Wu et al. (2026) High-spatiotemporal-resolution GRACE(-FO)-constrained terrestrial water storage reconstruction captures the hydrological footprints of successive typhoons in southern mainland China

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-07
• Authors: Haotian Wu, Jiangjun Ran, Natthachet Tangdamrongsub, Yulong Zhong
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136373

Research Groups

• College of Surveying and Geo-Informatics, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power (China)
• School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University (China)
• Water Engineering and Management, School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand)
• School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (China)

Short Summary

This study proposes a cascading framework that combines empirical-statistical reconstruction with machine-learning downscaling to generate high-spatiotemporal-resolution terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) reconstructions. The framework is applied in the Pearl River Basin during four successive typhoons, revealing distinct patterns in reconstructed TWSA responses.

Objective

• Investigate the hydrological footprints of successive typhoons in southern mainland China using high-spatiotemporal-resolution GRACE(-FO)-constrained terrestrial water storage reconstructions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: 0.1° spatial resolution
• Temporal Scale: Daily time step

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Empirical-statistical reconstruction model, XGBoost machine learning algorithm
• Data sources: GRACE(-FO) satellite gravity observations, precipitation and temperature data from ground-based stations, climatic, topographic, soil, and vegetation predictors

Main Results

• High-spatiotemporal-resolution TWSA reconstructions were generated for the Pearl River Basin during four successive typhoons in 2023.
• Reconstructed TWSA increased to annual maxima across all four coastal sub-regions during sustained post-landfall rainfall associated with Typhoon Haikui, with the largest increase (6.72 cm) observed in the Pearl River Delta.

Contributions

• The study provides fine-scale information for characterizing extreme hydrological events and extends the utility of satellite gravity observations for studying rapid hydrological responses.
• The proposed cascading framework can be applied to other regions and extreme weather events, providing valuable insights into the hydrological impacts of climate change.

Funding

• This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52179223) and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Research (Grant No. 2021KYSPTD01).

Citation

@article{Wu2026Highspatiotemporalresolution,
  author = {Wu, Haotian and Ran, Jiangjun and Tangdamrongsub, Natthachet and Zhong, Yulong},
  title = {High-spatiotemporal-resolution GRACE(-FO)-constrained terrestrial water storage reconstruction captures the hydrological footprints of successive typhoons in southern mainland China},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136373},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136373}
}