Articles | Volume 12, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-725-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-725-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Jun 2021
Research article |
| 21 Jun 2021
| 21 Jun 2021
Climate-controlled root zone parameters show potential to improve water flux simulations by land surface models
Fransje van Oorschot
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAC), Bologna, Italy
Ruud J. van der Ent
Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Markus Hrachowitz
Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Andrea Alessandri
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAC), Bologna, Italy
Related authors
Fransje van Oorschot, Ruud J. van der Ent, Andrea Alessandri, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2313–2328, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2313-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2313-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation plays a crucial role in regulating the water cycle by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere via roots; this transport depends on the extent of the root system. In this study, we quantified the effect of irrigation on roots at a global scale. Our results emphasize the importance of accounting for irrigation in estimating the vegetation root extent, which is essential to adequately represent the water cycle in hydrological and climate models.
Fransje van Oorschot, Ruud J. van der Ent, Markus Hrachowitz, Emanuele Di Carlo, Franco Catalano, Souhail Boussetta, Gianpaolo Balsamo, and Andrea Alessandri
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 1239–1259, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1239-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1239-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation largely controls land hydrology by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere through roots and is highly variable in space and time. However, current land surface models have limitations in capturing this variability at a global scale, limiting accurate modeling of land hydrology. We found that satellite-based vegetation variability considerably improved modeled land hydrology and therefore has potential to improve climate predictions of, for example, droughts.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Karsten Schulz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3935–3956, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3935-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3935-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Using advances in transit time estimation and tracer data, we tested if fast-flow transit times are controlled solely by soil moisture or if they are also controlled by precipitation intensity. We used soil-moisture-dependent and precipitation-intensity-conditional transfer functions. We showed that a significant portion of event water bypasses the soil matrix through fast flow paths (overland flow, tile drains, preferential-flow paths) in dry soil conditions for both low- and high-intensity precipitation.
Magali Ponds, Sarah Hanus, Harry Zekollari, Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis, Gerrit Schoups, Roland Kaitna, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3545–3568, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3545-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3545-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This research examines how future climate changes impact root zone storage, a key hydrological model parameter. Root zone storage – the soil water accessible to plants – adapts to climate but is often kept constant in models. We estimated climate-adapted storage in six Austrian Alps catchments. While storage increased, streamflow projections showed minimal change, which suggests that dynamic root zone representation is less critical in humid regions but warrants further study in arid areas.
Peter Kalverla, Imme Benedict, Chris Weijenborg, and Ruud J. van der Ent
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 4335–4352, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4335-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4335-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce a new version of WAM2layers (Water Accounting Model – 2 layers), a computer program that tracks how the weather brings water from one place to another. It uses data from weather and climate models, whose resolution is steadily increasing. Processing the latest data had become a challenge, and the updates presented here ensure that WAM2layers runs smoothly again. We also made it easier to use the program and to understand its source code. This makes it more transparent, reliable, and easier to maintain.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2597, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2597, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that stream flow isotope data (δ2H) were inadequate for distinguishing preferential groundwater flow. Large passive groundwater storage dampened δ2H variations, obscuring signals of fast groundwater flow and complicating the estimation of older water fractions in the streams. Further, weekly-resolution δ2H sampling yielded deceptively high model performance, highlighting the need for complementary and groundwater-level data to improve catchment-scale transit-time estimates.
Nathalie Rombeek, Markus Hrachowitz, and Remko Uijlenhoet
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1502, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1502, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
On 29 October 2024 Valencia (Spain) was struck by torrential rainfall, triggering devastating floods in this area. In this study, we quantify and describe the spatial and temporal structure of this rainfall event using personal weather stations (PWSs). These PWSs provide near real-time observations at a temporal resolution of ~5 min. This study shows the potential of PWSs for real-time rainfall monitoring and potentially flood early warning systems by complementing dedicated rain gauge networks.
Muhammad Ibrahim, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1703–1723, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1703-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1703-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The quantification of precipitation into evaporation and runoff is vital for water resources management. The Budyko framework, based on aridity and evaporative indices of a catchment, can be an ideal tool for that. However, recent research highlights deviations of catchments from the expected evaporative index, casting doubt on its reliability. This study quantifies deviations of 2387 catchments, finding them minor and predictable. Integrating these into predictions upholds the framework's efficacy.
Wouter R. Berghuijs, Ross A. Woods, Bailey J. Anderson, Anna Luisa Hemshorn de Sánchez, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1319–1333, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1319-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1319-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Water balances of catchments will often strongly depend on their state in the recent past, but such memory effects may persist at annual timescales. We use global data sets to show that annual memory is typically absent in precipitation but strong in terrestrial water stores and also present in evaporation and streamflow (including low flows and floods). Our experiments show that hysteretic models provide behaviour that is consistent with these observed memory behaviours.
