TheEffectoftheAirTemperatureonSoil Moisture in the Middle East

Abstract

Soil moisture and related hydrological process play animportant role in regional and global climates' However' largescaleand long-term observation of soil moisture is sparse' In thisstudy, the latest European Center for Media-Range WeatherF.rrcasts (ECMWF) data ERA-15 Model is used io calculate themonthlymeansofsoilmoistureforfourcitiesintheMiddleEast(Baghdad, Beirut, Dubai' and Riyadh)' Results showed that the soilmoisture is inversely proporlional for Baghdad' Beirut' andRiyadh, while it is almost independent of temperature for Dubaicity. The results also indicated that Baghdad has the highest soilmoisturecomparedwiththeotherthreecities'DtrbaiandBeiruthas relatively lorver soil rnoisture'