Summary
This critical synthesis paper brings together hydrologists, Critical Zone scientists, and Earth System Model developers to address a fundamental limitation in global climate models: their inability to resolve hillslope-scale terrain structures that organise water and energy cycling. The authors present organising hypotheses proposing that 3D lateral flow paths and aspect-driven insolation contrasts are key global organisers of these fluxes, and argue that incorporating such mechanisms could improve predictions of terrestrial water storage and ecosystem drought resilience. The paper identifies critical knowledge gaps—particularly regarding subsurface water storage and release—and calls for coordinated global syntheses and model experiments to scale hillslope processes into ESM predictions.
UK applicability
The conceptual framework is globally applicable, including to UK conditions where hillslope hydrology influences water availability and drought risk. However, implementation would require enhanced subsurface characterisation in UK upland and lowland catchments, and integration with existing UK hydrological monitoring networks and Earth System Model infrastructure.
Key measures
Conceptual frameworks for water, energy, and biogeochemical fluxes; subsurface water storage and residence time; streamflow baseflow dynamics
Outcomes reported
The study identifies how hillslope-scale terrain structures—specifically 3D lateral ridge-to-valley flow and insolation contrasts—organise water, energy, and biogeochemical fluxes at subgrid scales in Earth System Models. The authors propose mechanisms by which implementing hillslope hydrology in ESM land models could increase simulated continental water storage and residence time, potentially buffering terrestrial ecosystems against seasonal and interannual droughts.
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