Articles | Volume 29, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-397-2025
© 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-29-397-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 Jan 2025
Research article |
| 22 Jan 2025
| 22 Jan 2025
Potential of long-term satellite observations and reanalysis products for characterising soil drying: trends and drought events
Martin Hirschi
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Pietro Stradiotti
Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8–10, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Bas Crezee
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
now at: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Operation Center 1, 8058 Zurich-Airport, Switzerland
Wouter Dorigo
Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8–10, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Sonia I. Seneviratne
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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Cited
18 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Dynamics of dry-to-wet abrupt alternation events in mainland China from 1961 to 2022: A novel identification method integrating daily soil moisture and precipitation L. Liang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102520
- Regional compound drought and heatwave events over China and evaluation of ERA5-Land dataset based on classification approach J. Deng et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2026.100874
- Anthropogenic enhancement of subsurface soil moisture droughts Y. Guan et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02458-z
- How reliable are long time-series reanalysis and model-based soil moisture products for agricultural soil water stress monitoring? Insights from a five-dataset evaluation across China P. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109845
- Initial soil moisture conditions dominate variation in event-scale propagation time from meteorological to agricultural drought Z. Xu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110128
- Fusing ERA5-Land and SMAP L4 for an improved global soil moisture product (1950–2025) W. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1061-2026
- Flash drought impacts on global ecosystems amplified by extreme heat L. Gu et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01719-y
- Agricultural rapid-onset droughts in southern China’s grain-producing regions: Spatiotemporal evolution and potential drought-crop risks X. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109985
- Spatiotemporal evaluation of downscaled and native high-resolution satellite soil moisture products P. Stradiotti et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srs.2026.100407
- Past and future change in global river flows L. Gudmundsson et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-025-00745-z
- Satellite-based detection of agricultural flash droughts and associated vegetation responses in southeastern South America L. Masaro et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ae4a42
- Assessment of soil moisture trend coherence among major global soil moisture products T. Ding et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135568
- Comprehensive drought assessment based on the SPEI and its impact on crop production and streamflow in Afghanistan A. Samim et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102893
- Global observations of land-atmosphere interactions during flash drought B. Harris et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6917-2025
- Impact of flash droughts on global crop yields considering crop phenology and irrigation conditions R. Shi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110763
- A Unified Framework for Trend Uncertainty Assessment in Climate Data Records: Demonstration on Global Mean Sea Level K. Gobron et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-025-09922-7
- Emerging hotspots of agricultural drought under climate change E. Black et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01898-8
- Coupled land–atmosphere processes exacerbate recent compound drought and heatwaves over Africa I. Raji et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181452
18 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Dynamics of dry-to-wet abrupt alternation events in mainland China from 1961 to 2022: A novel identification method integrating daily soil moisture and precipitation L. Liang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102520
- Regional compound drought and heatwave events over China and evaluation of ERA5-Land dataset based on classification approach J. Deng et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2026.100874
- Anthropogenic enhancement of subsurface soil moisture droughts Y. Guan et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02458-z
- How reliable are long time-series reanalysis and model-based soil moisture products for agricultural soil water stress monitoring? Insights from a five-dataset evaluation across China P. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109845
- Initial soil moisture conditions dominate variation in event-scale propagation time from meteorological to agricultural drought Z. Xu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110128
- Fusing ERA5-Land and SMAP L4 for an improved global soil moisture product (1950–2025) W. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1061-2026
- Flash drought impacts on global ecosystems amplified by extreme heat L. Gu et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01719-y
- Agricultural rapid-onset droughts in southern China’s grain-producing regions: Spatiotemporal evolution and potential drought-crop risks X. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109985
- Spatiotemporal evaluation of downscaled and native high-resolution satellite soil moisture products P. Stradiotti et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srs.2026.100407
- Past and future change in global river flows L. Gudmundsson et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-025-00745-z
- Satellite-based detection of agricultural flash droughts and associated vegetation responses in southeastern South America L. Masaro et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ae4a42
- Assessment of soil moisture trend coherence among major global soil moisture products T. Ding et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135568
- Comprehensive drought assessment based on the SPEI and its impact on crop production and streamflow in Afghanistan A. Samim et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102893
- Global observations of land-atmosphere interactions during flash drought B. Harris et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6917-2025
- Impact of flash droughts on global crop yields considering crop phenology and irrigation conditions R. Shi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110763
- A Unified Framework for Trend Uncertainty Assessment in Climate Data Records: Demonstration on Global Mean Sea Level K. Gobron et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-025-09922-7
- Emerging hotspots of agricultural drought under climate change E. Black et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01898-8
- Coupled land–atmosphere processes exacerbate recent compound drought and heatwaves over Africa I. Raji et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181452
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 09 Jun 2026
Short summary
We investigate the potential of long-term satellite and reanalysis products for characterising soil drying by analysing their 2000–2022 soil moisture trends and their representation of agroecological drought events of this period. Soil moisture trends are globally diverse and partly contradictory between products. This also affects the products' drought-detection capacity. Based on the best-estimate products, consistent soil drying is observed over more than 40 % of the land area covered.
We investigate the potential of long-term satellite and reanalysis products for characterising...
