Global Lagrangian Tracking of Continental Precipitation Recycling, Footprints, and Cascades (original) (raw)

This study addresses how moisture in continental precipitation is recycled globally from a moisture-tracking perspective. Using a state-of-the-art three-dimensional Lagrangian model and optimized water accounting diagnostics, we complete a 40-yr (1971–2010) tracking of moisture from continental precipitation in the present-day climate. Climatologically, we conclude that 62% of continental precipitation stems from evapotranspiration through Lagrangian tracking—a measure is known as the global “continental precipitation recycling (CPR)” ratio. The result bridges the long-standing gap between the explicit (i.e., moisture trajectory–based) and implicit (i.e., water budget–based) estimates of the global CPR ratio in the literature. On the 1° grid scale, nonlocal terrestrial sources dominate precipitation in almost 70% of the land areas, most prominent in the continental interior. The CPR ratio consistently exhibits a contrasting seasonality between the mid-to-high latitudes and monsoon r...