Hong et al. (2026) The role of soil properties in modulating the impact of groundwater-induced drainage dynamics on soil moisture availability in texas watersheds

Identification

• Journal: Advances in Water Resources
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-31
• Authors: M. Hong, B. P. Mohanty
• DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2026.105447

Research Groups

• Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University
• Environmental & Earth Sciences Practice, Exponent Inc.

Short Summary

This study presents a novel Land Surface Model (LSM) that describes soil drainage dynamics resulting from a two-way hydraulic continuum among the vadose zone, groundwater, and river. The model, NWM-BE3S ver1.1, was developed by integrating the BE3S's hydraulic gradient-driven continuum scheme into the WRF-Hydro National Water Model framework.

Objective

• Investigate the effects of groundwater-induced drainage dynamics on soil moisture availability in Texas watersheds.
• Evaluate the role of soil properties in modulating these effects.
• Examine if streamflow recession parameters can be used as predictors of groundwater's impact on soil moisture and evapotranspiration estimates.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Catchment-scale, with a focus on three major river basins in Texas: Trinity River, Brazos River, and Colorado River.
• Temporal Scale: Hourly temporal resolution, with a spin-up period of 2016 forcing data to achieve steady-state soil moisture and temperature conditions.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: NWM-BE3S ver1.1 (novel Land Surface Model) and original NWM framework.
• Data sources: MODIS ET observations, daily averaged streamflow observations from 40 USGS gauges, and NHDPlus ver2.0 dataset for channel network representation.

Main Results

• The NWM-BE3S ver1.1 model showed improved estimates of soil moisture availability compared to the original NWM framework.
• Soil properties were found to play a significant role in modulating the impact of groundwater-induced drainage on soil moisture availability.
• Streamflow recession parameters, particularly the b parameter, were identified as predictors of groundwater's effects on soil moisture and evapotranspiration estimates.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the importance of representing two-way hydraulic continuum among the vadose zone, groundwater, and river in LSMs.
• The NWM-BE3S ver1.1 model offers a more realistic representation of groundwater divergence fluxes and state estimates compared to existing models.

Funding

• This research was funded by [insert funding agency/program/project codes].

Citation

@article{Hong2026role,
  author = {Hong, M. and Mohanty, B. P.},
  title = {The role of soil properties in modulating the impact of groundwater-induced drainage dynamics on soil moisture availability in texas watersheds},
  journal = {Advances in Water Resources},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.advwatres.2026.105447},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2026.105447}
}