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Soil moisture influence on summertime surface air temperature over East Asia

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Abstract

Soil moisture influence on surface air temperature in summer is statistically quantified across East Asia using the Global Land Data Assimilation System soil moisture and observational temperature. The analysis uses a soil moisture feedback parameter computed based on lagged covariance ratios. It is found that significant negative soil moisture feedbacks on temperature mainly appear over the transition zones between dry and wet climates of northern China and Mongolia. Over these areas, the feedbacks account for typically 5–20% of the total temperature variance, with the feedback parameter of −0.2°C to −0.5°C (standardized soil moisture)−1. Meanwhile, positive feedbacks may exist over some areas of Northeast Asia but are much less significant. These findings emphasize the importance of soil moisture-temperature feedbacks in influencing summer climate variability and have implications for seasonal temperature forecasting.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Matthew Rodell for providing technical help on processing the GLDAS data. Thanks to Matthew Czikowsky, Ricardo Sakai and three anonymous reviewers for helping to improve the quality and clarity of the manuscript. The work was supported by “100-talent program” of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a grant from State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Jingyong Zhang & Wenjie Dong

  2. Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Jingyong Zhang & Wenjie Dong

  3. Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Albany, 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY, 12203, USA

    Jingyong Zhang

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  1. Jingyong Zhang
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Correspondence to Jingyong Zhang.

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Zhang, J., Dong, W. Soil moisture influence on summertime surface air temperature over East Asia. Theor Appl Climatol 100, 221–226 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-009-0236-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-009-0236-4

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