Fig. 5: Intensified soil desiccation after the June HW. | Communications Earth & Environment

Fig. 5: Intensified soil desiccation after the June HW.

From: Distinct influences of large-scale circulation and regional feedbacks in two exceptional 2019 European heatwaves

Fig. 5

Mean anomalies (with respect to 1981–2010) of Z500 (m, contours) for the June HW (24 June–1 July 2019) and subsequent (15-day forward mean) soil moisture at 0–10 cm (volumetric fraction, shading), as reconstructed from daily flow analogues of Z500 over Europe (solid box in c) for (a) 1950–1983 and (b) 1984–2018. c Difference between (b) and (a). d Flow-conditioned (dark grey boxes) and random (light grey boxes) distributions of the mean soil moisture content at 0–10 cm over WEU (dashed box in c) for the same 15-day period during 1950–1983 and 1984–2018 (x-axis). Boxes and whiskers show the ±0.5·SD around the mean and 5th–95th percentile ranges, respectively, with circles denoting the maximum and minimum values. Horizontal dashed line depicts regional mean averaged values observed during the June 2019 HW. Data source: NCEP/NCAR reanalysis.

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