scholarly journals Contributions of climate change and groundwater extraction to soil moisture trends

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longhuan Wang ◽  
Zhenghui Xie ◽  
Binghao Jia ◽  
Jinbo Xie ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract. Climate change affects water availability for soil, and groundwater extraction influences water redistribution by altering water demand, both of which significantly affect soil moisture. Quantifying their relative contribution to the changes in soil moisture will further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the global water cycle. In this study, two groups of simulations were conducted with and without groundwater (GW) extraction (estimated based on local water supply and demand) from 1979–2010 using the land surface model CAS-LSM with four global meteorological forcing datasets (GSWP3, PRINCETON, CRU-NCEP, and WFDEI). To investigate the contribution of climate change and GW extraction, a trajectory-based method was used. Comparing the simulated results with the in-situ dataset of the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) and the satellite-based soil moisture product of the European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) indicated that the CAS-LSM reasonably reproduced the distribution of soil moisture, and well matched the temporal changes. Globally, our results suggested a significant decreasing trend in surface soil moisture (0.98 e−4 mm3 mm−3 yr−1) over the 32-year period tested. The drying trends were mainly observed in arid regions such as the tropical desert regions in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. While the wetting trends were primarily in tropical forested areas in South America and Northeast Asia. Climate change contributed 101.2 % and 90.7 % to global drying and wetting trends of surface soil moisture, respectively, while GW extraction accounted for −1.2 % and 9.3 %, respectively. In deep soil, GW extraction contributed 1.37 % and −3.21 % to the drying and wetting trends, respectively. The weak influence of GW extraction may be because this activity occurs in limited areas. GW extraction contributed more than 35 % to the change in surface soil moisture in wetting areas where GW overexploitation occurs. GW is mainly extracted for irrigation to alleviate soil water stress in semiarid regions that receive limited precipitation, thereby slowing the drying trend and accelerating the wetting trend of surface soil. However, GW exploitation weakens the hydraulic connection between soil and aquifer, leading to deeper soils drying up. Overall, climate change dominated soil moisture trends, but the effect of GW extraction cannot be ignored.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longhuan Wang ◽  
Zhenghui Xie ◽  
Binghao Jia ◽  
Jinbo Xie ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract. Climate change affects water availability for soil, and groundwater extraction influences water redistribution by altering water demand, both of which significantly affect soil moisture. Quantifying their relative contribution to the changes in soil moisture will further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the global water cycle. In this study, two groups of simulations were conducted with and without groundwater (GW) extraction (estimated based on local water supply and demand) from 1979 to 2010 using the Chinese Academy of Sciences land surface model, CAS-LSM, with four global meteorological forcing datasets (GSWP3, PRINCETON, CRU-NCEP, and WFDEI). To investigate the contribution of climate change and GW extraction, a trajectory-based method was used. Comparing the simulated results with the in situ dataset of the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) and the satellite-based soil moisture product of the European Space Agency's Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) indicated that the CAS-LSM reasonably reproduced the distribution of soil moisture and matched the temporal changes well. Globally, our results suggested a significant decreasing trend in surface soil moisture (0–10 cm, 0.98×10-4 mm3 mm−3 yr−1) over the 32-year period tested. The drying trends were mainly observed in arid regions such as the tropical desert regions in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, while the wetting trends were primarily in tropical forested areas in South America and northeastern Asia. Climate change contributed 101.2 % and 90.7 % to global drying and wetting trends of surface soil moisture, respectively, while GW extraction accounted for −1.2 % and 9.3 %, respectively. In deep soil, GW extraction contributed 1.37 % and −3.21 % to the drying and wetting trends, respectively. The weak influence of GW extraction may be because this activity occurs in limited areas. GW extraction contributed more than 35 % to the change in surface soil moisture in wetting areas where GW overexploitation occurs. GW is mainly extracted for irrigation to alleviate soil water stress in semiarid regions that receive limited precipitation, thereby slowing the drying trend and accelerating the wetting trend of surface soil. However, GW exploitation weakens the hydraulic connection between the soil and aquifer, leading to deeper soils drying up. Overall, climate change dominated the soil moisture trends, but the effect of GW extraction cannot be ignored.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 4895-4911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriëlle J. M. De Lannoy ◽  
Rolf H. Reichle