Thiago Victor Medeiros do Nascimento, Julia Rudlang, Sebastian Gnann, Jan Seibert, Markus Hrachowitz, and Fabrizio Fenicia
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-739, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-739, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Large-sample hydrological studies often overlook the importance of detailed landscape data in explaining river flow variability. Analyzing over 4,000 European catchments, we found that geology becomes a dominant factor—especially for baseflow—when using detailed regional maps. This highlights the need for high-resolution geological data to improve river flow regionalization, particularly in non-monitored areas.
Jordy Salmon-Monviola, Ophélie Fovet, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 127–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-127-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-127-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
To increase the predictive power of hydrological models, it is necessary to improve their consistency, i.e. their physical realism, which is measured by the ability of the model to reproduce observed system dynamics. Using a model to represent the dynamics of water and nitrate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in an agricultural catchment, we showed that using solute-concentration data for calibration is useful to improve the hydrological consistency of the model.
Chandrakant Singh, Ruud van der Ent, Ingo Fetzer, and Lan Wang-Erlandsson
Earth Syst. Dynam., 15, 1543–1565, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-1543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-1543-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical rainforests risk tipping to savanna under future climate change. By analysing ecosystem root zone dynamics using hydroclimate data from Earth system models, we project the tipping risks for these rainforests. Our findings suggest that although some transition risks may be inevitable, most can still be mitigated by adapting to less severe climate change scenarios. Limiting global surface temperatures to meet the Paris Agreement targets is critical to preserving these ecosystems.
Nathalie Rombeek, Markus Hrachowitz, Arjan Droste, and Remko Uijlenhoet
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3207, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3207, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Rain gauge networks from personal weather stations (PWSs) have a network density 100 times higher than dedicated rain gauge networks in the Netherlands. However, PWSs are prone to several sources of error, as they are generally not installed and maintained according to international guidelines. This study systematically quantifies and describes the uncertainties arising from PWS rainfall estimates. In particular, the focus is on the highest rainfall accumulations.
Nienke Tempel, Laurène Bouaziz, Riccardo Taormina, Ellis van Noppen, Jasper Stam, Eric Sprokkereef, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4577–4597, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4577-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4577-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the impact of climatic variability on root zone water storage capacities and, thus, on hydrological predictions. Analysing data from 286 areas in Europe and the US, we found that, despite some variations in root zone storage capacity due to changing climatic conditions over multiple decades, these changes are generally minor and have a limited effect on water storage and river flow predictions.
Hongkai Gao, Markus Hrachowitz, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Fabrizio Fenicia, Qiaojuan Xi, Jianyang Xia, Wei Shao, Ge Sun, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4477–4499, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4477-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4477-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The concept of the root zone is widely used but lacks a precise definition. Its importance in Earth system science is not well elaborated upon. Here, we clarified its definition with several similar terms to bridge the multi-disciplinary gap. We underscore the key role of the root zone in the Earth system, which links the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and anthroposphere. To better represent the root zone, we advocate for a paradigm shift towards ecosystem-centred modelling.
Siyuan Wang, Markus Hrachowitz, and Gerrit Schoups
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4011–4033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4011-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4011-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Root zone storage capacity (Sumax) changes significantly over multiple decades, reflecting vegetation adaptation to climatic variability. However, this temporal evolution of Sumax cannot explain long-term fluctuations in the partitioning of water fluxes as expressed by deviations ΔIE from the parametric Budyko curve over time with different climatic conditions, and it does not have any significant effects on shorter-term hydrological response characteristics of the upper Neckar catchment.
Athanasios Tsiokanos, Martine Rutten, Ruud J. van der Ent, and Remko Uijlenhoet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3327–3345, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3327-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3327-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We focus on past high-flow events to find flood drivers in the Geul. We also explore flood drivers’ trends across various timescales and develop a new method to detect the main direction of a trend. Our results show that extreme 24 h precipitation alone is typically insufficient to cause floods. The combination of extreme rainfall and wet initial conditions determines the chance of flooding. Precipitation that leads to floods increases in winter, whereas no consistent trends are found in summer.
Fransje van Oorschot, Ruud J. van der Ent, Andrea Alessandri, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2313–2328, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2313-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2313-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation plays a crucial role in regulating the water cycle by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere via roots; this transport depends on the extent of the root system. In this study, we quantified the effect of irrigation on roots at a global scale. Our results emphasize the importance of accounting for irrigation in estimating the vegetation root extent, which is essential to adequately represent the water cycle in hydrological and climate models.
