Regionalization of surface flux densities and moisture indicators in composite terrain : a remote sensing approach under clear skies in Mediterranean climates

The growing concern about environment has increased the number of land surface processes studies. Computer simulation models of land surface processes have been developed for a range of scales and with different levels of physical complexity. Because the interactions between soil, vegetation and atmosphere vary both spatially and temporally, regional evaporation in heterogeneous natural landscapes is difficult to predict by means of computer simulation models. Remote sensing measurements of land surface radiative properties offer however a means to indirectly measure land surface state conditions at a range of scales. A straightforward estimation of evaporation from radiative properties of the land surface is hampered by the fact that only a very few parameters of the classical flux-profile relationships can be estimated directly from remote sensing measurements. Moreover, the accuracy of surface temperature measurements necessary to solve flux-profile relationships is still poor. Inclusion of ground measurements is a possible solution, but the absence of such data on large scales and for heterogeneous land surfaces where these parameters are not measured, forms an immediate obstacle for the implementation of remote sensing algorithms.A Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) has been developed in a way that the need for collateral measurements is partly eliminated, a very accurate surface temperature map is no longer required (although it should be as good as possible) and a land use classification to relate surface temperature to evaporation is not needed. Each pixel is characterized by a surface hemisherical reflectance, surface temperature and a vegetation index. The methodology composes of multiple flux-profile relationships for small sub-areas. Although the concept has a physical basis, the parameters are estimated by empirical relationships, for instance a relationship between near-surface vertical air temperature difference and surface temperature forms an essential component in the estimation of the sensible heat flux density.The absolute surface energy balance terms are estimated on an instantaneous time basis. Temporal integration of instantaneous surface flux densities is feasible using the evaporative fraction (latent heat flux density/net available energy): The evaporative fraction remains fairly constant during daytime hours for both homogeneous and heterogeneous areas. A physical explanation for this is given. A bulk surface resistance of a heterogeneous landscape has been related analytically to canopy and bare soil evaporation resistances. Measurements in central Spain have shown that the evaporative fraction and bulk surface resistance are suitable indicators to describe areal patterns of near-surface soil water content. Although the bulk surface resistance has a distinct diurnal variation, it is much less affected by changes in net available energy and therefore preferred to describe the energy partitioning for longer time series (weeks, months).SEBAL has been validated with data available from regional evaporation projects in Egypt and Spain. The error of high resolution evaporative fraction estimations decreases from 20% to 10% at a scale of 1 km to 5 km respectively, The error of low resolution evaporative fraction images at a scale of 100 km is approximately 1 to 5 %. Hence, the error averages out if a larger set of pixels is considered. It is concluded that the uncertainty of evaporation in regional water balances and model studies can be substantially reduced by estimating evaporation with remote sensing measurements using the proposed SEBAL technique

A new technique to estimate net groundwater use across large irrigated areas by combining remote sensing and water balance approaches, Rechna Doab, Pakistan

Over-exploitation of groundwater resources threatens the future of irrigated agriculture, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In order to reverse this trend, and to ensure future food security, the achievement of sustainable groundwater use is ranking high on the agenda of water policy makers. Spatio-temporally distributed information on net groundwater use¿i.e. the difference between tubewell withdrawals for irrigation and net recharge¿is often unknown at the river basin scale. Conventionally, groundwater use is estimated from tubewell inventories or phreatic surface fluctuations. There are shortcomings related to the application of these approaches. An alternative methodology for computing the various water balance components of the unsaturated zone by using geo-information techniques is provided in this paper. With this approach, groundwater recharge will not be quantified explicitly, but is part of net groundwater use, and the spatial variation can be quantitatively described. Records of routine climatic data, canal discharges at major offtakes, phreatic surface depth fluctuations, and simplified information on soil textural properties are required as input data into this new Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing tool. The Rechna Doab region (approximately 2.97 million ha), located in the Indus basin irrigation system of Pakistan, has been used as a case study. On an annual basis, an areal average net groundwater use of 82 mm year¿1 was estimated. The current result deviates 65% from the specific yield method. The deviation from estimates using tubewell withdrawal related data is even highe

Energy and water balance measurements for water productivity analysis in irrigated mango trees, Northeast Brazil

Crop water parameters, including actual evapotranspiration, transpiration, soil evaporation, crop coefficients, evaporative fractions, aerodynamic resistances, surface resistances and percolation fluxes were estimated in a commercial mango orchard during two growing seasons in Northeast Brazil. The actual evapotranspiration (Ea) was obtained by the eddy covariance (EC) technique, while for the reference evapotranspiration (E0); the FAO Penman–Monteith equation was applied. The energy balance closure showed a gap of 12%. For water productivity analysis the Ea was then computed with the Bowen ratio determined from the eddy covariance fluxes. The mean accumulated Ea for the two seasons was 1419 mm year−1, which corresponded to a daily average rate of 3.7 mm day−1. The mean values of the crop coefficients based on evapotranspiration (Kc) and based on transpiration (Kcb) were 0.91 and 0.73, respectively. The single layer Kc was fitted with a degree days function. Twenty percent of evapotranspiration originated from direct soil evaporation. The evaporative fraction was 0.83 on average. The average relative water supply was 1.1, revealing that, in general, irrigation water supply was in good harmony with the crop water requirements. The resulting evapotranspiration deficit was 73–95 mm per season only. The mean aerodynamic resistance (ra) was 37 s m−1 and the bulk surface resistance (rs) was 135 s m−1. The mean unit yield was 45 tonne ha−1 being equivalent to a crop water productivity of 3.2 kg m−3 when based on Ea with an economic counterpart of US$ 3.27 m−3. The drawback of this highly productive use of water resources is an unavoidable percolation flux of approximately 300 mm per growing season that is detrimental to the downstream environment and water users