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The Observation and Modeling of Surface Air Hydrological Factors

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "New Sensors, New Technologies and Machine Learning in Water Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 429

Special Issue Editors

College of Geography and Remote Sensing, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: evapotranspiration; remote sensing; land surface temperature
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
College of Geography and Remote Sensing, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: transpiration; stomatal conductance; water use efficiency; coupled water–carbon cycle; remote sensing; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
Interests: evapotranspiration; land surface temperature; sensible heat flux; drought monitoring; vegetation remote sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The hydrological factors that comprise the surface air water cycle include evapotranspiration, precipitation, soil moisture, and surface water volume, among others. Therefore, it is essential to accurately measure those hydrological factors, which is therefore paramount in order to accurately evaluate the regional and global water and energy budgets. In recent years, significant advancements in ground instrumentation and remote sensing technologies have resulted in substantial improvements in the observation and modeling of hydrological factors. This, in turn, has facilitated more reliable estimates of the process.

This Special Issue has been conceived with the aim of showcasing the latest progress in the observation and modeling of hydrological factors, addressing existing challenges, and exploring future research directions.

We are currently seeking original research articles and review papers, and we invite technical investigations with a particular focus on the following subjects:

  1. Advancements in models for the estimation of hydrological factors (e.g., evapotranspiration, precipitation, soil moisture, surface water volume);
  2. Ground and remote sensing observations of hydrological factors (e.g., evapotranspiration, precipitation, soil moisture, surface water volume);
  3. Validation and evaluation of algorithms and products of hydrological factors (e.g., evapotranspiration, precipitation, soil moisture, surface water volume);
  4. Application of observations and products of hydrological factors (e.g., evapotranspiration, precipitation, soil moisture, surface water volume).

We encourage submissions that highlight interdisciplinary approaches, innovative methodologies, and their implications for practical applications in the water and thermal study.

Dr. Xin Pan
Dr. Jiaxin Jin
Dr. Lisheng Song
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • observations
  • modeling
  • evapotranspiration
  • soil mositure
  • precipitation
  • surface water

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 7111 KiB  
Article
Seasonal Variation in Energy Balance, Evapotranspiration and Net Ecosystem Production in a Desert Ecosystem of Dengkou, Inner Mongolia, China
by Muhammad Zain Ul Abidin, Huijie Xiao, Sanaullah Magsi, Fang Hongxin, Komal Muskan, Phuocthoi Hoang and Muhammad Azher Hassan
Water 2025, 17(15), 2307; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17152307 - 3 Aug 2025
Viewed by 304
Abstract
This study investigates the seasonal dynamics of energy balance, evapotranspiration (ET), and Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) in the Dengkou desert ecosystem of Inner Mongolia, China. Using eddy covariance and meteorological data from 2019 to 2022, the research focuses on understanding how these processes [...] Read more.
This study investigates the seasonal dynamics of energy balance, evapotranspiration (ET), and Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) in the Dengkou desert ecosystem of Inner Mongolia, China. Using eddy covariance and meteorological data from 2019 to 2022, the research focuses on understanding how these processes interact in one of the world’s most water-limited environments. This arid research area received an average of 109.35 mm per annum precipitation over the studied period, classifying the region as a typical arid ecosystem. Seasonal patterns were observed in daily air temperature, with extremes ranging from −20.6 °C to 29.6 °C. Temporal variations in sensible heat flux (H), latent heat flux (LE), and net radiation (Rn) peaked during summer season. The average ground heat flux (G) was mostly positive throughout the observation period, indicating heat transmission from atmosphere to soil, but showed negative values during the winter season. The energy balance ratio for the studied period was in the range of 0.61 to 0.80, indicating challenges in achieving energy closure and ecological shifts. ET exhibited two annual peaks influenced by vegetation growth and climate change, with annual ET exceeding annual precipitation, except in 2021. Net ecosystem production (NEP) from 2019 to 2020 revealed that the Dengkou desert were a net source of carbon, indicating the carbon loss from the ecosystem. In 2021, the Dengkou ecosystem shifted to become a net carbon sink, effectively sequestrating carbon. However, this was sharply reversed in 2022, resulting in a significant net release of carbon. The study findings highlight the complex interactions between energy balance components, ET, and NEP in desert ecosystems, providing insights into sustainable water management and carbon neutrality strategies in arid regions under climate change effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Observation and Modeling of Surface Air Hydrological Factors)
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