Steven J. De Hertog, Carmen E. Lopez-Fabara, Ruud van der Ent, Jessica Keune, Diego G. Miralles, Raphael Portmann, Sebastian Schemm, Felix Havermann, Suqi Guo, Fei Luo, Iris Manola, Quentin Lejeune, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sonia I. Seneviratne, and Wim Thiery
Earth Syst. Dynam., 15, 265–291, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-265-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Changes in land use are crucial to achieve lower global warming. However, despite their importance, the effects of these changes on moisture fluxes are poorly understood. We analyse land cover and management scenarios in three climate models involving cropland expansion, afforestation, and irrigation. Results show largely consistent influences on moisture fluxes, with cropland expansion causing a drying and reduced local moisture recycling, while afforestation and irrigation show the opposite.
Fransje van Oorschot, Ruud J. van der Ent, Markus Hrachowitz, Emanuele Di Carlo, Franco Catalano, Souhail Boussetta, Gianpaolo Balsamo, and Andrea Alessandri
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 1239–1259, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1239-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1239-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation largely controls land hydrology by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere through roots and is highly variable in space and time. However, current land surface models have limitations in capturing this variability at a global scale, limiting accurate modeling of land hydrology. We found that satellite-based vegetation variability considerably improved modeled land hydrology and therefore has potential to improve climate predictions of, for example, droughts.
En Ning Lai, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Vili Virkki, Miina Porkka, and Ruud J. van der Ent
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3999–4018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3999-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3999-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This research scrutinized predicted changes in root zone soil moisture dynamics across different climate scenarios and different climate regions globally between 2021 and 2100. The Mediterranean and most of South America stood out as regions that will likely experience permanently drier conditions, with greater severity observed in the no-climate-policy scenarios. These findings underscore the impact that possible future climates can have on green water resources.
Siyuan Wang, Markus Hrachowitz, Gerrit Schoups, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3083–3114, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3083-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3083-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that previously reported underestimations of water ages are most likely not due to the use of seasonally variable tracers. Rather, these underestimations can be largely attributed to the choices of model approaches which rely on assumptions not frequently met in catchment hydrology. We therefore strongly advocate avoiding the use of this model type in combination with seasonally variable tracers and instead adopting StorAge Selection (SAS)-based or comparable model formulations.
Steven J. De Hertog, Carmen E. Lopez-Fabara, Ruud van der Ent, Jessica Keune, Diego G. Miralles, Raphael Portmann, Sebastian Schemm, Felix Havermann, Suqi Guo, Fei Luo, Iris Manola, Quentin Lejeune, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sonia I. Seneviratne, and Wim Thiery
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-953, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-953, 2023
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Land cover and management changes can affect the climate and water availability. In this study we use climate model simulations of extreme global land cover changes (afforestation, deforestation) and land management changes (irrigation) to understand the effects on the global water cycle and local to continental water availability. We show that cropland expansion generally leads to higher evaporation and lower amounts of precipitation and afforestation and irrigation expansion to the opposite.
Pau Wiersma, Jerom Aerts, Harry Zekollari, Markus Hrachowitz, Niels Drost, Matthias Huss, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, and Rolf Hut
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5971–5986, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5971-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We test whether coupling a global glacier model (GloGEM) with a global hydrological model (PCR-GLOBWB 2) leads to a more realistic glacier representation and to improved basin runoff simulations across 25 large-scale basins. The coupling does lead to improved glacier representation, mainly by accounting for glacier flow and net glacier mass loss, and to improved basin runoff simulations, mostly in strongly glacier-influenced basins, which is where the coupling has the most impact.
Judith Uwihirwe, Alessia Riveros, Hellen Wanjala, Jaap Schellekens, Frederiek Sperna Weiland, Markus Hrachowitz, and Thom A. Bogaard
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3641–3661, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3641-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study compared gauge-based and satellite-based precipitation products. Similarly, satellite- and hydrological model-derived soil moisture was compared to in situ soil moisture and used in landslide hazard assessment and warning. The results reveal the cumulative 3 d rainfall from the NASA-GPM to be the most effective landslide trigger. The modelled antecedent soil moisture in the root zone was the most informative hydrological variable for landslide hazard assessment and warning in Rwanda.
