U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Anderson, Marthaitem
                                            HAIN, C - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)item
                                            OTKIN, J - University Of Wisconsinitem
                                            ZHAN, X - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
                                    Publication Type: Abstract Only
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 10/10/2012
                                    Publication  Date: 12/3/2012
                                    Citation: Anderson, M.C., Hain, C., Otkin, J., Zhan, X. 2012. Evaluation of a remotely sensed evaporative stress index for monitoring patterns of anomalous water-use[abstract]. American Geophysical Union. 2012 CDROM.Interpretive Summary:
                                Technical Abstract: Drought assessment is a complex endeavor, requiring monitoring of deficiencies in multiple components of the hydrologic budget.  Precipitation anomalies reflect variability in water supply to the land surface, while soil moisture (SM), ground and surface water anomalies reflect deficiencies in moisture storage.  In contrast, evapotranspiration (ET) anomalies provide unique yet complementary information, reflecting variations in actual water use by crops and direct evaporation from the soil.  For example, precipitation- and ET-based anomalies may differ significantly in regions of intensive irrigation, shallow water table, or deep rooting depth – areas where plants may be more resilient to soil moisture deficiencies inferred from rainfall patterns.  In addition, an ET-based index can better capture impacts of hot, windy conditions leading to “flash droughts”, where anomalously high water use precipitates rapid decay in soil moisture and crop condition. Here we describe a remotely sensed Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) based on anomalies in actual-to-reference ET ratio, and compare with patterns in precipitation-based drought indicators.  Actual ET is derived from thermal remote sensing, using the morning land-surface temperature (LST) rise observed with geostationary satellites.  In comparison with vegetation indices, LST is a fast-response variable, with the potential for providing early warning of crop stress reflected in increasing canopy temperatures.  Spatiotemporal patterns in ESI reasonably match those in precipitation-based indices (such as SPI and modeled SM) and patterns in the U.S. Drought Monitor.  However, because ESI does not use precipitation as an input, it provides an independent assessment of evolving drought conditions, and is more portable to data-sparse parts of the world lacking dense rain-gauge and Doppler radar networks.  Integrating LST information from polar orbiting systems, the ESI has unique potential for sensing moisture stress at field scale, benefiting yield estimation and loss compensation efforts.  Techniques for identifying flash drought events will be demonstrated, as well as ESI performance over the heat-induced drought events of 2012.  The ESI is routinely produced over the continental U.S. using data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental satellites (GOES), with expansion to North and South America underway.  In addition drought monitoring applications are being developed over Africa and Europe using Meteosat land-surface products.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov