Derived crop coefficients for winter wheat using different reference evpotranspiration estimates methods

This paper reports the results of using three empirical methods (Makkink, Priestley-Taylor and Hargreaves) for estimating the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) in the semi-arid region of Tensift Al Haouz, Marrakech (center of Morocco). The Penman-Monteith equation, standardized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO-PM), is used to evaluate the three empirical methods. The obtained ET0 data were used to estimate crop water requirement (ET) of winter wheat using the crop coefficient (K-c) approach and results were compared with ET measured by the Eddy Covariance technique. The result showed that using the original empirical coefficients a, alpha and C-m in Hargreaves, Priestley-Taylor and Makkink equations, respectively, the Hargreaves method agreed fairly well with FAO-PM method at the test site. Conversely, the Priestley-Taylor and Makkink methods underestimate the ET by about 20 and 18 %. After adjustment of the original values of two parameters alpha and C-m coefficients in Priestley-Taylor and Makkink equations, the underestimation of ET was reduced to 9% and 4% for the Priestley Taylor and Makkink methods, respectively, which led to an improvement of 55% and 76% of the obtained values compared with the original values

Comparison of large aperture scintillometer and eddy covariance measurements: Can thermal infrared data be used to capture footprint-induced differences?

Eddy covariance (EC) and large aperture scintillometer (LAS) measurements were collected over an irrigated olive orchard near Marrakech, Morocco. The tall, sparse vegetation in the experimental site was relatively homogeneous, but during irrigation events spatial variability in soil humidity was large. This heterogeneity caused large differences between the source area characteristics of the EC system and the LAS, resulting in a large scatter when comparing sensible heat fluxes obtained from LAS and EC. Radiative surface temperatures were retrieved from thermal infrared satellite images from the Landsat Enhanced Thematical Mapper and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellites. Using these images in combination with an analytical footprint model, footprint-weighted radiative surface temperatures for the footprints of the LAS and the EC system were calculated. Comparisons between the difference in measured sensible heat fluxes and the difference in footprint-weighted radiative surface temperature showed that for differences between the footprint-weighted radiative surface temperatures larger than 0.5 K, correlations with the difference in measured sensible heat flux were good. It was found that radiative surface temperatures, obtained from thermal infrared satellite imagery, can provide a good indication of the spatial variability of soil humidity, and can be used to identify differences between LAS and EC measurements of sensible heat fluxes resulting from this variability

The use of the scintillation technique for monitoring seasonal water consumption of olive orchards in a semi-arid region

To monitor seasonal water consumption of agricultural fields at large scale, spatially averaged surface fluxes of sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LvE) are required. The scintillation method is shown to be a promising device for obtaining the area-averaged sensible heat fluxes, on a scale of up to 10 km. These fluxes, when combined with a simple available energy model, can be used to derive area-averaged latent heat fluxes. For this purpose, a Large Aperture Scintillometer (LAS) was operated continuously for more than one year over a tall and sparse irrigated oliveyard located in south-central Marrakesh (Morocco). Due to the flood irrigation method used in the site, which induces irregular pattern of soil moisture both in space and time, the comparison between scintillometer-based estimates of daily sensible heat flux (HLAS) and those measured by the classical eddy covariance (EC) method (HEC) showed a large scatter during the irrigation events, while a good correspondence was found during homogenous conditions (dry conditions and days following the rain events). We found, that combining a simple available energy model and the LAS measurements, the latent heat can be reliably predicted at large scale in spite of the large scatter (R2 = 0.72 and RMSE = 18.25Wm2) that is obtained when comparing the LAS against the EC. This scatter is explained by different factors: the difference in terms of the source areas of the LAS and EC, the closure failure of the energy balance of the EC, and the error in available energy estimates. Additionally, the irrigation efficiency was investigated by comparing measured seasonal evapotranspiration values to those recommended by the FAO. It was found that the visual observation of the physical conditions of the plant is not sufficient to efficiently manage the irrigation, a large quantity of water is lost (37% of total irrigation). Consequently, the LAS can be considered as a potentially useful tool to monitor the water consumption in complex conditions

Agrometerological study of semi-arid areas : an experiment for analysing the potential of time series of FORMOSAT-2 images (Tensift-Marrakech plain)