Abstract. Three different data products from the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission are assimilated separately into the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, version 5 (GEOS-5) to improve estimates of surface and root-zone soil moisture. The first product consists of multi-angle, dual-polarization brightness temperature (Tb) observations at the bottom of the atmosphere extracted from Level 1 data. The second product is a derived SMOS Tb product that mimics the data at a 40° incidence angle from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. The third product is the operational SMOS Level 2 surface soil moisture (SM) retrieval product. The assimilation system uses a spatially distributed ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with seasonally varying climatological bias mitigation for Tb assimilation, whereas a time-invariant cumulative density function matching is used for SM retrieval assimilation. All assimilation experiments improve the soil moisture estimates compared to model-only simulations in terms of unbiased root-mean-square differences and anomaly correlations during the period from 1 July 2010 to 1 May 2015 and for 187 sites across the US. Especially in areas where the satellite data are most sensitive to surface soil moisture, large skill improvements (e.g., an increase in the anomaly correlation by 0.1) are found in the surface soil moisture. The domain-average surface and root-zone skill metrics are similar among the various assimilation experiments, but large differences in skill are found locally. The observation-minus-forecast residuals and analysis increments reveal large differences in how the observations add value in the Tb and SM retrieval assimilation systems. The distinct patterns of these diagnostics in the two systems reflect observation and model errors patterns that are not well captured in the assigned EnKF error parameters. Consequently, a localized optimization of the EnKF error parameters is needed to further improve Tb or SM retrieval assimilation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade T. Crow ◽  
Emiel Van Loon

