Sub-seasonal variability of surface soil moisture over eastern China

Various surface soil moisture (SM) data from station observations, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, three reanalyses (ERA-Interim, CFSR, and NCEP RII), and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) are used to explore the sub-seasonal variations of SM (SSV-SM) over eastern China. Based on the correlation with SM of SMAP, reanalyses, and GLDAS, it is found that the variations of SM observed by Liuhe and Chunan stations can generally represent the SM variations over eastern China. The correlation coefficients between the SMAP and station SM are around 0.7. The SMAP product can well capture the time variation of SM over eastern China. The spectral analysis suggests that periodic variations of SM are mainly and significantly over the 10–30-day period over eastern China in all the data. The significant spectra over the 10–30-day period basically occur during the rainy season over eastern China. For the spatial aspect of SSV-SM, precipitation is the main factor causing the spatial distribution of SSV-SM over eastern China. However, the spectra of the station precipitation are not consistent with those of the station SM, and there is less coherence between the precipitation and SM over the periods during which SM has significant spectra. This indicates that SSV-SM is also affected by other factors.