Earth Observing Systems designed to provide both high spatial resolution (10m) and high capacity of time revisit (a few days) offer strong opportunities for the management of agricultural water resources. The FORMOSAT-2 satellite is the first and only satellite with the ability to provide daily high-resolution images over a particular area with constant viewing angles. As part of the SudMed project, one of the first time series of FORMOSAT-2 images has been acquired over the semi-arid Tensift-Marrakech plain. Along with these acquisitions, an experimental data set has been collected to monitor land-cover/land-use, soil characteristics, vegetation dynamics and surface fluxes. This paper presents a first analysis of the potential of these data for agrometerological study of semi-arid areas

Multi-scale sensible heat fluxes in the urban environment from large aperture scintillometry and eddy covariance

Sensible heat fluxes (QH) are determined using scintillometry and eddy covariance over a suburban area. Two large aperture scintillometers provide spatially integrated fluxes across path lengths of 2.8 km and 5.5 km over Swindon, UK. The shorter scintillometer path spans newly built residential areas and has an approximate source area of 2-4 km2, whilst the long path extends from the rural outskirts to the town centre and has a source area of around 5-10 km2. These large-scale heat fluxes are compared with local-scale eddy covariance measurements. Clear seasonal trends are revealed by the long duration of this dataset and variability in monthly QH is related to the meteorological conditions. At shorter time scales the response of QH to solar radiation often gives rise to close agreement between the measurements, but during times of rapidly changing cloud cover spatial differences in the net radiation (Q*) coincide with greater differences between heat fluxes. For clear days QH lags Q*, thus the ratio of QH to Q* increases throughout the day. In summer the observed energy partitioning is related to the vegetation fraction through use of a footprint model. The results demonstrate the value of scintillometry for integrating surface heterogeneity and offer improved understanding of the influence of anthropogenic materials on surface-atmosphere interactions

The use of scintillometry for validating aggregation schemes over heterogeneous grids

A number of studies have been devoted to derive the diurnal course of regional evapotranspiration (ET) especially in semi-arid areas where the assessment of this term is of crucial importance for water resources management. One approach to derive regional evapotranspiration is based on the use of aggregation schemes in conjunction with energy-balance or land-surface models. However, the effectiveness of this approach cannot be fully assessed without a comparison between the model's flux simulations and the ground truth observations. In the present study, the issue of using scintillometry for validating spatial and temporal aggregation schemes over heterogeneous grids has been investigated. Data collected within the SUDMED project over the oliveyard of Agdal which was located near the city of Marrakech, Morocco, have been used to test the aggregation schemes. The Agdal oliveyard was made up of two contrasted fields, or patches. Even though the two sites appear relatively homogeneous, they differ strongly in terms of soil moisture status and vegetation percent cover. The higher soil moisture in the northern site creates heterogeneity at the scale of the entire olive yard (i.e. at grid-scale). Firstly, the diurnal course of the grid-scale evapotranspiration ((SA)) estimated from spatial aggregation scheme is compared to that derived from scintillometry (). (SA) is obtained as the residual term of the energy balance providing the estimates of the available energy (AE = R-n - G), where R-n and G are the net radiation and the soil heat flux, respectively, and sensible heat flux. The latter is estimated by using a simple two-layer model developed by Lhomme et al. (1994). The root mean square difference (RMSD) and the correlation coefficient (R-2) between (SA) and were about 46 W m(-2) and 0.78, respectively. Secondly, we compared the diurnal course of grid-scale evapotranspiration ((TA)) estimated from the temporal aggregation scheme with the . (TA) is obtained by extrapolating the instantaneous values of the available energy and the evaporative fraction (EF = ET/AE) estimated at the satellite overpass to daily ones. The instantaneous values of AE and EF have been derived using remotely sensed surface temperature measured using a ground-based infrared thermometer combined with ancillary micrometeorological data such as wind speed, incoming and outgoing solar radiation, and temperature and humidity of the air. The RMSD and the R 2 were about 43 W m(-2) and 0.7, respectively. Despite the complexity of the site induced by the strong heterogeneity in the soil moisture which is related to the employed irrigation method (flood irrigation), and the consequences in terms of the footprint of the instruments. the obtained statistical results showed that both aggregation schemes performed successfully with regard to estimates of the evapotranspiration over heterogeneous grids. Finally, to further assess the performance of the developed approach, a second dataset collected in northern Mexico has been also used. The result shows that the approach provides acceptable values of aggregated evapotranspiration. Consequently, scintillometry can potentially be used in the development and the validation of aggregation approaches to improve the representation of surface heterogeneity land-surface-atmosphere models operating at large scales