Abstract Data assimilation approaches require some type of state forecast error covariance information in order to optimally merge model predictions with observations. The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) dynamically derives such information through a Monte Carlo approach and the introduction of random noise in model states, fluxes, and/or forcing data. However, in land data assimilation, relatively little guidance exists concerning strategies for selecting the appropriate magnitude and/or type of introduced model noise. In addition, little is known about the sensitivity of filter prediction accuracy to (potentially) inappropriate assumptions concerning the source and magnitude of modeling error. Using a series of synthetic identical twin experiments, this analysis explores the consequences of making incorrect assumptions concerning the source and magnitude of model error on the efficiency of assimilating surface soil moisture observations to constrain deeper root-zone soil moisture predictions made by a land surface model. Results suggest that inappropriate model error assumptions can lead to circumstances in which the assimilation of surface soil moisture observations actually degrades the performance of a land surface model (relative to open-loop assimilations that lack a data assimilation component). Prospects for diagnosing such circumstances and adaptively correcting the culpable model error assumptions using filter innovations are discussed. The dual assimilation of both runoff (from streamflow) and surface soil moisture observations appears to offer a more robust assimilation framework where incorrect model error assumptions are more readily diagnosed via filter innovations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 2015-2033 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fairbairn ◽  
Alina Lavinia Barbu ◽  
Adrien Napoly ◽  
Clément Albergel ◽  
Jean-François Mahfouf ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study evaluates the impact of assimilating surface soil moisture (SSM) and leaf area index (LAI) observations into a land surface model using the SAFRAN–ISBA–MODCOU (SIM) hydrological suite. SIM consists of three stages: (1) an atmospheric reanalysis (SAFRAN) over France, which forces (2) the three-layer ISBA land surface model, which then provides drainage and runoff inputs to (3) the MODCOU hydro-geological model. The drainage and runoff outputs from ISBA are validated by comparing the simulated river discharge from MODCOU with over 500 river-gauge observations over France and with a subset of stations with low-anthropogenic influence, over several years. This study makes use of the A-gs version of ISBA that allows for physiological processes. The atmospheric forcing for the ISBA-A-gs model underestimates direct shortwave and long-wave radiation by approximately 5 % averaged over France. The ISBA-A-gs model also substantially underestimates the grassland LAI compared with satellite retrievals during winter dormancy. These differences result in an underestimation (overestimation) of evapotranspiration (drainage and runoff). The excess runoff flowing into the rivers and aquifers contributes to an overestimation of the SIM river discharge. Two experiments attempted to resolve these problems: (i) a correction of the minimum LAI model parameter for grasslands and (ii) a bias-correction of the model radiative forcing. Two data assimilation experiments were also performed, which are designed to correct random errors in the initial conditions: (iii) the assimilation of LAI observations and (iv) the assimilation of SSM and LAI observations. The data assimilation for (iii) and (iv) was done with a simplified extended Kalman filter (SEKF), which uses finite differences in the observation operator Jacobians to relate the observations to the model variables. Experiments (i) and (ii) improved the median SIM Nash scores by about 9 % and 18 % respectively. Experiment (iii) reduced the LAI phase errors in ISBA-A-gs but had little impact on the discharge Nash efficiency of SIM. In contrast, experiment (iv) resulted in spurious increases in drainage and runoff, which degraded the median discharge Nash efficiency by about 7 %. The poor performance of the SEKF originates from the observation operator Jacobians. These Jacobians are dampened when the soil is saturated and when the vegetation is dormant, which leads to positive biases in drainage and/or runoff and to insufficient corrections during winter, respectively. Possible ways to improve the model are discussed, including a new multi-layer diffusion model and a more realistic response of photosynthesis to temperature in mountainous regions. The data assimilation should be advanced by accounting for model and forcing uncertainties.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Malbéteau ◽  
O. Merlin ◽  
G. Balsamo ◽  
S. Er-Raki ◽  
S. Khabba ◽  
...  

Abstract High spatial and temporal resolution surface soil moisture is required for most hydrological and agricultural applications. The recently developed Disaggregation based on Physical and Theoretical Scale Change (DisPATCh) algorithm provides 1-km-resolution surface soil moisture by downscaling the 40-km Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. However, the temporal resolution of DisPATCh data is constrained by the temporal resolution of SMOS (a global coverage every 3 days) and further limited by gaps in MODIS images due to cloud cover. This paper proposes an approach to overcome these limitations based on the assimilation of the 1-km-resolution DisPATCh data into a simple dynamic soil model forced by (inaccurate) precipitation data. The performance of the approach was assessed using ground measurements of surface soil moisture in the Yanco area in Australia and the Tensift-Haouz region in Morocco during 2014. It was found that the analyzed daily 1-km-resolution surface soil moisture compared slightly better to in situ data for all sites than the original disaggregated soil moisture products. Over the entire year, assimilation increased the correlation coefficient between estimated soil moisture and ground measurements from 0.53 to 0.70, whereas the mean unbiased RMSE (ubRMSE) slightly decreased from 0.07 to 0.06 m3 m−3 compared to the open-loop force–restore model. The proposed assimilation scheme has significant potential for large-scale applications over semiarid areas, since the method is based on data available at the global scale together with a parsimonious land surface model.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 11241-11291 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Gouttevin ◽  
A. Bartsch ◽  
G. Krinner ◽  
V. Naeimi

