The Sensitivity of Surface Fluxes to Soil Water Content in Three Land Surface Schemes

Abstract

Evaporative fraction (EF; the ratio of latent heat flux to the sum of the latent plus sensible heat fluxes) can be measured in the field to an accuracy of about 10%. In this modeling study, the authors try to determine to what accuracy soil moisture must be known in order to simulate surface energy fluxes within this observational uncertainty and whether there is a firm relationship between the variabilities of soil moisture and surface turbulent energy fluxes. A relationship would provide information for planning the future measurement of soil moisture, the design of field experiments, and points of focus for soil model development. The authors look for relationships in three different land surface schemes using results and ancillary integrations in the Global Soil Wetness Project. It is found that the variation of evaporative fraction as a function of soil moisture is consistent among the models and within subsets of vegetation type. In forested areas, there is high sensitivity of EF to soil moisture variations when soils are dry and there is little sensitivity in moderate to wet soils. Where vegetation is sparser, there is a more gradual decrease of EF sensitivity with a decrease in soil moisture. Bare soil desert areas behave similarly to sparsely vegetated areas but with lower peak EF. Tundra regions have a unique behavior, probably because evaporation is limited more by a lack of radiant energy at high latitudes. The results suggest that accuracy in the measurement or model simulation of soil moisture is most critical within the drier portion of the range of variability of soil moisture. It also is more important over sparsely vegetated areas, for which evapotranspiration is dependent on moisture in a shallower column of soil.