Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Exploring the Effects of Atmospheric Forcings on Evaporation: Experimental Integration of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Shallow Subsurface
Published on: June 8, 2015
A global dataset of land-atmosphere coupling metrics based on observations for evaluating Earth system models
Nazanin Tavakoli1, Paul A Dirmeyer2,3
1Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA. ntavakol@gmu.edu.
Abstract:
A challenge in validating land-atmosphere (L-A) coupling in Earth system models is the limited availability of global observation-based datasets for estimating coupling metrics. This study generates global L-A coupling indices of Pearson correlation coefficient, terrestrial coupling index between soil moisture (SM) and surface heat fluxes, as well as SM memory, at resolutions of 0.1° and 0.25° (with temporal coverage depending on input datasets), employing observationally-based data. The metrics are designed to account for random errors in satellite SM measurements and include quantification of those errors. Multiple SM and flux data products are combined to produce coupling metrics - their spread and error characteristics are used to quantify uncertainty. The global patterns of SM regimes and SM breakpoints of wilting point and critical SM are also quantified through segmented regression analysis. The dataset's performance is validated through inter-product comparisons, documenting high consistency in spatial patterns across different combinations. These datasets are valuable for initialization and validation of weather forecasts, climate modeling, model calibration, and applications in ecology, hydrology, and soil sciences.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Precipitation Gravimetry
In determining nickel by gravimetric analysis, a precipitant of ethanolic dimethylglyoxime is added to a hot nickel salt solution. This is quickly followed by the dropwise addition of dilute ammonia solution until precipitation occurs. A...
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
The Carbon Cycle
Influence of Earth's Curvature and Atmospheric Refraction on Leveling
Variation of Atmospheric Pressure
Assuming the air temperature is constant at a given altitude and that the ideal gas law of thermodynamics describes the atmosphere to a good approximation, one can find the variation of atmospheric pressure with height.
Let p(y) be the atmospheric pressure at...

