Representation of space-time variability of soil moisture

V. Isham, D. R. Cox, I. Rodríguez-Iturbe, A. Porporato, S. Manfreda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

A simplified spatial-temporal soil moisture model driven by stochastic spatial rainfall forcing is proposed. The model is mathematically tractable, and allows the spatial and temporal structure of soil moisture fields, induced by the spatial-temporal variability of rainfall and the spatial variability of vegetation, to be explored analytically. The influence of the main model parameters, reflecting the spatial scale of rain cells, the soil storage capacity, the rainfall interception and the soil water loss rate (representing evaporation and deep infiltration) is investigated. The variabilities of the spatially averaged soil moisture process, and that averaged in both space and time, are derived. The present analysis focuses on spatially uniform vegetation conditions; a follow-up paper will incorporate stochastically heterogeneous vegetation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4035-4055
Number of pages21
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Volume461
Issue number2064
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 8 2005
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Mathematics
  • General Engineering
  • General Physics and Astronomy

Keywords

  • Poisson process
  • Soil moisture
  • Spatial-temporal correlation
  • Stochastic rainfall model

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