Skip to main content
Log in

A Landsat-based energy balance and evapotranspiration model in Western US water rights regulation and planning

  • Published:
Irrigation and Drainage Systems

Abstract

The quantification of evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated projects is important for water rights management, water resources planning and water regulation. Traditionally, ET has been estimated by multiplying a weather-based reference ET by crop coefficients (Kc) determined according to the crop type and the crop growth stage. However, there is typically question regarding whether crops grown compare with the conditions represented by the Kc values, especially in water short areas. In addition, it is difficult to estimate the correct crop growth stage dates for large populations of crops and fields.

METRIC (Mapping Evapotranspiration at high Resolution and with Internalized Calibration) is an image-processing model for calculating ET as a residual of the surface energy balance. METRIC is a variant of SEBAL, an energy balance process developed in the Netherlands by Bastiaanssen and was extended to provide tighter integration with ground-based reference ET. METRIC was applied with Landsat images in southern Idaho to predict monthly and seasonal ET for water rights accounting and for operation of ground water models. ET “maps” (i.e., images) provide the means to quantify, in terms of both the amount and spatial distribution, the ET on a field by field basis.

The ET maps have been used in Idaho to quantify net ground-water pumpage in areas where water extraction from underground is not measured and to estimate recharge from surface-irrigated lands. Application and testing of METRIC indicates substantial promise as an efficient, accurate, and relatively inexpensive procedure to predict the actual evaporation fluxes from irrigated lands throughout a growing season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, R.G., Pruitt, W.O., Businger, J.A., Fritschen, L.J., Jensen, M.E. & Quinn, F.H. 1996. In: Wootton et al. (ed.), Evaporation and Transpiration. Chapter 4, (pp. 125–252), ASCE Handbook of Hydrology. New York, NY.

  • Allen, R.G., Bastiaanssen, W., Wright, J.L., Morse, A., Tasumi, M. & Trezza, R. 2002. Evapotranspiration from satellite images for water management and hydrologic balances. Proceedings of the 2002 ICID Conference, Montreal, Canada, July, 2002. CD-ROM.

  • ASCE-EWRI. 2004. “The ASCE standardized reference evapotranspiration equation.” Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the ASCE, Report by the Task Committee on Standardization of Reference Evapotranspiration, 〈http://www.kimberly.uidaho.edu/water/asceewri/〉.

  • Bastiaanssen, W.G.M. 1995. Regionalization of surface flux densities and moisture indicators in composite terrain: A remote sensing approach under clear skies in Mediterranean climates. Ph.D. dissertation, CIP Data Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag, the Netherlands. 273 pp.

  • Bastiaanssen, W.G.M. 2000. SEBAL-based sensible and latent heat fluxes in the irrigated Gediz Basin, Turkey. Journal of Hydrology 229: 87–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastiaanssen, W.G.M., Menenti, M., Feddes, R.A. & Holtslag, A.A.M. 1998. A remote sensing surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL): 1. Formulation. Journal of Hydrology 212–213: 198–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bastiaanssen, W.G.M., Brito, R.A.L., Bos, M.G., Souza, R.A., Cavalcanti, E.B. & Bakker, M.M. 2001. Low cost satellite data for monthly irrigation performance monitoring: benchmarks from Nilo Coelho, Brazil. Irrigation and Drainage Systems 15: 53–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastiaanssen, W.G.M., Ahmad, M.D. & Chemin, Y. 2002. Satellite surveillance of evaporative depletion across the Indus Basin. Water Resources Research 38(2): 1273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bastiaanssen, W.G.M., Noordman, E.J.M., Pelgrum, H., Davids, G. & Allen, R.G. 2005. SEBAL for spatially distributed ET under actual management and growing conditions, ASCE Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 131(1): 85–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bausch, W.C. 1993. Soil background effects on reflectance-based crop coefficients for corn. Remote Sensing of Environment 46: 213–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bausch, W.C. 1995. Remote sensing of crop coefficients for improving the irrigation scheduling of corn. Agricultural Water Management 27: 55–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bausch, W.C. & Neale, C.M.U. 1989. Spectral inputs improve corn crop coefficients and irrigation scheduling. Transactions of ASAE 32(6): 1901–1908.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudhury, B.J., Ahmed, N.U., Idso, S.B., Reginato, R.J. & Daughtry, C.S.T. 1994. Relations between evaporation coefficients and vegetation indices studies by model simulations. Remote Sensing of Environment 50: 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R.W., Brockway, C.E., Burman, R.D., Allen, L.N. & Robison, C.W. 1989. Duty of Water Under the Bear River Compact: Field Verification of Empirical Methods for Estimating Depletion. Research report 125. Utah Agricutural Experiment Station, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

  • Morse, A., Tasumi, M., Allen, R.G., & Kramber, W.J. 2000. Application of SEBAL Methodology for Estimating Consumptive Use of Water and Streamflow Depletion in the Bear River Basin of Idaho Through Remote Sensing; Final Report.

  • Morse, A., Allen, R.G., Tasumi, M., Kramber, W.J., Trezza, R. & Wright, J.L. 2001. Application of the SEBAL Methodology for Estimating Evapotranspiration and Consumptive Use of Water Through Remote Sensing: Final Report. Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho.

  • Morse, A., Allen, R.G., Tasumi, M., Kramber, W.J. & Trezza, R., 2003. Application of the SEBAL Methodology for Estimating Evapotranspiration and Consumptive Use of Water Through Remote Sensing, Phase III: The Transition to an Operational System. The Raytheon Systems Company Earth Observation System Data and Information System Project. 31 pages.

  • Neale, C.M.U., Bausch, W.C. & Heerman, D.F. 1989. Development of reflectance-based crop coefficients for corn. Transactions of ASAE 32(6): 1891–1899.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romero, M.G. 2004. Daily evapotranspiration estimation by means of evaporative fraction and reference evapotranspiration fraction. