NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
The Observed State of the Water Cycle in the Early Twenty-First CenturyThis study quantifies mean annual and monthly fluxes of Earth's water cycle over continents and ocean basins during the first decade of the millennium. To the extent possible, the flux estimates are based on satellite measurements first and data-integrating models second. A careful accounting of uncertainty in the estimates is included. It is applied within a routine that enforces multiple water and energy budget constraints simultaneously in a variational framework in order to produce objectively determined optimized flux estimates. In the majority of cases, the observed annual surface and atmospheric water budgets over the continents and oceans close with much less than 10% residual. Observed residuals and optimized uncertainty estimates are considerably larger for monthly surface and atmospheric water budget closure, often nearing or exceeding 20% in North America, Eurasia, Australia and neighboring islands, and the Arctic and South Atlantic Oceans. The residuals in South America and Africa tend to be smaller, possibly because cold land processes are negligible. Fluxes were poorly observed over the Arctic Ocean, certain seas, Antarctica, and the Australasian and Indonesian islands, leading to reliance on atmospheric analysis estimates. Many of the satellite systems that contributed data have been or will soon be lost or replaced. Models that integrate ground-based and remote observations will be critical for ameliorating gaps and discontinuities in the data records caused by these transitions. Continued development of such models is essential for maximizing the value of the observations. Next-generation observing systems are the best hope for significantly improving global water budget accounting.
Document ID
20160005742
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Rodell, M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Beaudoing, H. K.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
L'Ecuyer, T. S.
(Wisconsin-Madison Univ. Madison, WI, United States)
Olson, W. S.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Famiglietti, J. S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Houser, P. R.
(George Mason Univ. Fairfax, VA, United States)
Adler, R.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Bosilovich, M. G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Clayson, C. A.
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. MA, United States)
Chambers, D.
(University of South Florida Saint Petersburg, FL, United States)
Clark, E.
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Fetzer, Eric J.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Gao, X.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Gu, G.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Hilburn, K.
(Remote Sensing Systems, Inc. Santa Rosa, CA, United States)
Huffman, G. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Lettenmier, D. P.
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Liu, W. T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Robertson, F. R.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Schlosser, C. A.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Sheffield, J.
(Princeton Univ. Princeton, NJ, United States)
Wood, E. F.
(Princeton Univ. Princeton, NJ, United States)
Date Acquired
May 3, 2016
Publication Date
October 30, 2015
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Climate
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Volume: 28
e-ISSN: 1520-0442
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN31252
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AD03A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX15AT34A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Numerical analysis/modeling
Water budget
Remote sensing

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available