Judith Uwihirwe, Markus Hrachowitz, and Thom Bogaard
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1723–1742, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1723-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1723-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research tested the value of regional groundwater level information to improve landslide predictions with empirical models based on the concept of threshold levels. In contrast to precipitation-based thresholds, the results indicated that relying on threshold models exclusively defined using hydrological variables such as groundwater levels can lead to improved landslide predictions due to their implicit consideration of long-term antecedent conditions until the day of landslide occurrence.
Ralf Döscher, Mario Acosta, Andrea Alessandri, Peter Anthoni, Thomas Arsouze, Tommi Bergman, Raffaele Bernardello, Souhail Boussetta, Louis-Philippe Caron, Glenn Carver, Miguel Castrillo, Franco Catalano, Ivana Cvijanovic, Paolo Davini, Evelien Dekker, Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes, David Docquier, Pablo Echevarria, Uwe Fladrich, Ramon Fuentes-Franco, Matthias Gröger, Jost v. Hardenberg, Jenny Hieronymus, M. Pasha Karami, Jukka-Pekka Keskinen, Torben Koenigk, Risto Makkonen, François Massonnet, Martin Ménégoz, Paul A. Miller, Eduardo Moreno-Chamarro, Lars Nieradzik, Twan van Noije, Paul Nolan, Declan O'Donnell, Pirkka Ollinaho, Gijs van den Oord, Pablo Ortega, Oriol Tintó Prims, Arthur Ramos, Thomas Reerink, Clement Rousset, Yohan Ruprich-Robert, Philippe Le Sager, Torben Schmith, Roland Schrödner, Federico Serva, Valentina Sicardi, Marianne Sloth Madsen, Benjamin Smith, Tian Tian, Etienne Tourigny, Petteri Uotila, Martin Vancoppenolle, Shiyu Wang, David Wårlind, Ulrika Willén, Klaus Wyser, Shuting Yang, Xavier Yepes-Arbós, and Qiong Zhang
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2973–3020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2973-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2973-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Earth system model EC-Earth3 is documented here. Key performance metrics show physical behavior and biases well within the frame known from recent models. With improved physical and dynamic features, new ESM components, community tools, and largely improved physical performance compared to the CMIP5 version, EC-Earth3 represents a clear step forward for the only European community ESM. We demonstrate here that EC-Earth3 is suited for a range of tasks in CMIP6 and beyond.
Elisa Ragno, Markus Hrachowitz, and Oswaldo Morales-Nápoles
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1695–1711, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1695-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1695-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the ability of non-parametric Bayesian networks to reproduce maximum daily discharge in a given month in a catchment when the remaining hydro-meteorological and catchment attributes are known. We show that a saturated network evaluated in an individual catchment can reproduce statistical characteristics of discharge in about ~ 40 % of the cases, while challenges remain when a saturated network considering all the catchments together is evaluated.
Laurène J. E. Bouaziz, Emma E. Aalbers, Albrecht H. Weerts, Mark Hegnauer, Hendrik Buiteveld, Rita Lammersen, Jasper Stam, Eric Sprokkereef, Hubert H. G. Savenije, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1295–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Assuming stationarity of hydrological systems is no longer appropriate when considering land use and climate change. We tested the sensitivity of hydrological predictions to changes in model parameters that reflect ecosystem adaptation to climate and potential land use change. We estimated a 34 % increase in the root zone storage parameter under +2 K global warming, resulting in up to 15 % less streamflow in autumn, due to 14 % higher summer evaporation, compared to a stationary system.
Markus Hrachowitz, Michael Stockinger, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, Heye Bogena, Andreas Lücke, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4887–4915, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deforestation affects how catchments store and release water. Here we found that deforestation in the study catchment led to a 20 % increase in mean runoff, while reducing the vegetation-accessible water storage from about 258 to 101 mm. As a consequence, fractions of young water in the stream increased by up to 25 % during wet periods. This implies that water and solutes are more rapidly routed to the stream, which can, after contamination, lead to increased contaminant peak concentrations.
Sarah Hanus, Markus Hrachowitz, Harry Zekollari, Gerrit Schoups, Miren Vizcaino, and Roland Kaitna
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3429–3453, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3429-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3429-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the effects of climate change on runoff patterns in six Alpine catchments in Austria at the end of the 21st century. Our results indicate a substantial shift to earlier occurrences in annual maximum and minimum flows in high-elevation catchments. Magnitudes of annual extremes are projected to increase under a moderate emission scenario in all catchments. Changes are generally more pronounced for high-elevation catchments.
