FastFind »   Lastname: doi:10.1029/ Year: Advanced Search  

AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Hydrology: Soil moisture
  • Hydrology: Water budgets
  • Hydrology: Eco-hydrology

Abstract

Inferred bimodality in the distribution of soil moisture at Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Temple R. Lee

Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

George M. Hornberger

Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Recent work has shown that distinct steady-state modes of soil moisture frequency can occur resulting in soils being preferentially in either dry states or wet states. Bimodal distributions of summer soil moisture can be due to precipitation feedback, to variations in climate from early summer to late summer, or to interannual rainfall variability. We examined the frequency distribution in the Palmer Drought Severity Index at Big Meadows, which is a relatively flat, open area in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We found that a pronounced bimodality exists not only during the summer months, but also during the remainder of the year. Furthermore, our analyses show that the bimodality in the distribution exists for the month of August alone, suggesting that there are intrinsically dry states and wet states and that the bimodality is not merely a result of climate differences from early to late summer.

Received 19 December 2005; accepted 14 February 2006; published 28 March 2006.

Citation: Lee, T. R., and G. M. Hornberger (2006), Inferred bimodality in the distribution of soil moisture at Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L06407, doi:10.1029/2005GL025536.

Cited By

Please wait one moment ...