MUTUAL INTERACTION OF SOIL-MOISTURE STATE AND ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES

The purpose of this paper is to outline the pathways through which soi l moisture and meteorological phenomena mutually influence one another at local, regional and global scales. This constitutes two-way land-a tmosphere interaction, as meteorological phenomena both act as the for cing and react to the forcing by the soil moisture state. Land surface modification of the atmospheric environment and the atmospheric forci ng of these land surface conditions form feedback loops which are sign ificant factors in modulating the variability of the climatic system. The predictability and analysis of fluctuations and changes in regiona l hydrology and the atmospheric environment require an understanding o f these feedback mechanisms and two-way land-atmosphere interaction. T he dynamics of soil moisture at the land surface is governed by compon ents with diverse time scales. Variability in both weather and climate are therefore influenced by the soil moisture state. In this paper, w e present an overview of several studies on the mutual interaction of the soil moisture state and the atmospheric environment. We also outli ne possible directions for innovative investigations on the determinat ion of soil moisture variation influences on the moist thermodynamics, energetics and dynamics of the overlying atmosphere.