Partitioning global land evapotranspiration using CMIP5 models constrained by observations - CEA - Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives Access content directly
Journal Articles Nature Climate Change Year : 2018

Partitioning global land evapotranspiration using CMIP5 models constrained by observations

Xuhui Wang
Tao Wang

Abstract

The ratio of plant transpiration to total terrestrial evapotranspiration (T/ET) captures the role of vegetation in surface–atmosphere interactions. However, its magnitude remains highly uncertain at the global scale. Here we apply an emergent constraint approach that integrates CMIP5 Earth system models (ESMs) with 33 field T/ET measurements to re-estimate the global T/ET value. Our observational constraint strongly increases the original ESM estimates (0.41 ± 0.11) and greatly alleviates intermodel discrepancy, which leads to a new global T/ET estimate of 0.62 ± 0.06. For all the ESMs, the leaf area index is identified as the primary driver of spatial variations of T/ET, but to correct its bias generates a larger T/ET underestimation than the original ESM output. We present evidence that the ESM underestimation of T/ET is, instead, attributable to inaccurate representation of canopy light use, interception loss and root water uptake processes in the ESMs. These processes should be prioritized to reduce model uncertainties in the global hydrological cycle.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Lian2018full.pdf (1.11 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)

Dates and versions

cea-01874286 , version 1 (09-11-2022)

Licence

Attribution - NonCommercial

Identifiers

Cite

Xu Lian, Shilong Piao, Chris Huntingford, Yue Li, Zhenzhong Zeng, et al.. Partitioning global land evapotranspiration using CMIP5 models constrained by observations. Nature Climate Change, 2018, 8, pp.640-646. ⟨10.1038/s41558-018-0207-9⟩. ⟨cea-01874286⟩
173 View
92 Download

Altmetric

Share

Gmail Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More