Global evapotranspiration from remote sensing (SRB, AIRS, MODIS) validated at 36 FLUXNET sites
Joshua
Benjamin
Fisher, JPL, jbfisher@jpl.nasa.gov
(Presenting)
Armanios
Daniel, Stanford University, daniel.armanios@gmail.com
Kevin
Tu, UC Berkeley, kevintu@berkeley.edu
Evapotranspiration from the land surface is often considered the most difficult process to characterize in the hydrologic cycle, and may be considered the missing link to closing the global water budget. Only a few approaches are used to generate global fields of evapotranspiration—remote sensing, land surface models, and interpolated ground data—but all three approaches are complementary and can feedback to inform one another with different strengths and weaknesses.
Here, we employ recent advances in remote sensing observations with the latest developments in biometeorological and ecophysiological theory for evapotranspiration to develop a global evapotranspiration product driven purely with remote sensing. The model partitions evapotranspiration into interception evaporation, canopy transpiration and soil evaporation; it does not require the difficult parameterization of canopy conductance, nor does it require soil moisture inputs, precipitation or wind speed. The model is validated at 36 FLUXNET sites (r2=0.90), and is used to assess drought sensitivity of the Amazon as well as used in conjunction with TRMM and GRACE to close the water budget of the Rufiji Basin in Tanzania.
Presentation Type: Poster
Poster Session: Ecosystems Science
NASA TE Funded Awards Represented:
NONE: Related Activity or Previously Funded TE Award