This study presents an “Earth observation-based” method for estimating root zone storage capacity – a critical, yet uncertain parameter in hydrological and land surface modelling. By assuming that vegetation optimises its root zone storage capacity to bridge critical dry periods, we were able to use state-of-the-art satellite-based evaporation data computed with independent energy balance equat...

The adaptation of land-use patterns is an essential aspect of minimizing the inevitable impact of climate change at regional and local scales; for example, adapting watershed land-use patterns to mitigate the impact of climate change on a region's hydrology. The objective of this study is to simulate and assess a region's ability to adapt to hydrological changes by modifying land-use patterns i...

Precipitation is the most important component and critical to the study of water and energy cycle. In this study we investigated the propagation of precipitation retrieval uncertainty in the simulation of hydrological variables, such as soil moisture, temperature, runoff, and fluxes, for varying spatial resolution on different vegetation cover. Two remotely sensed rain retrievals were explored ...

A coupled atmospheric/land-surface model covering the conterminous United States with an associated 1-hour atmospheric data assimilation cycle, the Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction System (MAPS), has been improved to include snow and frozen soil physics. The new aspects of the land-surface model are described in this paper, along with detailed one-dimensional (1-D) tests. These tests show that...

Near surface air temperature (Ta) is one of the key input parameters in land surface models and hydrological models as it affects most biogeophysical and biogeochemical processes of the earth surface system. For distributed hydrological modeling over glacierized basins, obtaining high resolution Ta forcing is one of the major challenges. In this study, we proposed a new high resolution daily Ta...

A spatially distributed hydrological model WetSpa (Water and Energy Transfer between Soil, Plants and Atmosphere) working on an hourly time scale is presented in this paper. The model combines elevation, soil and land use data, and predicts flood hydrograph and the spatial distribution of hydrological characteristics in a watershed. The model is tested on a small catchment in Belgium for which ...

An afforestation project was initiated in the western plain of Taiwan to convert abandoned farming lands into forests to improve the ecological and environmental conditions. This study was conducted to understand the potential impacts of this land cover change on evapotranspiration (ET) and other land surface processes and the differences in the impacts under clear and rainy weather conditions....

Land surface schemes are used in general circulation models (GCMs) to simulate the surface processes and the surface-atmosphere interactions. This paper addresses several aspects of land surface modelling from a hydrological perspective. It investigates the energy and water fluxes estimated by a typical land surface scheme (CSIRO9) for the Amazon and Mississippi River Basins, using river runoff...

Terrestrial biosphere models/land surface models are routinely used to study the effects of CO2 doubling and climate change. The objective of this study is to show that the biological response associated with CO2 doubling is important, and that the effects intrinsically depend on the soil moisture state. Therefore, using a coupled biosphere–atmosphere model, we tested the hypothesis that the bi...