Abstract. In this study, the combined surface status and surface soil moisture products retrieved by the ASCAT sensor within the ESA-DUE Permafrost project are compared to the hydrological outputs of the land surface model ORCHIDEE over Northern Eurasia. The objective is to derive broad conclusions as to the strengths and weaknesses of hydrological modelling and, to a minor extent, remote sensing of soil moisture over an area where data is rare and hydrological modelling is though crucial for climate and ecological applications. The spatial and temporal resolutions of the ASCAT products make them suitable for comparison with model outputs. Modelled and remotely-sensed surface frozen and unfrozen statuses agree reasonably well, which allows for a seasonal comparison between modelled and observed (liquid) surface soil moisture. The atmospheric forcing and the snow scheme of the land surface model are identified as causes of moderate model-to-data divergence in terms of surface status. For unfrozen soils, the modelled and remotely-sensed surface soil moisture signals are positively correlated over most of the study area. The correlation deteriorates in the North-Eastern Siberian regions, which is consistent with the lack of accurate model parameters and the scarcity of meteorological data. The model shows a reduced ability to capture the main seasonal dynamics and spatial patterns of observed surface soil moisture in Northern Eurasia, namely a characteristic spring surface moistening resulting from snow melt and flooding. We hypothesize that these weak performances mainly originate from the non-representation of flooding and surface ponding in the model. Further identified limitations proceed from the coarse treatment of the hydrological specificities of mountainous areas and spatial inaccuracies in the meteorological forcing in remote, North-Eastern Siberian areas. Investigations are currently underway to determine to which extent plausible inaccuracies in the satellite data could also contribute to the diagnosed model-to-data discrepancies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 3431-3450
Author(s):  
Sujay V. Kumar ◽  
Thomas R. Holmes ◽  
Rajat Bindlish ◽  
Richard de Jeu ◽  
Christa Peters-Lidard

Abstract. Vegetation optical depth (VOD) retrievals from passive microwave sensors provide analog estimates of above-ground canopy biomass. This study presents the development and analysis of assimilating VOD retrievals from X-, C-, and L-band passive microwave instruments within the Noah-MP land surface model over the Continental U.S. The results from this study demonstrate that the assimilation of VOD retrievals have a significant beneficial impact on the simulation of evapotranspiration and GPP, particularly over the agricultural areas of the U.S. The improvements in the water and carbon fluxes from the assimilation of VOD from X- and C-band sensors are found to be comparable to those obtained from the assimilation of vegetation indices from optical sensors. The study also quantifies the relative and joint impacts of assimilating surface soil moisture and VOD from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. The utility of soil moisture assimilation for improving evapotranspiration (ET) is more significant over water-limited regions, whereas VOD DA is more impactful over areas where soil moisture is not the primary controlling factor on ET. The results also indicate that the information on moisture and vegetation states from SMAP can be simultaneously exploited through the joint assimilation of surface soil moisture and VOD. Since passive microwave-based VOD retrievals are available in nearly all weather conditions, their use within data assimilation systems offers the ability to extend and improve the utility obtained from the use of optical/infrared-based vegetation retrievals.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Shellito ◽  
Eric E. Small

Abstract. Drydown periods that follow precipitation events provide an opportunity to assess the mechanisms by which soil moisture dissipates from the land surface. We use SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) observations and Noah simulations from drydown periods to quantify the role of soil moisture, potential evaporation, vegetation cover, and soil texture on soil drying rates. Rates are determined using finite differences over intervals of 1 to 3 days. In the Noah model, the drying rates are a good approximation of direct soil evaporation rates. Data cover the domain of the North American Land Data Assimilation System phase 2 and span the first 1.8 years of SMAP's operation. Drying of surface soil moisture observed by SMAP is faster than that simulated by Noah. SMAP drying is fastest when surface soil moisture levels are high, potential evaporation is high, and when vegetation cover is low. Soil texture plays a minor role in SMAP drying rates. Noah simulations show similar responses to soil moisture and potential evaporation, but vegetation has a minimal effect and soil texture has a much larger effect compared to SMAP. When drying rates are normalized by potential evaporation, SMAP observations and Noah simulations both show that increases in vegetation cover lead to decreases in evaporative efficiency from the surface soil. However, the magnitude of this effect simulated by Noah is much weaker than that determined from SMAP observations.


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