Artemis Roodari, Markus Hrachowitz, Farzad Hassanpour, and Mostafa Yaghoobzadeh
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1943–1967, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1943-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1943-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In a combined data analysis and modeling study in the transboundary Helmand River basin, we analyzed spatial patterns of drought and changes therein based on the drought indices as well as on absolute water deficits. Overall the results illustrate that flow deficits and the associated droughts clearly reflect the dynamic interplay between temporally varying regional differences in hydro-meteorological variables together with subtle and temporally varying effects linked to human intervention.
Laurène J. E. Bouaziz, Fabrizio Fenicia, Guillaume Thirel, Tanja de Boer-Euser, Joost Buitink, Claudia C. Brauer, Jan De Niel, Benjamin J. Dewals, Gilles Drogue, Benjamin Grelier, Lieke A. Melsen, Sotirios Moustakas, Jiri Nossent, Fernando Pereira, Eric Sprokkereef, Jasper Stam, Albrecht H. Weerts, Patrick Willems, Hubert H. G. Savenije, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1069–1095, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1069-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1069-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify the differences in internal states and fluxes of 12 process-based models with similar streamflow performance and assess their plausibility using remotely sensed estimates of evaporation, snow cover, soil moisture and total storage anomalies. The dissimilarities in internal process representation imply that these models cannot all simultaneously be close to reality. Therefore, we invite modelers to evaluate their models using multiple variables and to rely on multi-model studies.
Petra Hulsman, Hubert H. G. Savenije, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 957–982, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-957-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-957-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite observations have increasingly been used for model calibration, while model structural developments largely rely on discharge data. For large river basins, this often results in poor representations of system internal processes. This study explores the combined use of satellite-based evaporation and total water storage data for model structural improvement and spatial–temporal model calibration for a large, semi-arid and data-scarce river system.
Ralf Loritz, Markus Hrachowitz, Malte Neuper, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 147–167, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-147-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-147-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the role and value of distributed rainfall in the runoff generation of a mesoscale catchment. We compare the performance of different hydrological models at different periods and show that a distributed model driven by distributed rainfall yields improved performances only during certain periods. We then step beyond this finding and develop a spatially adaptive model that is capable of dynamically adjusting its spatial model structure in time.
Liang Guo, Ruud J. van der Ent, Nicholas P. Klingaman, Marie-Estelle Demory, Pier Luigi Vidale, Andrew G. Turner, Claudia C. Stephan, and Amulya Chevuturi
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 6011–6028, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-6011-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-6011-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation over East Asia simulated in the Met Office Unified Model is compared with observations. Moisture sources of EA precipitation are traced using a moisture tracking model. Biases in moisture sources are linked to biases in precipitation. Using the tracking model, changes in moisture sources can be attributed to changes in SST, circulation and associated evaporation. This proves that the method used in this study is useful to identify the causes of biases in regional precipitation.
Andreas Link, Ruud van der Ent, Markus Berger, Stephanie Eisner, and Matthias Finkbeiner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1897–1912, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1897-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1897-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This work provides a global dataset on the fate of land evaporation for a fine-meshed grid of source and receptor cells. The dataset was created through a global run of the numerical moisture-tracking model WAM-2layers. The dataset could be used for investigations into average annual, seasonal, and interannual sink and source regions of atmospheric moisture from land masses for most of the regions in the world and comes with example scripts for the readout and plotting of the data.
Cited articles
Ardilouze, C., Batté, L., Bunzel, F., Decremer, D., Déqué, M., Doblas-Reyes, F. J., Douville, H., Fereday, D., Guemas, V., MacLachlan, C., Müller, W., and Prodhomme, C.: Multi-model assessment of the impact of soil moisture initialization on mid-latitude summer predictability, Clim. Dynam., 49, 3959–3974, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-3555-7, 2017. a
Balsamo, G., Viterbo, P., Beijaars, A., van den Hurk, B., Hirschi, M., Betts, A. K., and Scipal, K.: A revised hydrology for the ECMWF model: Verification from field site to terrestrial water storage and impact in the integrated forecast system, J. Hydrometeorol., 10, 623–643, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JHM1068.1, 2009. a, b, c
