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On bimodality in warm season soil moisture observations
Author(s) -
Teuling Adriaan J.,
Uijlenhoet Remko,
Troch Peter A.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2005gl023223
Subject(s) - bimodality , environmental science , moisture , water content , geology , climatology , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geography , geotechnical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , galaxy
It has recently been suggested that the bimodality in warm season soil moisture observations in Illinois is evidence of a soil moisture‐precipitation feedback. Other studies however provide little evidence for a strong feedback in this region. Here we show that seasonality in the meteorological conditions in combination with the non‐linearity of the soil moisture response alone can induce this bimodality. The existence of preferred wet and dry soil moisture states may have implications for the understanding and modeling of soil moisture dynamics in mid‐latitude regions.