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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #339290
Title: The future of evapotranspiration: Global requirements for ecosystem functioning, carbon and climate feedbacks, agricultural management, and water resources

Author
item FISHER, J. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item MELTON, F. - Nasa Goddard Institute For Space Studies
item MIDDLETON, E.M. - Goddard Space Flight Center
item HAIN, C. - Collaborator
item Anderson, Martha
item ALLEN, R.G. - University Of Idaho
item MCCABE, M. - King Abdulaziz City For Science And Technology
item HOOK, S. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item BALDOCCHI, D. - University Of California
item TOWSEND, P. - University Of Wisconsin
item KILIC, A. - University Of Nebraska
item TU, R. - Dupont Pioneer Hi-Bred
item MIRALES, D. - Vu University Medical Center
item PERRET, J. - Earth University
item LAGOUARDE, J.P. - Bordeaux Agro Sciences
item WALISER, D. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item PURDY, A. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item French, Andrew
item SCHIMEL, D. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item FAMIGLIETTI, J. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item TURNER, R. - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item WOOD, E. - Princeton University

Submitted to: Water Resources Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/7/2017
Publication Date: 4/10/2017
Citation: Fisher, J., Melton, F., Middleton, E., Hain, C., Anderson, M.C., Allen, R., Mccabe, M., Hook, S., Baldocchi, D., Towsend, P., Kilic, A., Tu, R., Mirales, D., Perret, J., Lagouarde, J., Waliser, D., Purdy, A., French, A.N., Schimel, D., Famiglietti, J., Turner, R., Wood, E. 2017. The future of evapotranspiration: Global requirements for ecosystem functioning, carbon and climate feedbacks, agricultural management, and water resources. Water Resources Research. 53:2618-2626. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020175.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020175

Interpretive Summary: In agriculture, we face the challenge meeting growing global demands for food and fiber production under increasingly uncertain and volatile climate conditions. In many high production regions, this growth in production must occur under conditions of limited available freshwater resources. To inform decision-making required to develop more sustainable agroecosystems, remote sensing data can be effectively employed to map water-use trajectories over recent decades, as well as the efficiency of water use in yield production. This overview paper describes current methods for mapping evapotranspiration (ET) using satellite imaging, and provides a summary of high-level science questions and applications that can be addressed using these datasets. We also outline requirements for future satellite missions that will improve ET mapping capabilities at both the high spatial and temporal resolutions required for research and applications.

Technical Abstract: The fate of the terrestrial biosphere is highly uncertain given recent and projected changes in climate. This is especially acute for impacts associated with changes in drought frequency and intensity on the distribution and timing of water availability. The development of effective adaptation strategies for these emerging threats to food and water security are compromised by limitations in our understanding of how agricultural systems are responding to changing hydrological and climatological regimes. This information gap is exacerbated by insufficient monitoring capabilities from local to global scales. Here, we describe how evapotranspiration (ET) represents the key variable in linking ecosystem functioning, carbon and climate feedbacks, agricultural management, and water resources, and highlight both the outstanding science and applications questions and the actions, especially from a space-based perspective, necessary to advance them.