Assessing the performance of a large-scale irrigation system by estimations of actual evapotranspiration obtained by Landsat satellite images resampled with cubic convolution
Abstract Remote sensing techniques allow monitoring the Earth surface and acquiring worthwhile information that can be used efficiently in agro-hydrological systems. Satellite images associated to computational models represent reliable resources to estimate actual evapotranspiration fluxes, ETa, based on surface energy balance. The knowledge of ETa and its spatial distribution is crucial for a broad range of applications at different scales, from fields to large irrigation districts. In single plots and/or in irrigation districts, linking water volumes delivered to the plots with the estimations of remote sensed ETa can have a great potential to develop new cost-effective indicators of irr…
On the Use of the Eddy Covariance Latent Heat Flux and Sap Flow Transpiration for the Validation of a Surface Energy Balance Model
Actual evapotranspiration is assessed via surface energy balance at an hourly rate. However, a robust estimation of daily evapotranspiration from hourly values is required. Outcomes of surface energy balance are frequently determined via measures of eddy covariance latent heat flux. Surface energy balance can be applied on images acquired at different times and spatial resolutions. In addition, hourly actual evapotranspiration needs to be integrated at a daily rate for operational uses. Questions arise whether the validation of surface energy balance models can benefit from complementary in situ measures of latent heat flux and sap flow transpiration. Here, validation was driven by image ac…
Assessing actual evapotranspiration via surface energy balance aiming to optimize water and energy consumption in large scale pressurized irrigation systems
Satellite imagery provides a dependable basis for computational models that aimed to determine actual evapotranspiration (ET) by surface energy balance. Satellite-based models enables quantifying ET over large areas for a wide range of applications, such as monitoring water distribution, managing irrigation and assessing irrigation systems’ performance. With the aim to evaluate the energy and water consumption of a large scale on-turn pressurized irrigation system in the district of Aguas Nuevas, Albacete, Spain, the satellite-based image-processing model SEBAL was used for calculating actual ET. The model has been applied to quantify instantaneous, daily, and seasonal actual ET over high- …
Large‐scale lateral saturated soil hydraulic conductivity as a metric for the connectivity of subsurface flow paths at hillslope scale
Lateral saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, K-s,K-l, is the soil property governing subsurface water transfer in hillslopes, and the key parameter in many numerical models simulating hydrological processes at the hillslope and catchment scales. Likewise, the hydrological connectivity of the lateral flow paths plays a significant role in determining the rate of the subsurface flow at various spatial scales. This study investigates the relationship between K-s,K-l and hydrological connectivity at the hillslope spatial scale. K-s,K-l was determined by the subsurface flow rates intercepted by drains and water table depths observed in a well network. The hydrological connectivity was evaluate…