Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-47
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-47
14 Mar 2023
 | 14 Mar 2023
Status: this preprint is open for discussion.

Uncertainty estimation for a new exponential filter-based long-term root-zone soil moisture dataset from C3S surface observations

Adam Pasik, Alexander Gruber, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Domenico De Santis, and Wouter Dorigo

Abstract. Soil moisture is a key variable in monitoring climate and an important component of the hydrological, carbon, and energy cycles. Satellite products ameliorate the sparsity of field measurements but are inherently limited to observing the near-surface layer, while water available in the unobserved root zone controls critical processes like plant water uptake and evapotranspiration. A variety of approaches exists for modelling root-zone soil moisture (RZSM), including approximating it from surface layer observations. While the number of available RZSM datasets is growing, they usually do not contain estimates of their uncertainty. In this paper we derive a long-term RZSM dataset (2002–2020) from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) surface soil moisture (SSM) COMBINED product via the exponential filter (EF) method. We identify the optimal value of the method’s model parameter T , which controls the level of smoothing and delaying applied to the surface observations, by maximizing the correlation of RZSM estimates with field measurements from the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN). Optimized T-parameter values were calculated for four soil depth layers (0–10 cm, 10–40 cm, 40–100 cm, and 100–200 cm) and used to calculate a global RZSM dataset. The quality of this dataset is then globally evaluated against RZSM estimates of the ERA5-Land reanalysis. Results of the product comparison show satisfactory skill in all four layers with median Pearson correlation ranging from 0.54 in the topmost to 0.28 in the deepest soil layer. Temporally-dynamic product uncertainties for each of the RZSM product layers are estimated by applying standard uncertainty propagation to SSM input data and by estimating structural uncertainties of the EF method from ISMN ground reference measurements taken at the surface and in varying depths. Uncertainty estimates were found to exhibit both realistic absolute magnitudes as well as temporal variations. The product described here is, to our best knowledge, the first global, long-term, uncertainty-characterized, and purely observation-based product for RZSM estimates up to 2 m depth.

Adam Pasik et al.

Status: open (until 09 May 2023)

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Adam Pasik et al.

Adam Pasik et al.

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Short summary
In this study, we apply the exponential filter (EF) method to satellite soil moisture retrievals to estimate the water content in the unobserved root-zone globally over 2002–2020. Quality assessment against an independent dataset shows satisfactory results. Error characterization is carried out using standard uncertainty propagation law and empirically estimated values of EF model structural uncertainty and parameter uncertainty. This is followed by analysis of temporal uncertainty variations.