Kong et al. (2026) Variability of land water availability sensitivity to model resolution: disentangling the influences of runoff and soil water

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Identification

• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-29
• Authors: Xianghui Kong, Aihui Wang, He Zhang, Kece Fei, Nan Wei, Duoying Ji, Xiang fu SONG, Yujia Kuang, Zhaoyang Chai, Xunqiang Bi
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae83cd

Research Groups

• Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Short Summary

This study investigates the impact of model resolution on the variability of land water availability and its hydrological components over global land areas using atmospheric model intercomparison project simulations. The results highlight the importance of high-resolution models in accurately capturing terrestrial water resources related to regional land-atmosphere coupling.

Objective

• Investigate the effect of spatial resolution on the variability of land water availability (LWA) and its hydrological components

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global land areas, with a focus on four regions: Sahel, North Africa, middle-high latitudes of Eurasia, and arid regions.
• Temporal Scale: 1982–2014 period, covering three decades.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Atmospheric model intercomparison project simulations at four horizontal resolutions (1.425°, 1.00°, 0.50°, and ∼0.25°)
• Data sources: Reference datasets for land water availability variability

Main Results

• Higher resolution models generally reproduce the spatial patterns and zonal-mean structures of LWA variability more accurately.
• The simulation at 0.25° produces an increase in magnitude of LWA variability, especially over the Sahel, North Africa, and middle-high latitudes of Eurasia.
• Refined model resolution strengthens the runoff-LWA covariability while weakening soil moisture-LWA covariability under low positive LWA conditions.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the impact of spatial resolution on land water availability variability and its hydrological components, highlighting the importance of high-resolution models for accurately capturing terrestrial water resources related to regional land-atmosphere coupling.
• The findings underscore the need for high-resolution Earth System Models (ESMs) in simulating complex hydrological processes.

Funding

• This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant number [XXX] and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) under project code [YYY].

Citation

@article{Kong2026Variability,
  author = {Kong, Xianghui and Wang, Aihui and Zhang, He and Fei, Kece and Wei, Nan and Ji, Duoying and SONG, Xiang fu and Kuang, Yujia and Chai, Zhaoyang and Bi, Xunqiang},
  title = {Variability of land water availability sensitivity to model resolution: disentangling the influences of runoff and soil water},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ae83cd},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae83cd}
}