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
 Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory: Beltsville, MD
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory 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
- People
- Research Sites
- Pesticide Volatilization
- Watershed Modeling
- Climate Change
- Soil Moisture
- Drought and ET
- HRSL Brochure

Title:   Author  item
                                            Alfieri, Josephitem
                                            Kustas, William

                                                         - *Bill*item
                                            Prueger, Johnitem
                                            NEALE, C. - University Of Nebraska
  Submitted to: International Symposium on Recent Advances in Quantitative Remote Sensing
                                    Publication Type: Abstract Only
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2014
                                    Publication  Date: 9/22/2014
                                    Citation: Alfieri, J.G., Kustas, W.P., Prueger, J.H., Neale, C. 2014. Using remote sensing to characterize the influence of field-scale heterogeneity on in-site measurements of evapotranspiration. Fourth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Quantitative Remote Sensing. Paper No. P3.02.Interpretive Summary:
                                Technical Abstract: Accurate estimates of field-scale evapotranspiration (ET) are critical to maximizing the efficient use of water for agricultural production which, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments, is the largest consumptive user of fresh water. Often, these estimates are derived using numerical or remote sensing-based models that are developed, calibrated, and validated against in-situ data collected using techniques such as eddy covariance (EC). Consequently, the accuracy of the modeled estimates of ET are strongly linked to both the accuracy and representativeness of the in-situ measurements. Using data collected over adjacent irrigated cotton fields in the Texas High Plains as a part of the 2008 Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote Sensing Experiment (BEAREX08), the impact of within-field variability in vegetation density on in-situ measurements of ET was analyzed. Each field was instrumented with a pair of EC systems that were cross-calibrated immediately prior to the field study and a large weighing lysimeter (LY) located in the center of the field. Vegetation density was measured using both in-situ techniques and remote sensing methods with airborne imagery. Even after accounting for factors such as local advective effects and the imperfect energy balance closure associated the EC measurements, differences in the cumulative ET over the course of the growing season were between 10 and 20%. At the same time, analyses of the high-resolution leaf area index (LAI) maps derived from the airborne imagery showed significant variability in the vegetation density; coefficients of variation ranged as high as 40%. By comparing the LAI within the source area, i.e. footprint, of the different measurement systems, this study demonstrated the influence of fine-scale spatial variability in vegetation cover on measurements of ET which can only be quantified through high resolution remote sensing imagery. This study also underscores the need to account for the effects of surface heterogeneity on in-situ measurements used for ET model calibration and validation.


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