Articles | Volume 10, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-689-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-689-2017
Model description paper
 | 
14 Feb 2017
Model description paper |  | 14 Feb 2017

Simple process-led algorithms for simulating habitats (SPLASH v.1.0): robust indices of radiation, evapotranspiration and plant-available moisture

Tyler W. Davis, I. Colin Prentice, Benjamin D. Stocker, Rebecca T. Thomas, Rhys J. Whitley, Han Wang, Bradley J. Evans, Angela V. Gallego-Sala, Martin T. Sykes, and Wolfgang Cramer

Data sets

Climatic Research Unit (CRU) time-series datasets of variations in climate with variations in other phenomena P. D. Jones and I. C. Harris http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/3f8944800cc48e1cbc29a5ee12d8542d

VIC gridded NetCDF data B. Livneh, T. J. Bohn, D. W. Pierce, F. Munoz-Arriola, B. Nijssen, R. Vose, D. R. Cayan, and L. Brekke ftp://192.12.137.7/pub/dcp/archive/OBS/livneh2014.1_16deg/VIC.netCDF

CERES EBAF Surface Edition 2.8 Surface Fluxes Monthly Averages and 16-year Climatology NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center https://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/products.php?product=EBAF-Surface

NCEP CPC soil moisture NetCDF data H. van den Dool, J. Huang, and Y. Fan http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/gridded/data.cpcsoil.html

Koppen-Geiger climate classification shapefile M. Kottek, J. Grieser, C. Beck, B. Rudolf, and F. Rubel http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/

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Short summary
This research presents a comprehensive description for calculating necessary, but sparsely observed, factors related to Earth's surface energy and water budgets relevant in, but not limited to, the study of ecosystems. We present the equations, including their derivations and assumptions, as well as example indicators relevant to plant-available moisture. The robustness of these relatively simple equations provides a tool to be used across broad fields of scientific research.