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Hydrologic and atmospheric controls on initiation of convective precipitation events

Publication ,  Journal Article
Juang, J-Y; Porporato, A; Stoy, PC; Siqueira, MS; Oishi, AC; Detto, M; Kim, H-S; Katul, GG
Published in: WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
2007

The pathway to summertime convective precipitation remains a vexing research problem because of the nonlinear feedback between soil moisture content and the atmosphere. Understanding this feedback is important to the southeastern U.S. region, given the high productivity of the timberland area and the role of summertime convective precipitation in maintaining this productivity. Here we explore triggers of convective precipitation for a wide range of soil moisture states and air relative humidity in a mosaic landscape primarily dominated by hardwood forests, pine plantations, and abandoned old field grassland. Using half-hourly sensible heat flux, micrometeorological, hydrological time series measurements collected at adjacent HW, PP, and OF ecosystems, and a simplified mixed layer slab model, we developed a conditional sampling scheme to separate convective from nonconvective precipitation events in the observed precipitation time series. The series analyzed (2001-2004) includes some of the wettest and driest periods within the past 57 years. We found that convective precipitation events have significantly larger intensities (mean of 2.1 mm per 30 min) when compared to their nonconvective counterparts (mean of 1.1 mm per 30 min). Interestingly, the statistics of convective precipitation events, including total precipitation, mean intensity, and maximum intensity, are statistically different when convective precipitation is triggered by moist and dry soil conditions but are robust in duration. Using the data, we also showed that a ``boundary line'' emerges such that for a given soil moisture state, air relative humidity must exceed a defined minimum threshold before convective precipitation is realized.

Duke Scholars

Published In

WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

2007

Volume

43

Issue

3

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
 

Citation

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Juang, J.-Y., Porporato, A., Stoy, P. C., Siqueira, M. S., Oishi, A. C., Detto, M., … Katul, G. G. (2007). Hydrologic and atmospheric controls on initiation of convective precipitation events. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, 43(3).
Juang, Jehn-Yih, Amilcare Porporato, Paul C. Stoy, Mario S. Siqueira, A Christopher Oishi, Matteo Detto, Hyun-Seok Kim, and Gabriel G. Katul. “Hydrologic and atmospheric controls on initiation of convective precipitation events.” WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 43, no. 3 (2007).
Juang J-Y, Porporato A, Stoy PC, Siqueira MS, Oishi AC, Detto M, et al. Hydrologic and atmospheric controls on initiation of convective precipitation events. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH. 2007;43(3).
Juang, Jehn-Yih, et al. “Hydrologic and atmospheric controls on initiation of convective precipitation events.” WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, vol. 43, no. 3, 2007.
Juang J-Y, Porporato A, Stoy PC, Siqueira MS, Oishi AC, Detto M, Kim H-S, Katul GG. Hydrologic and atmospheric controls on initiation of convective precipitation events. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH. 2007;43(3).
Journal cover image

Published In

WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

2007

Volume

43

Issue

3

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience