Manabe, S., and T. Delworth, 1990: The temporal variability of soil wetness and its impact on climate. Climatic Change, 16, 185-192.

Abstract: The temporal variability of soil wetness and its interactions with the atmosphere were studied using a general circulation model of the atmosphere. It was found that time series of soil wetness computed by the model contain substantial amounts of variance at low frequencies. Long time-scale anomalies of soil moisture resemble the red noise response of the soil layer to white noise rainfall forcing. The dependence of the temporal variability of soil moisture on potential evaporation and precipitation is discussed.