Abstract
AbstractA variety of observations‐based hydrological variables from different data sets are used to investigate interannual variability and changes in the summertime hydrological cycle over four European regions—Iberian Peninsula (IP), British Isles (BI), Central Europe (CE), and European Russia (ER). An analysis performed on seasonal means (June, July, and August) suggests that soil moisture variability is impacted almost equally by precipitation and air temperature in BI and ER regions. However, stronger links between soil moisture and precipitation are revealed for CE region and between soil moisture and air temperature for IP region. In all except IP regions summertime interannual variability of column‐integrated water vapor is strongly linked to air temperature consistent with the dominating influence of the Clausius‐Clapeyron equation. In BI, CE, and ER interannual variability of regional precipitation is driven by variations in atmospheric moisture transport into these regions. In IP the link between precipitation and moisture transport is relatively weak. Based on monthly data, analysis of the lag‐lead correlations revealed specific regional relationships between different hydrological variables. In particular, it is shown that in some regions (and months) interannual variability of soil moisture is linked more strongly to precipitation and air temperature anomalies in the previous month, rather than in the coinciding month. An analysis of the vertical structure of regional atmospheric moisture transport has revealed that the more continental the climate of the region is, the larger deviation from the mean (i.e., climatological) profile might be observed during anomalously dry/wet summers.
Highlights
Variability in elements of the European hydrological cycle on different timescales substantially impacts human activities in this densely populated region
We examine summertime variability of the regionally averaged elements of the hydrological cycle over four European regions—Iberian Peninsula (IP), British Isles (BI), Central Europe (CE), and European Russia (ER), which are characterized by the contrasting climatic conditions
The European summer heat wave of 2003 [e.g., Beniston, 2004] is well captured by our analysis for the CE region, whereas over the generally drier IP region we detected a large anomaly in that year only for air temperature (Figure 2a)
Summary
Variability in elements of the European hydrological cycle on different timescales substantially impacts human activities in this densely populated region. The present study compares interannual variability in elements of the summertime hydrological cycle over four European regions characterized by contrasting climatic conditions. The climate variables under consideration are precipitation, soil moisture, atmospheric water vapor, horizontal moisture transport, and nearsurface air temperature. While our recent studies [Zveryaev and Allan, 2010; Zveryaev and Rudeva, 2010; Allan and Zveryaev, 2011] explored the leading continental-scale modes of variability in key elements of the hydrological cycle over Europe and their relationships during the summer season, the present study examines and highlights regional differences in the hydrological cycle across four European regions.
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