Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-33
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-33
06 Mar 2023
 | 06 Mar 2023
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

Evaluation of model-derived root-zone soil moisture over the Huai river basin

En Liu, Yonghua Zhu, Jean-christophe Calvet, Haishen Lü, Bertrand Bonan, Jingyao Zheng, Qiqi Gou, Xiaoyi Wang, Zhenzhou Ding, Haiting Xu, Ying Pan, and Tingxing Chen

Abstract. Root-zone soil moisture (RZSM) is crucial for water resource management, drought monitoring and sub-seasonal flood climate forecast. RZSM is not directly observable from space but various model-derived RZSM products are available at the global scale and are widely used. In this paper, a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of eight RZSM products is made over the Huai river basin (HRB) in China. A direct validation is performed using observations from 58 in situ soil moisture stations from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2020. Attention is drawn to the potential factors increasing uncertainties of model-generated RZSM, such as errors on atmospheric forcings (precipitation, air temperature), soil properties, and model parameterizations. Results indicate that the Global Land Data Assimilation System Catchment Land Surface Model (GLDAS_CLSM) performs best among all RZSM products with the highest correlation coefficient (R) and lowest unbiased root-mean square error (ubRMSE): 0.503 and 0.031 m3 m−3, respectively. All RZSM products tend to overestimate the in situ soil moisture values, except for the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) L4 product, which underestimates RZSM. The underestimated SMOS L3 SSM associated with low physical surface temperature triggers the underestimation of RZSM in SMOS L4. The RZSM overestimation by other products can be explained by the overestimation of precipitation amount, precipitation event frequency (drizzle effects) and by the underestimation of air temperature. Besides, the overestimation of the soil clay content and the underestimation of the soil sand content in different LSMs leads to larger soil moisture values. The intercomparison of the eight RZSM products shows that MERRA-2 and SMAP L4 RZSM are the most correlated with one another. These products are based on the same LSM and on the same surface meteorological forcing generated from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) GEOS-5. In addition, model parameterizations in different LSMs vary considerably, affecting the transfer and exchange of water and heat in the vadose zone.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
En Liu, Yonghua Zhu, Jean-christophe Calvet, Haishen Lü, Bertrand Bonan, Jingyao Zheng, Qiqi Gou, Xiaoyi Wang, Zhenzhou Ding, Haiting Xu, Ying Pan, and Tingxing Chen

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on hess-2023-33', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 Mar 2023
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Yonghua Zhu, 22 May 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on hess-2023-33', Anonymous Referee #2, 31 Mar 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Yonghua Zhu, 22 May 2023

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on hess-2023-33', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 Mar 2023
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Yonghua Zhu, 22 May 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on hess-2023-33', Anonymous Referee #2, 31 Mar 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Yonghua Zhu, 22 May 2023
En Liu, Yonghua Zhu, Jean-christophe Calvet, Haishen Lü, Bertrand Bonan, Jingyao Zheng, Qiqi Gou, Xiaoyi Wang, Zhenzhou Ding, Haiting Xu, Ying Pan, and Tingxing Chen
En Liu, Yonghua Zhu, Jean-christophe Calvet, Haishen Lü, Bertrand Bonan, Jingyao Zheng, Qiqi Gou, Xiaoyi Wang, Zhenzhou Ding, Haiting Xu, Ying Pan, and Tingxing Chen

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Short summary
Among the 8 considered products, GLDAS_CLSM product performs best. All RZSM products overestimate the in situ measurements which attributes to a wet bias of air temperature, precipitation amount and frequency except the underestimation of SMOS L4 RZSM related to the underestimation of SMOS L3 SSM. The higher R between SMPA L4 and MERRA-2 was attributed to they both use CLSM and meteorological forcing from GEOS-5 where precipitation was corrected with CPCU precipitation product.