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.
Research article
| 
19 May 2025
Research article |
| 19 May 2025
| 19 May 2025
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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Anne Springer, Gabriëlle De Lannoy, Matthew Rodell, Yorck Ewerdwalbesloh, Helena Gerdener, Mehdi Khaki, Bailing Li, Fupeng Li, Maike Schumacher, Natthachet Tangdamrongsub, Mohammad J. Tourian, Wanshu Nie, and Jürgen Kusche
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2058, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2058, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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The GRACE and GRACE Follow-On satellites monitor changes in Earth's water storage by observing gravity variations. By integrating these observations into hydrological models through data assimilation, estimates of groundwater, soil moisture, and hydrological trends are improved, helping to monitor droughts, floods, and human water use. This review highlights recent advances in GRACE data assimilation, identifies key challenges, and discusses future directions with upcoming satellite missions.
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.
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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...
