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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #70730
Title: MICROMETEOROLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS

Author
item Prueger, John
item Hatfield, Jerry
item Kustas, William - Bill
item HUMES, KAREN - UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

Submitted to: Hydrology Data Report
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This manuscript represents a chapter in the ARS Hydrology Data Report - Washita 1994. Micrometeorological measurements were conducted in the Little Washita River Basin during April and August of 1994. Bowen ratio and eddy correlation techniques were used to estimate latent and sensible heat fluxes over different landscape surfaces and vegetation cover during early spring and late summer. This was part of a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary study to estimate local and regional scales of evaporation and sensible heat exchange as a function of heterogenous ecosystems common to the basin. Detailed site descriptions as well as a description of the types of measurements and instruments used are reported in this chapter. Preliminary results show distinct surface energy balance partitioning over the different ecosystem surfaces found in the basin. In particular native pasture grasses showed larger latent heat fluxes during August when compared to the improved Bermuda pasture suggesting that greater variety of plant species resulted in a composite ensemble flux for the surface that was larger than the single species Bermuda pasture. Spring wheat in early April showed greater evaporation fluxes relative to the dormant Bermuda and native pastures. Latent and sensible heat fluxes collected at the different sites will be used as validation points to calibrate regional estimates derived from the remote sensing platforms.