Balsamo, G., Pappenberger, F., Dutra, E., Viterbo, P., and van den Hurk, B.: A revised land hydrology in the ECMWF model: a step towards daily water flux prediction in a fully-closed water cycle, Hydrol. Process., 25, 1046–1054, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7808, 2011. a
Bouaziz, L., Weerts, A., Schellekens, J., Sprokkereef, E., Stam, J., Savenije, H., and Hrachowitz, M.: Redressing the balance: quantifying net intercatchment groundwater flows, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6415–6434, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6415-2018, 2018. a
Canadell, J., Jackson, R., Ehleringer, J., Mooney, H., Sala, O., and Schulze, E.-D.: Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale, Oecologia, 108, 583–595, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329030, 1996. a
Collins, D. B. and Bras, R. L.: Plant rooting strategies in water-limited ecosystems, Water Resour. Res., 43, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR005541, 2007. a, b
Condon, L. E., Markovich, K. H., Kelleher, C. A., McDonnell, J. J., Ferguson, G., and McIntosh, J. C.: Where Is the Bottom of a Watershed?, Water Resour. Res., 56, e2019WR026010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR026010, 2020. a
de Rosnay, P. and Polcher, J.: Modelling root water uptake in a complex land surface scheme coupled to a GCM, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 2, 239–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2-239-1998, 1998. a
Desborough, C. E.: The impact of root weighting on the response of transpiration to moisture stress in land surface schemes, Mon. Weather Rev., 125, 1920–1930, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1997)125<1920:TIORWO>2.0.CO;2, 1997. a
Dümenil, L. and Todini, E.: A rainfall–runoff scheme for use in the Hamburg climate model, in: Advances in Theoretical Hydrology, edited by: O'Kane, J. P., European Geophysical Society Series on Hydrological Sciences, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 129–157, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-89831-9.50016-8, 1992. a
Euser, T., Hrachowitz, M., Winsemius, H. C., and Savenije, H. H.: The effect of forcing and landscape distribution on performance and consistency of model structures, Hydrol. Process., 29, 3727–3743, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10445, 2015. a
Feddes, R. A., Hoff, H., Bruen, M., Dawson, T., De Rosnay, P., Dirmeyer, P., Jackson, R. B., Kabat, P., Kleidon, A., Lilly, A., and Pitman, A. J.: Modeling root water uptake in hydrological and climate models, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 82, 2797–2809, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(2001)082<2797:MRWUIH>2.3.CO;2, 2001. a
Ferguson, I. M., Jefferson, J. L., Maxwell, R. M., and Kollet, S. J.: Effects of root water uptake formulation on simulated water and energy budgets at local and basin scales, Environ. Earth Sci., 75, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5041-z, 2016. a
Gentine, P., D'Odorico, P., Lintner, B. R., Sivandran, G., and Salvucci, G.: Interdependence of climate, soil, and vegetation as constrained by the Budyko curve, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, 2–7, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL053492, 2012. a, b, c
Gerrits, A. M., Pfister, L., and Savenije, H. H.: Spatial and temporal variability of canopy and forest floor interception in a beech forest, Hydrol. Process., 24, 3011–3025, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7712, 2010. a
Gharari, S., Clark, M. P., Mizukami, N., Wong, J. S., Pietroniro, A., and Wheater, H. S.: Improving the Representation of Subsurface Water Movement in Land Models, J. Hydrometeorol., 20, 2401–2418, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-19-0108.1, 2019. a
Gumbel, E. J.: Les valeurs extrêmes des distributions statistiques, Ann I H Poincaré, 5, 115–158, 1935. a
Guswa, A. J.: The influence of climate on root depth: A carbon cost-benefit analysis, Water Resour. Res., 44, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006384, 2008. a, b
Hagemann, S. and Stacke, T.: Impact of the soil hydrology scheme on simulated soil moisture memory, Clim. Dynam., 44, 1731–1750, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2221-6, 2015. a
Hargreaves, G. H. and Samani, Z. A.: Estimating potential evapotranspiration, J. Irr. Drain. Div.-ASCE, 108, 225–230, 1982. a
Herwitz, S. R.: Interception storage capacities of tropical rainforest canopy trees, J. Hydrol., 77, 237–252, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(85)90209-4, 1985. a
Hrachowitz, M., Stockinger,
M., Coenders-Gerrits, M., van der Ent, R., Bogena, H., Lücke, A., and
Stumpp, C.: Deforestation reduces the vegetation-accessible water storage in
the unsaturated soil and affects catchment travel time distributions and young water fractions, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss. [preprint],
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-293, in review, 2020. a
Jackson, R. B., Canadell, J., Ehleringer, J. R., Mooney, H. A., Sala, O. E., and Schulze, E. D.: A global analysis of root distributions for terrestrial biomes, Oecologia, 108, 389–411, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00333714, 1996. a
Jeffrey, S. J., Carter, J. O., Moodie, K. B., and Beswick, A. R.: Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data, Environ. Modell. Softw., 16, 309–330, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1, 2001. a
Jung, M.: FLUXCOM Energy Fluxes, available at: http://www.fluxcom.org/EF-Download/, last access: December 2019. a
