Unravelling Soil Moisture Dynamics and Their Roles in Climate Model Sensitivity

Soil moisture plays a central role in the Earth system, acting as a crucial interface between the land surface and atmosphere. It acts as a key regulator in land surface hydrology and land-atmosphere systems, controlling the exchange of water and energy through processes such as evapotranspiration, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and surface radiation balance. These interactions, in turn, shape local and regional temperature and precipitation patterns, influence the hydrological processes, development of droughts and heatwaves, and modulate the intensity of hydroclimatic extremes. Understanding how soil moisture influences climate variability and change has emerged as a critical research frontier in climate science.

Despite progress in observational methods and hydro-climate modelling, discrepancies persist between outputs from hydrology and climate models, as well as reanalysis products in representing soil moisture dynamics. These gaps challenge our ability to accurately simulate and predict hydroclimatic feedback and project future hydro-climate extremes. Questions on the mechanisms driving these differences remain: How do land surface processes shape the sensitivity of climate models to soil moisture variability? And how can emerging data sources and methodological advances — such as remote sensing products, high-resolution modelling, and machine learning techniques — help close these gaps?

This Research Topic aims to address one of the critical challenges in climate science: understanding the discrepancies between hydrological models, climate models, and observational data concerning soil moisture dynamics and their impact on climate sensitivity. We welcome submissions that explore the complex role of soil moisture in driving hydrological model and climate model sensitivity, emphasizing atmospheric conditions trends. The objective is to advance the understanding of soil moisture–climate interactions, improve the representation of land surface processes and feedbacks in models, and explore the consequences of soil moisture variability for hydroclimatic extremes and climate resilience.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Comparative analyses of hydrological model and climate model outputs, as well as reanalysis data regarding soil moisture patterns and trends
• Investigations into the role of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and latent heat fluxes influencing land surface hydrology and climate sensitivity
• Model intercomparison studies on land surface processes and atmospheric dynamics coupling
• Novel methodologies integrating observational datasets, remote sensing products, and ground-based measurements in model evaluation
• Advances in soil moisture feedback in hydrology and climate models, including the use of data assimilation and machine learning approaches
• Implications of soil moisture variability for predicting droughts, heatwaves, and compound climate extremes under current and future climate scenarios

Contributions from diverse research communities, including climate modelers, hydrologists, atmospheric scientists, and data scientists, are welcome to promote interdisciplinary perspectives. Submissions can include original research articles, methodological advances, review papers, and case studies relevant to the topic theme. By bringing together state-of-the-art research, this Research Topic aims to improve our understanding of the soil moisture–climate nexus and inform the development of more accurate and robust climate models, critical for supporting climate resilience, risk assessment, and adaptation strategies in our rapid-changing world.