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Title: Mapping Evaporative Stress at Continental Scales Using GOES Thermal Imagery

Author
item Anderson, Martha
item Kustas, William - Bill
item NORMAN, JOHN - UNIVERSITY OF WI

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/20/2007
Publication Date: 8/27/2007
Citation: Anderson, M.C., Kustas, W.P., Norman, J.M. 2007. Mapping evaporative stress at continental scales using GOES thermal imagery [abstract]. EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Joint Assembly Supplements. 87(36):H23F-03.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Robust, operational methodologies for mapping daily evapotranspiration (ET), soil moisture, and moisture stress over large areas using satellite remote sensing will have widespread utility in applications such as drought detection, crop yield forecasting, irrigation scheduling, water resource management, and weather and climate forecast initialization. Using thermal-infrared imagery from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), a fully automated inverse model of Atmosphere-Land Exchange (ALEXI) has been used to model daily ET and surface moisture stress over a 10-km resolution grid covering the continental United States. To minimize uncertainties due to errors in absolute temperature measurement, ALEXI uses a differential measure of morning surface temperature rise as the primary driving variable, with energy closure provided by a simple model of atmospheric boundary layer development. Model ET estimates agree well with tower and aircraft flux data collected over a variety of landcover and climatic conditions, and spatial patterns in ET anomalies coincide with precipitation anomalies, indicating skill in detecting moisture stress conditions. Preliminary results from an application of the ALEXI modeling technique to Meteosat imagery over an irrigated agricultural area in southern Spain appear reasonable, demonstrating portability to other continents with geostationary satellite coverage.