Jung, M., Koirala, S., Weber, U., Ichii, K., Gans, F., Camps-Valls, G., Papale, D., Schwalm, C., Tramontana, G., and Reichstein, M.: The FLUXCOM ensemble of global land-atmosphere energy fluxes, Sci. Data, 6, 74, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0076-8, 2019. a, b, c
Kim, H.: Global Soil Wetness Project Phase 3 Atmospheric Boundary Conditions (Experiment 1) [Data set], Data Integration and Analysis System (DIAS), https://doi.org/10.20783/DIAS.501, 2017. a, b
Kleidon, A.: Global datasets of rooting zone depth inferred from inverse methods, J. Climate, 17, 2714–2722, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<2714:GDORZD>2.0.CO;2, 2004. a
Kleidon, A. and Heimann, M.: A method of determining rooting depth from a terrestrial biosphere model and its impacts on the global water and carbon cycle, Glob. Change Biol., 4, 275–286, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00152.x, 1998. a, b
Ma, N., Szilagyi, J., and Jozsa, J.: Benchmarking large-scale evapotranspiration estimates: A perspective from a calibration-free complementary relationship approach and FLUXCOM, J. Hydrol., 590, 125–221, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125221, 2020. a
Mahfouf, J. F., Ciret, C., Ducharne, A., Irannejad, P., Noilhan, J., Shao, Y., Thornton, P., Xue, Y., and Yang, Z. L.: Analysis of transpiration results from the RICE and PILPS workshop, Global Planet. Change, 13, 73–88, https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-8181(95)00039-9, 1996. a
Milly, P. C.: Climate, soil water storage, and the average annual water balance, Water Resour. Res., 30, 2143–2156, https://doi.org/10.1029/94WR00586, 1994. a, b
Nijzink, R., Hutton, C., Pechlivanidis, I., Capell, R., Arheimer, B., Freer, J., Han, D., Wagener, T., McGuire, K., Savenije, H., and Hrachowitz, M.: The evolution of root-zone moisture capacities after deforestation: a step towards hydrological predictions under change?, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4775–4799, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4775-2016, 2016. a, b, c
Norby, R. and Jackson, R.: Root dynamics and global change: seeking an ecosystem perspective, New Phytol., 147, 1–2, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2000.00674.x, 2000. a
Oudin, L., Andréassian, V., Perrin, C., and Anctil, F.: Locating the sources of low-pass behavior within rainfall-runoff models, Water Resour. Res., 40, W11101, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004WR003291, 2004. a
Pan, S., Pan, N., Tian, H., Friedlingstein, P., Sitch, S., Shi, H., Arora, V. K., Haverd, V., Jain, A. K., Kato, E., Lienert, S., Lombardozzi, D., Nabel, J. E. M. S., Ottlé, C., Poulter, B., Zaehle, S., and Running, S. W.: Evaluation of global terrestrial evapotranspiration using state-of-the-art approaches in remote sensing, machine learning and land surface modeling, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1485–1509, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1485-2020, 2020. a, b
Pastorello, G., Trotta, C., Canfora, E., et al.: The FLUXNET2015 dataset and the ONEFlux processing pipeline for eddy covariance data, Sci. Data, 7, 225, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0534-3, 2020. a
Pitman, A. J.: The evolution of, and revolution in, land surface schemes
designed for climate models, Int. J. Climatol., 23, 479–510, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.893, 2003. a
Sakschewski, B., von Bloh, W., Drüke, M., Sörensson, A. A., Ruscica, R., Langerwisch, F., Billing, M., Bereswill, S., Hirota, M., Oliveira, R. S., Heinke, J., and Thonicke, K.: Variable tree rooting strategies improve tropical productivity and evapotranspiration in a dynamic global vegetation model, Biogeosciences Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-97, in review, 2020. a, b
Schenk, H. J. and Jackson, R. B.: Rooting depths, lateral root spreads and below-ground/above-ground allometries of plants in water-limited ecosystems, J. Ecol., 90, 480–494, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.2002.00682.x, 2002a. a, b
Schenk, H. J. and Jackson, R. B.: The Global Biogeography of Roots, Ecol. Monogr., 72, 311–328, https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9615(2002)072[0311:TGBOR]2.0.CO;2, 2002b. a, b, c
Schlesinger, W. H. and Jasechko, S.: Transpiration in the global water cycle, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 189–190, 115–117, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.01.011, 2014. a
Seneviratne, S. I., Koster, R. D., Guo, Z., Dirmeyer, P. A., Kowalczyk, E., Lawrence, D., Liu, P., Lu, C. H., Mocko, D., Oleson, K. W., and Verseghy, D.: Soil moisture memory in AGCM simulations: Analysis of global land-atmosphere coupling experiment (GLACE) data, J. Hydrometeorol., 7, 1090–1112, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM533.1, 2006. a
Seneviratne, S. I., Corti, T., Davin, E. L., Hirschi, M., Jaeger, E. B., Lehner, I., Orlowsky, B., and Teuling, A. J.: Investigating soil moisture-climate interactions in a changing climate: A review, Earth-Sci. Rev., 99, 125–161, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.004, 2010. a
Singh, C., Wang-Erlandsson, L., Fetzer, I., Rockström, J., and van der Ent, R.: Rootzone storage capacity reveals drought coping strategies along rainforest-savanna transitions, Environ. Res. Lett., 15, 124021, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc377, 2020. a, b
Sivandran, G. and Bras, R. L.: Dynamic root distributions in ecohydrological modeling: A case study at Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, Water Resour. Res., 49, 3292–3305, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20245, 2013.
