Demonstrates how soil moisture influences summer circulation patterns in the Northern Hemisphere, implying significant climate forecasting implications.
Soil moisture strongly modulates heat waves and droughts by altering land-atmosphere feedbacks, yet its influence on large-scale circulation remains inadequately quantified. Using large-ensemble simulations with the state-of-the-art climate model EC-Earth 3, we demonstrate that interactive soil moisture has a substantial impact on Northern Hemisphere summer circulation climatology. Two experiments were conducted: a fully interactive simulation and one with prescribed soil moisture states. The results reveal pronounced circulation shifts. Relative to the prescribed case, the interactive experiment drives a poleward displacement of the subtropical jets. It strengthens the polar front jet and enhances land-atmosphere coupling, amplifying wave amplitudes over land by ~24%. Interactive soil moisture raises mean summer surface temperatures by up to +1.5 K and extremes by +3.0 K. These findings demonstrate that soil moisture fluctuations can modify mean atmospheric circulation, with important implications for future summer climate projections.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Luo et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: