Yong et al. (2026) Spatiotemporal evolution and propagation of GNSS-derived PWV-based meteorological and soil moisture drought: a case study of the contiguous United States (2003–2022)

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-20
• Authors: Weiao Yong, Xiaolei Wang, Hao Yang, Jinsheng Tu
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136060

Research Groups

• School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

Short Summary

The study utilizes GNSS-derived precipitable water vapor (PWV) to develop a new meteorological drought index (SPCI) and analyzes its propagation to soil moisture drought (SMD) across the contiguous United States from 2003 to 2022.

Objective

• To evaluate the effectiveness of GNSS-derived PWV in characterizing meteorological drought and to investigate the spatiotemporal propagation dynamics and drivers of the transition from meteorological drought (MD) to soil moisture drought (SMD).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Contiguous United States (CONUS)
• Temporal Scale: 2003–2022

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Standardized Precipitation Conversion Index (SPCI) for MD; Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI) for SMD.
• Data sources: GNSS-derived precipitable water vapor (PWV), precipitation data, and soil moisture data.

Main Results

• Index Validation: The SPCI demonstrates strong agreement with the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI).
• Drought Trends: MD showed intensification in 50.19% of the CONUS (4.07% significant), while SMD showed more severe intensification in 59.56% of the region (40.53% significant).
• Propagation Dynamics: Drought propagation from MD to SMD is widespread and rapid, with 73.80% of the region exhibiting a propagation time between 0 and 1 month.
• Regional Variation: The fastest propagation (~0.1 month) occurred in the Southwest and West; arid and humid zones exhibited longer propagation durations than semi-arid and semi-humid regions.
• Driver Attribution: Precipitation is the dominant driver for both MD and SMD, while dew point temperature is a significant secondary factor, particularly for SMD in the southwestern CONUS.

Contributions

• Introduces a novel application of GNSS-derived PWV for drought monitoring, providing a high-temporal-resolution, all-weather alternative to traditional satellite and reanalysis data.
• Quantifies the propagation lag from atmospheric moisture deficits to land surface soil moisture deficits across different climatic zones in the US.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Yong2026Spatiotemporal,
  author = {Yong, Weiao and Wang, Xiaolei and Yang, Hao and Tu, Jinsheng},
  title = {Spatiotemporal evolution and propagation of GNSS-derived PWV-based meteorological and soil moisture drought: a case study of the contiguous United States (2003–2022)},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136060},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136060}
}