Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales
<p>Quantifying regional water and energy fluxes much more accurately from observations is essential for assessing the capability of climate and Earth system models and their ability to simulate future change. This study uses satellite observations to produce monthly flux estimates for each com...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/27/1723/2023/hess-27-1723-2023.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797834381615693824 |
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| author | S. Petch B. Dong B. Dong T. Quaife T. Quaife R. P. King K. Haines K. Haines |
| author_facet | S. Petch B. Dong B. Dong T. Quaife T. Quaife R. P. King K. Haines K. Haines |
| author_sort | S. Petch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Quantifying regional water and energy fluxes much more accurately from observations is essential for assessing the capability of climate and Earth system models and their ability to simulate future change. This study uses satellite observations to produce monthly flux estimates for each component of the terrestrial water and energy budget over selected large river basins from 2002 to 2013. Prior to optimisation, the water budget residuals vary between 1.5 % and 35 % precipitation by basin, and the magnitude of the imbalance between the net radiation and the corresponding turbulent heat fluxes ranges between 1 and 12 W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span> in the long-term average. In order to further assess these imbalances, a flux-inferred surface storage (<span class="inline-formula"><i>S</i><sub>fi</sub></span>) is used for both water and energy, based on integrating the flux observations. This exposes mismatches in seasonal water storage in addition to important inter-annual variability between GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and the storage suggested by the other flux observations.</p>
<p>Our optimisation ensures that the flux estimates are consistent with the total water storage changes from GRACE on short (monthly) and longer timescales, while also balancing a coupled long-term energy budget by using a sequential approach. All the flux adjustments made during the optimisation are small and within uncertainty estimates, using a <span class="inline-formula"><i>χ</i><sup>2</sup></span> test, and inter-annual variability from observations is retained. The optimisation also reduces formal uncertainties for individual flux components. When compared with results from the previous literature in basins such as the Mississippi, Congo, and Huang He rivers, our results show better agreement with GRACE variability and trends in each case.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:37:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a568f70e5bf640bca392350c9817e92f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:37:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a568f70e5bf640bca392350c9817e92f2023-05-03T12:13:17ZengCopernicus PublicationsHydrology and Earth System Sciences1027-56061607-79382023-05-01271723174410.5194/hess-27-1723-2023Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescalesS. Petch0B. Dong1B. Dong2T. Quaife3T. Quaife4R. P. King5K. Haines6K. Haines7Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UKDepartment of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UKNational Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, UKDepartment of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UKNational Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, UKMet Office, Exeter, UKDepartment of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UKNational Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, UK<p>Quantifying regional water and energy fluxes much more accurately from observations is essential for assessing the capability of climate and Earth system models and their ability to simulate future change. This study uses satellite observations to produce monthly flux estimates for each component of the terrestrial water and energy budget over selected large river basins from 2002 to 2013. Prior to optimisation, the water budget residuals vary between 1.5 % and 35 % precipitation by basin, and the magnitude of the imbalance between the net radiation and the corresponding turbulent heat fluxes ranges between 1 and 12 W m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−2</sup></span> in the long-term average. In order to further assess these imbalances, a flux-inferred surface storage (<span class="inline-formula"><i>S</i><sub>fi</sub></span>) is used for both water and energy, based on integrating the flux observations. This exposes mismatches in seasonal water storage in addition to important inter-annual variability between GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and the storage suggested by the other flux observations.</p> <p>Our optimisation ensures that the flux estimates are consistent with the total water storage changes from GRACE on short (monthly) and longer timescales, while also balancing a coupled long-term energy budget by using a sequential approach. All the flux adjustments made during the optimisation are small and within uncertainty estimates, using a <span class="inline-formula"><i>χ</i><sup>2</sup></span> test, and inter-annual variability from observations is retained. The optimisation also reduces formal uncertainties for individual flux components. When compared with results from the previous literature in basins such as the Mississippi, Congo, and Huang He rivers, our results show better agreement with GRACE variability and trends in each case.</p>https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/27/1723/2023/hess-27-1723-2023.pdf |
| spellingShingle | S. Petch B. Dong B. Dong T. Quaife T. Quaife R. P. King K. Haines K. Haines Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| title | Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales |
| title_full | Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales |
| title_fullStr | Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales |
| title_short | Water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales |
| title_sort | water and energy budgets over hydrological basins on short and long timescales |
| url | https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/27/1723/2023/hess-27-1723-2023.pdf |
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