Vegetation controls on surface heat flux partitioning, and land-atmosphere coupling
Abstract
Here, we provide observational evidence that land-atmosphere coupling is underestimated by a conventional metric defined by the correlation between soil moisture and surface evaporative fraction (latent heat flux normalized by the sum of sensible and latent heat flux). Land-atmosphere coupling is 3 times stronger when using leaf area index as a correlate of evaporative fraction instead of soil moisture, in the Southern Great Plains. The role of vegetation was confirmed using adjacent flux measurement sites having identical atmospheric forcing but different vegetation phenology. Transpiration makes the relationship between evaporative fraction and soil moisture nonlinear and gives the appearance of weak coupling when using linear soil moisture metrics. Regions of substantial coupling extend to semiarid and humid continental climates across the United States, in terms of correlations between vegetation metrics and evaporative fraction. The hydrological cycle is more tightly constrained by the land surface than previously inferred from soil moisture.
- Authors:
-
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1470995
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 42; Journal Issue: 21; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES
Citation Formats
Williams, Ian N., and Torn, Margaret S. Vegetation controls on surface heat flux partitioning, and land-atmosphere coupling. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1002/2015GL066305.
Williams, Ian N., & Torn, Margaret S. Vegetation controls on surface heat flux partitioning, and land-atmosphere coupling. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066305
Williams, Ian N., and Torn, Margaret S. Fri .
"Vegetation controls on surface heat flux partitioning, and land-atmosphere coupling". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066305. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1470995.
@article{osti_1470995,
title = {Vegetation controls on surface heat flux partitioning, and land-atmosphere coupling},
author = {Williams, Ian N. and Torn, Margaret S.},
abstractNote = {Here, we provide observational evidence that land-atmosphere coupling is underestimated by a conventional metric defined by the correlation between soil moisture and surface evaporative fraction (latent heat flux normalized by the sum of sensible and latent heat flux). Land-atmosphere coupling is 3 times stronger when using leaf area index as a correlate of evaporative fraction instead of soil moisture, in the Southern Great Plains. The role of vegetation was confirmed using adjacent flux measurement sites having identical atmospheric forcing but different vegetation phenology. Transpiration makes the relationship between evaporative fraction and soil moisture nonlinear and gives the appearance of weak coupling when using linear soil moisture metrics. Regions of substantial coupling extend to semiarid and humid continental climates across the United States, in terms of correlations between vegetation metrics and evaporative fraction. The hydrological cycle is more tightly constrained by the land surface than previously inferred from soil moisture.},
doi = {10.1002/2015GL066305},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 21,
volume = 42,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}
Web of Science
Works referenced in this record:
Investigating soil moisture–climate interactions in a changing climate: A review
journal, May 2010
- Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Corti, Thierry; Davin, Edouard L.
- Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 99, Issue 3-4
Probability of afternoon precipitation in eastern United States and Mexico enhanced by high evaporation
journal, June 2011
- Findell, Kirsten L.; Gentine, Pierre; Lintner, Benjamin R.
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 4, Issue 7
Soil water and the persistence of floods and droughts in the Mississippi River Basin
journal, October 1998
- Bonan, Gordon B.; Stillwell-Soller, Lana M.
- Water Resources Research, Vol. 34, Issue 10
Coupling of water vapor convergence, clouds, precipitation, and land-surface processes: LAND-SURFACE-CLOUD PROCESSES
journal, May 2007
- Betts, Alan K.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 112, Issue D10
Regions of Strong Coupling Between Soil Moisture and Precipitation
journal, August 2004
- Koster, R. D.
- Science, Vol. 305, Issue 5687
Diagnosis of the summertime warm and dry bias over the U.S. Southern Great Plains in the GFDL climate model using a weather forecasting approach: GFDL CLIMATE MODEL SUMMERTIME BIAS
journal, September 2006
- Klein, Stephen A.; Jiang, Xianan; Boyle, Jim
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 33, Issue 18
Phenological versus meteorological controls on land-atmosphere water and carbon fluxes: CONTROLS ON LAND-ATMOSPHERE FLUXES
journal, January 2013
- Puma, Michael J.; Koster, Randal D.; Cook, Benjamin I.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 118, Issue 1
The land surface-atmosphere interaction: A review based on observational and global modeling perspectives
journal, March 1996
- Betts, Alan K.; Ball, John H.; Beljaars, Anton C. M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 101, Issue D3
Assessment of observed and model-derived soil moisture-evaporative fraction relationships over the United States Southern Great Plains: SOIL MOISTURE - EVAPORATIVE FRACTION
journal, June 2014
- Ford, Trent W.; Wulff, Christoph O.; Quiring, Steven M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 119, Issue 11
How well can CMIP5 simulate precipitation and its controlling processes over tropical South America?
journal, November 2012
- Yin, Lei; Fu, Rong; Shevliakova, Elena
- Climate Dynamics, Vol. 41, Issue 11-12
Land surface impacts on subseasonal and seasonal predictability: LAND IMPACTS SUBSEASONAL PREDICTABILITY
journal, December 2011
- Guo, Zhichang; Dirmeyer, Paul A.; DelSole, Tim
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 38, Issue 24
Impact of a satellite-derived leaf area index monthly climatology in a global numerical weather prediction model
journal, October 2012
- Boussetta, Souhail; Balsamo, Gianpaolo; Beljaars, Anton
- International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 34, Issue 9-10
Contribution of land surface initialization to subseasonal forecast skill: First results from a multi-model experiment: GLACE-2-SOIL MOISTURE AND FORECASTING
journal, January 2010
- Koster, R. D.; Mahanama, S. P. P.; Yamada, T. J.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 37, Issue 2
Interactive Vegetation Phenology, Soil Moisture, and Monthly Temperature Forecasts
journal, August 2015
- Koster, R. D.; Walker, G. K.
- Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 16, Issue 4
Vegetation control on water and energy balance within the Budyko framework: VEGETATION CONTROL ON WATER AND ENERGY BALANCE
journal, February 2013
- Li, Dan; Pan, Ming; Cong, Zhentao
- Water Resources Research, Vol. 49, Issue 2
Impact of soil moisture‐climate feedbacks on CMIP5 projections: First results from the GLACE‐CMIP5 experiment
journal, October 2013
- Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Wilhelm, Micah; Stanelle, Tanja
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 40, Issue 19
A Model Predicting Stomatal Conductance and its Contribution to the Control of Photosynthesis under Different Environmental Conditions
book, January 1987
- Ball, J. Timothy; Woodrow, Ian E.; Berry, Joseph A.
- Progress in Photosynthesis Research
A Soil Moisture-Rainfall Feedback Mechanism: 1. Theory and observations
journal, April 1998
- Eltahir, Elfatih A. B.
- Water Resources Research, Vol. 34, Issue 4
The terrestrial segment of soil moisture-climate coupling: SOIL MOISTURE-CLIMATE COUPLING
journal, August 2011
- Dirmeyer, Paul A.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 38, Issue 16
Impact of vegetation properties on U.S. summer weather prediction
journal, March 1996
- Xue, Yongkang; Fennessy, Michael J.; Sellers, Piers J.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 101, Issue D3
Potentials and limits of vegetation indices for LAI and APAR assessment
journal, February 1991
- Baret, F.; Guyot, G.
- Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 35, Issue 2-3
A feedback mechanism between soil-moisture distribution and storm tracks
journal, July 2003
- Pal, Jeremy S.; Eltahir, Elfatih A. B.
- Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 129, Issue 592
Land-atmosphere coupling manifested in warm-season observations on the U.S. southern great plains: SGP LAND-ATMOSPHERE COUPLING
journal, January 2014
- Phillips, Thomas J.; Klein, Stephen A.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 119, Issue 2
Influence of Land-Surface Evapotranspiration on the Earth's Climate
journal, March 1982
- Shukla, J.; Mintz, Y.
- Science, Vol. 215, Issue 4539
On the separation of net ecosystem exchange into assimilation and ecosystem respiration: review and improved algorithm
journal, September 2005
- Reichstein, Markus; Falge, Eva; Baldocchi, Dennis
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 11, Issue 9
Comparison of soil respiration methods in a mid-latitude deciduous forest
journal, April 2006
- Wayson, C. A.; Randolph, J. C.; Hanson, P. J.
- Biogeochemistry, Vol. 80, Issue 2
Forests and Climate Change: Forcings, Feedbacks, and the Climate Benefits of Forests
journal, June 2008
- Bonan, G. B.
- Science, Vol. 320, Issue 5882
Afternoon rain more likely over drier soils
journal, September 2012
- Taylor, Christopher M.; de Jeu, Richard A. M.; Guichard, Françoise
- Nature, Vol. 489, Issue 7416
Transpiration in the global water cycle
journal, June 2014
- Schlesinger, William H.; Jasechko, Scott
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 189-190
Direct and indirect effects of atmospheric conditions and soil moisture on surface energy partitioning revealed by a prolonged drought at a temperate forest site
journal, January 2006
- Gu, Lianhong; Meyers, Tilden; Pallardy, Stephen G.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue D16
Summer-Season Forecast Experiments with the NCEP Climate Forecast System Using Different Land Models and Different Initial Land States
journal, May 2011
- Yang, Rongqian; Mitchell, Kenneth; Meng, Jesse
- Journal of Climate, Vol. 24, Issue 9
Carbon, water, and energy fluxes in a semiarid cold desert grassland during and following multiyear drought
journal, January 2010
- Bowling, D. R.; Bethers-Marchetti, S.; Lunch, C. K.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, Issue G4
Precipitation Sensitivity to Surface Heat Fluxes over North America in Reanalysis and Model Data
text, January 2013
- Berg, Alexis M.; Findell, Kirsten; Lintner, Benjamin R.
- Columbia University
Surface and atmospheric controls on the onset of moist convection over land
text, January 2013
- Gentine, Pierre; Holtslag, Albert A. M.; D’Andrea, Fabio
- Columbia University
Impact of a satellite-derived Leaf Area Index monthly climatology in a global Numerical Weather Prediction model
text, January 2011
- Boussetta, Souhail; Balsamo, Gianpaolo; Beljaars, Anton
- ECMWF
Investigating soil moisture–climate interactions in a changing climate: A review
text, January 2010
- Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Corti, Thierry; Davin, Edouard L.
- Elsevier
Works referencing / citing this record:
Assessment of uncertainties in global land cover products for hydro-climate modeling in India: PROPAGATION OF LAND COVER UNCERTAINTIES
journal, February 2017
- Madhusoodhanan, C. G.; Sreeja, K. G.; Eldho, T. I.
- Water Resources Research, Vol. 53, Issue 2
Water and CO2 fluxes over semiarid alpine steppe and humid alpine meadow ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau
journal, November 2016
- Wang, Lei; Liu, Huizhi; Shao, Yaping
- Theoretical and Applied Climatology, Vol. 131, Issue 1-2
Vegetation Response to Rising CO 2 Impacts Extreme Temperatures
journal, February 2019
- Lemordant, Léo; Gentine, Pierre
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 3
Coupling between the terrestrial carbon and water cycles—a review
journal, July 2019
- Gentine, Pierre; Green, Julia K.; Guérin, Marceau
- Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 14, Issue 8
Coupling between the terrestrial carbon and water cycles-a review
text, January 2019
- Gentine, Pierre; Green, Julia K.; Guérin, Marceau
- ETH Zurich