Identifying and quantifying sources of variability in temporal and spatial soil moisture observations

Abstract

Soil moisture is an important component of the hydrological cycle. It is a control in the partitioning of energy and water related to evapotranspiration and runoff and thereby influences the hydrological response of an area. Characterizing the temporal and spatial distribution of soil moisture has important hydrologic applications, yet soil moisture varies in response to many processes acting over a variety of scales; the relative importance of different temporal and spatial controls on soil moisture is still poorly understood. In this paper we analyze both temporal and spatial soil moisture data empirically for two catchments in Australia and a further three in New Zealand. Hydrological con..