On the application of scintillometry over heterogeneous grids

Summary In this paper the applicability of the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) over heterogeneous terrain below the blending height is investigated. This is tested using two large aperture scintillometers (LAS), in conjunction with aggregation schemes to infer area-averaged refractive index structure parameters. The two LAS were operated simultaneously over the oliveyard of Agdal, located near Marrakech (Morocco). The Agdal olive yard is made up of two contrasted fields, or patches. The two sites are relatively homogeneous, but differ strongly in characteristics (mainly soil moisture status, and, to a lesser extent, vegetation cover). The higher soil moisture in the northern site creates heterogeneity at the scale of the entire olive yard (i.e. at grid scale). At patch scale, despite the complexity of the surface (tall, sparse trees), a good agreement was found between the sensible heat fluxes obtained from eddy-covariance systems and those estimated from the LAS. At grid scale, the aggregated structure parameter of the refractive index, simulated using the proposed aggregation model, behaves according to MOST. This aggregated structure parameter of the refractive index is obtained from measurements made below the grid scale blending height, and shows that MOST applies here. Consequently, scintillometers can be used at levels below the blending height. This is of interest, since strictly respecting the height requirements poses tremendous practical problems, especially if one is aiming to derive surface fluxes over large areas

Combining a Large Aperture Scintillometer and estimates of available energy to derive evapotranspiration over several agricultural fields in sermi-arid regions.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential of a large aperture scintillometer (LAS) combined with a simple available energy model to estimate area-averaged latent heat flux in difficult environmental conditions. The difficulties are related to the sparseness of the vegetation, the heterogeneity of the soil characteristics, and, most importantly, the heterogeneity in terms of soil moisture induced by the ‘‘flood irrigation'' method. In this context, three sites (Agdal, R3 and Saˆada) in the Tensift Al Haouz plain (region of Marrakech city, central Morocco) have been equipped with a LAS and eddy covariance (EC) system (local scale measurements). Agdal and R3 are a flood-irrigated olive yard and wheat field, respectively. Saˆada is a drip-irrigated orange orchard. Due to the irrigation method applied, the Agdal and R3 sites shifted from being almost homogeneous between two irrigations (dry conditions) and completely heterogeneous during the irrigation events (large variability of soil moisture along the site), while Saˆada was always heterogeneous, at least at the scintillometer footprint scale. Consequently, the comparison between the sensible heat fluxes derived from both LAS and EC showed a large scatter during the irrigation events, while a good correspondence was found in between two irrigations. It was also found that combining LAS and an estimate of the available energy (using a simple model) can provide reasonable large-scale evapotransipration estimates, which are of prime interest for irrigation management

Deriving daily evapotranspiration from remotely sensed instantaneous evaporative fraction over olive orchard in semi-arid Morocco

E-mail Addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] audienceHydrology and crop water management require daily values of evapotranspiration ET at different time-space scale. Sun synchronous optical remote sensing, which allows for the assessment of ET with high to moderate spatial resolution, provides instantaneous estimates during satellites overpass. Then, usual solutions consist of extrapolating instantaneous to daily values by assuming that evaporative fraction EF is constant throughout the day, providing that daily available energy AE is known. The current study aims at deriving daily ET values from ASTER derived instantaneous estimates, over an olive orchard in a semi-arid region of Moroccan. It has been shown that EF is almost constant under dry conditions, but it depicts a pronounced concave up shape under wet conditions. A new heuristic parameterization is then proposed, which is based on the combination of routine daily meteorological data for characterizing atmospheric dependence, and on optical remote sensing based estimates of instantaneous EF values to take into account the dependence on soil and vegetation conditions. Using the same type of approach, a similar parameterization is next developed for AE. The validation of both approaches shows good performances. The overall method is finally applied to ASTER data. Though performances are reasonably good, their moderate reduction is ascribed to errors on remotely sensed variables. Future works will focus on method portability since its empirical formulation does not account for the direct stomatal response to water availability, as well as on application over different surface and climate conditions