Evaluation of Noah‐MP performance with available soil information for vertically heterogenous soils

Noah‐MP uses a default soil parameter table and a texturally uniform vertical soil profile to a depth of 2 m. Previous research has revised this soil parameter table, and 95% of the values investigated were suggested to be replaced using updated pedotransfer functions and new datasets.

In addition to updated parameters, most LSMs do not consider vertical heterogeneity in soil texture despite the widespread distribution of these soils globally. This research assessed both (1) revisions to the soil parameter table and (2) vertical soil heterogeneity, including the presence of bedrock, on simulated water and energy fluxes. At three locations across Texas, plant‐available water (PAW) estimates from Noah‐MP simulations were evaluated using in situ measurements.