The Seasonal Difference in Soil Moisture Patterns Considering the Meteorological Variables Throughout the Korean Peninsula

This study focuses on the seasonal differences in soil moisture patterns considering the impact of meteorological variables (air/ground temperature, precipitation, and the amount of insolation) on soil moisture variability over the Korean peninsula between January 2012 and February 2013. We found that soil moisture spatial distributions changed differently with the mean soil moisture content according to the season using statistical metrics (skewness and kurtosis) (summer: 1 June to 31 August, winter: 1 November to 31 January). Daily variations in meteorological variables had different relationships with the changes in soil moisture for two seasons. Air and soil temperature changes clearly had negative relationships with the soil moisture change during the summer period while they had positive relationships during the winter period. Temporal stability testing showed that the representative soil moisture sites on a regional scale could be changed with seasonal periods, especially in the Asian monsoon region. In conclusion, these results provide evidence that there are clear differences in soil moisture patterns according to seasonal characteristics. This study might be useful for further researches relating to climate-meteorological effects on soil moisture patterns on a regional scale.