Seasonal and regional responses to changes in Australian soil moisture conditions

Abstract

This paper addresses the interaction of large scale soil moisture anomalies and the atmospheric circulation. This approach is based on a suite of GCM experiments in which the soil was instantaneously saturated and desiccated over the entire Australian continent. These conditions were imposed on the first day of each of the 12 calendar months and anomaly simulations integrated for 4 months. The ‘memory’ of these changes as reflected in the important climate elements was analysed. The subsequent anomalies of soil moisture exhibited the greatest persistence of up to and beyond 4 months. This persistence was most apparent for the simulations initiated in winter. The surface latent heat flux anom..