Summary
This modelling study demonstrates that the omission of irrigation representation in weather and climate models contributes significantly to persistent warm-and-dry biases over the central United States during summer. Using convection-permitting simulations coupled with an operational irrigation scheme, the authors show that irrigation increases surface evapotranspiration and reduces temperature by enhancing the evaporative fraction, whilst simultaneously strengthening mesoscale convective systems and reducing precipitation deficits. The findings suggest that accounting for human water management is essential for improving model fidelity in irrigated regions.
Regional applicability
This study focuses on the central United States (Great Plains and surrounding regions) rather than the United Kingdom, so direct applicability to UK farming systems is limited. However, the methodological insight—that irrigation representation matters for climate model accuracy—may be relevant to UK water management policy and regional climate modelling in areas with significant irrigation such as East Anglia, though UK irrigation intensity is substantially lower than in the US corn belt.
Key measures
Surface evapotranspiration, surface temperature, evaporative fraction, precipitation deficit, diurnal precipitation cycle, soil moisture-temperature feedback
Outcomes reported
The study used convection-permitting climate simulations to quantify how irrigation affects surface evapotranspiration, temperature, and precipitation patterns over the central United States. Results showed irrigation increases evapotranspiration, decreases surface temperature, enhances mesoscale convective systems, and reduces precipitation deficits in summer models.
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