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Reconciling spatial and temporal soil moisture effects on afternoon rainfall

Author

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  • Benoit P. Guillod

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich
    Present address: Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK)

  • Boris Orlowsky

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

  • Diego G. Miralles

    (VU University Amsterdam
    Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management, Ghent University)

  • Adriaan J. Teuling

    (Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University)

  • Sonia I. Seneviratne

    (Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich)

Abstract

Soil moisture impacts on precipitation have been strongly debated. Recent observational evidence of afternoon rain falling preferentially over land parcels that are drier than the surrounding areas (negative spatial effect), contrasts with previous reports of a predominant positive temporal effect. However, whether spatial effects relating to soil moisture heterogeneity translate into similar temporal effects remains unknown. Here we show that afternoon precipitation events tend to occur during wet and heterogeneous soil moisture conditions, while being located over comparatively drier patches. Using remote-sensing data and a common analysis framework, spatial and temporal correlations with opposite signs are shown to coexist within the same region and data set. Positive temporal coupling might enhance precipitation persistence, while negative spatial coupling tends to regionally homogenize land surface conditions. Although the apparent positive temporal coupling does not necessarily imply a causal relationship, these results reconcile the notions of moisture recycling with local, spatially negative feedbacks.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoit P. Guillod & Boris Orlowsky & Diego G. Miralles & Adriaan J. Teuling & Sonia I. Seneviratne, 2015. "Reconciling spatial and temporal soil moisture effects on afternoon rainfall," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-6, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms7443
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7443
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    Cited by:

    1. Hsin Hsu & Paul A. Dirmeyer, 2023. "Soil moisture-evaporation coupling shifts into new gears under increasing CO2," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Shasha Song & Isaac R. Santos & Huaming Yu & Faming Wang & William C. Burnett & Thomas S. Bianchi & Junyu Dong & Ergang Lian & Bin Zhao & Lawrence Mayer & Qingzhen Yao & Zhigang Yu & Bochao Xu, 2022. "A global assessment of the mixed layer in coastal sediments and implications for carbon storage," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Li, Bingze & Wang, Chunmei & Gu, Xingfa & Zhou, Xiang & Ma, Ming & Li, Lei & Feng, Zhuangzhuang & Ding, Tianyu & Li, Xiaofeng & Jiang, Tao & Li, Xiaojie & Zheng, Xingming, 2022. "Accuracy calibration and evaluation of capacitance-based soil moisture sensors for a variety of soil properties," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).

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