, C. L. Glennie, P. B. Kirchner, N. Lam, K. D. Mankoff, J. L. McCreight, N. P. Molotch, K. N. Musselman, J. Pelletier, T. Russo, H. Sangireddy, Y. Sjöberg, T. Swetnam, and N. West
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2881–2897, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2881-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2881-2015, 2015
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This review's objective is to demonstrate the transformative potential of lidar by critically assessing both challenges and opportunities for transdisciplinary lidar applications in geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology. We find that using lidar to its full potential will require numerous advances, including more powerful open-source processing tools, new lidar acquisition technologies, and improved integration with physically based models and complementary observations.
Y. Wang, M. L. Roderick, Y. Shen, and F. Sun
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3499–3509, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3499-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3499-2014, 2014
Y. Liu, Y. Zhou, W. Ju, J. Chen, S. Wang, H. He, H. Wang, D. Guan, F. Zhao, Y. Li, and Y. Hao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 4957–4980, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-4957-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-4957-2013, 2013
M. Gokmen, Z. Vekerdy, W. Verhoef, and O. Batelaan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 3779–3794, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-3779-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-3779-2013, 2013
H. Liu, F. Tian, H. C. Hu, H. P. Hu, and M. Sivapalan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 805–815, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-805-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-805-2013, 2013
T. S. Ahring and D. R. Steward
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 4133–4142, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4133-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4133-2012, 2012
D. Fernández, J. Barquín, M. Álvarez-Cabria, and F. J. Peñas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 3851–3862, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3851-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3851-2012, 2012
P. Sun, Z. Yu, S. Liu, X. Wei, J. Wang, N. Zegre, and N. Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 3835–3850, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3835-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3835-2012, 2012
M. Otto, D. Scherer, and J. Richters
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1713–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1713-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1713-2011, 2011
C. Cammalleri, M. C. Anderson, G. Ciraolo, G. D'Urso, W. P. Kustas, G. La Loggia, and M. Minacapilli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2643–2659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-2643-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-2643-2010, 2010
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Short summary
Root-zone water storage capacity (Sr) helps plants survive droughts and influences water and climate systems. Using GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite data, we estimated Sr globally and found that it exceeds 2 m soil storage in nearly half of the vegetated areas, far more than previously thought. Incorporating our Sr estimates into a global hydrological model improves evapotranspiration simulations, particularly during droughts, highlighting the value of our approach for advancing water resource and ecosystem modeling.
Root-zone water storage capacity (Sr) helps plants survive droughts and influences water and...