a
Teuling, A. J., Seneviratne, S. I., Williams, C., and Troch, P. A.: Observed timescales of evapotranspiration response to soil moisture, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L23403, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL028178, 2006. a
van den Hurk, B. and Viterbo, P.: The Torne-Kalix PILPS 2 (e) experiment as a test bed for modifications to the ECMWF land surface scheme, Global Planet. Change, 38, 165–173, 2003. a
van den Hurk, B., Viterbo, P., Beljaars, A., and Betts, A.: Offline validation of the ERA40 surface scheme, https://doi.org/10.21957/9aoaspz8, 2000. a
van den Hurk, B., Kim, H., Krinner, G., Seneviratne, S. I., Derksen, C., Oki, T., Douville, H., Colin, J., Ducharne, A., Cheruy, F., Viovy, N., Puma, M. J., Wada, Y., Li, W., Jia, B., Alessandri, A., Lawrence, D. M., Weedon, G. P., Ellis, R., Hagemann, S., Mao, J., Flanner, M. G., Zampieri, M., Materia, S., Law, R. M., and Sheffield, J.: LS3MIP (v1.0) contribution to CMIP6: the Land Surface, Snow and Soil moisture Model Intercomparison Project – aims, setup and expected outcome, Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 2809–2832, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2809-2016, 2016. a
Van Genuchten, M. T.: A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils 1, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x, 1980. a
van Oorschot, F.: fvanoorschot/Python-scripts-van-Oorschot-2021, Github, available at: https://github.com/fvanoorschot/Python-scripts-van-Oorschot-2021/, last access: June 2021. a
Wang-Erlandsson, L., Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Gao, H., Jägermeyr, J., Senay, G. B., van Dijk, A. I. J. M., Guerschman, J. P., Keys, P. W., Gordon, L. J., and Savenije, H. H. G.: Global root zone storage capacity from satellite-based evaporation, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1459–1481, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1459-2016, 2016. a, b, c, d, e
Wartenburger, R., Seneviratne, S. I., Hirschi, M., Chang, J., Ciais, P., Deryng, D., Elliott, J., Folberth, C., Gosling, S. N., Gudmundsson, L., Henrot, A.-J., Hickler, T., Ito, A., Khabarov, N., Kim, H., Leng, G., Liu, J., Liu, X., Masaki, Y., Morfopoulos, C., Müller, C., Schmied, H. M., Nishina, K., Orth, R., Pokhrel, Y., Pugh, T. A. M., Satoh, Y., Schaphoff, S., Schmid, E., Sheffield, J., Stacke, T., Steinkamp, J., Tang, Q., Thiery, W., Wada, Y., Wang, X., Weedon, G. P., Yang, H., and Zhou, T.: Evapotranspiration simulations in ISIMIP2a–Evaluation of spatio-temporal characteristics with a comprehensive ensemble of independent datasets, Environ. Res. Lett., 13, 075001, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aac4bb, 2018. a
Zeng, X., Dai, Y. J., Dickinson, R. E., and Shaikh, M.: The role of root distribution for climate simulation over land, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 4533–4536, https://doi.org/10.1029/1998GL900216, 1998. a, b
Short summary
The roots of vegetation largely control the Earth's water cycle by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere but are not adequately represented in land surface models, causing uncertainties in modeled water fluxes. We replaced the root parameters in an existing model with more realistic ones that account for a climate control on root development and found improved timing of modeled river discharge. Further extension of our approach could improve modeled water fluxes globally.
The roots of vegetation largely control the Earth's water cycle by transporting water from the...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint