Studying Water Balance Components using Remotely Sensed Estimates of Evapotranspiration
Location
Eccles Conference Center
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu/
Start Date
3-30-2011 1:00 PM
End Date
3-30-2011 1:20 PM
Description
Quantifying the water balance components of agro-riparian ecosystems in the Western US can significantly assist decision makers in managing the limited water resources of this semi-arid region in a more efficient way. Although traditional point measurements can be very accurate, they provide only one average value for the whole study area, which has limited application where significant heterogeneity in vegetation type and hydro-climatological conditions exist. Remote sensing techniques have proved to be reliable in mapping spatially distributed evapotranspiration (ET) at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, 21 Landsat TM5 images acquired in 2008 are used as input data to the "Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL)" in order to estimate water consumption over an agro-riparian ecosystem along the Lower Colorado River. The results are then combined with the point measurements of precipitation, water diversion, groundwater elevation, and return flows in order to close water balance for an irrigation scheme, as well as a stretch of the river that contains both the irrigation scheme and associated riparian corridor. The results showed that SEBAL estimates can be effectively used to study water balance components. In addition, the spatially distributed nature of remotely sensed data provides water managers with a strong tool to simulate the effects of different management practices on water availability.
Studying Water Balance Components using Remotely Sensed Estimates of Evapotranspiration
Eccles Conference Center
Quantifying the water balance components of agro-riparian ecosystems in the Western US can significantly assist decision makers in managing the limited water resources of this semi-arid region in a more efficient way. Although traditional point measurements can be very accurate, they provide only one average value for the whole study area, which has limited application where significant heterogeneity in vegetation type and hydro-climatological conditions exist. Remote sensing techniques have proved to be reliable in mapping spatially distributed evapotranspiration (ET) at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, 21 Landsat TM5 images acquired in 2008 are used as input data to the "Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL)" in order to estimate water consumption over an agro-riparian ecosystem along the Lower Colorado River. The results are then combined with the point measurements of precipitation, water diversion, groundwater elevation, and return flows in order to close water balance for an irrigation scheme, as well as a stretch of the river that contains both the irrigation scheme and associated riparian corridor. The results showed that SEBAL estimates can be effectively used to study water balance components. In addition, the spatially distributed nature of remotely sensed data provides water managers with a strong tool to simulate the effects of different management practices on water availability.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2011/AllAbstracts/13