Zheng et al. (2026) Propagation from precipitation extremes to root-zone soil moisture and attribute changes in dry and wet events: A global paired event analysis

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-20
• Authors: Yanhui Zheng, Sile Li, Peng Wang, Lina Wang, Xihui Gu, Jiangchao Qiu, Xiaohong Chen
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136457

Research Groups

• School of Geography, South China Normal University
• School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
• Guangzhou Panyu Urban Drainage Management Co., Ltd.
• School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology
• Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Ecology and Environmental Change, China University of Geosciences
• Key Laboratory of River Basin Digital Twinning of Ministry of Water Resources, Macau University of Science and Technology
• Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Center for Water Resources and Environment, Sun Yat-sen University

Short Summary

This study investigates the propagation of precipitation extremes to root-zone soil moisture and attribute changes in dry and wet events globally. The research reveals that precipitation extremes do not always correspond to soil moisture extremes, and event attributes change depending on the sign of the anomaly.

Objective

• Investigate the relationship between precipitation extremes and root-zone soil moisture events globally

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global (between 60◦S and 60◦N)
• Temporal Scale: 1981–2024

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM)
• Data sources:
  • Precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC)
  • Surface and root-zone soil moisture data from GLEAM
  • ERA5-Land reanalysis

Main Results

• Area-weighted mean propagation probabilities for dry events: 0.370
• Area-weighted mean propagation probabilities for wet events: 0.405
• Duration changes in dry events: +0.672
• Duration changes in wet events: +0.452
• Peak intensity changes in dry events: +0.222
• Peak intensity changes in wet events: -0.260

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the relationship between precipitation extremes and root-zone soil moisture events globally.
• The research highlights the importance of considering event attributes, such as duration and peak intensity, when studying land-atmosphere coupling.

Funding

• This research was funded by [project/program name] with reference code [code].

Citation

@article{Zheng2026Propagation,
  author = {Zheng, Yanhui and Li, Sile and Wang, Peng and Wang, Lina and Gu, Xihui and Qiu, Jiangchao and Chen, Xiaohong},
  title = {Propagation from precipitation extremes to root-zone soil moisture and attribute changes in dry and wet events: A global paired event analysis},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136457},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136457}
}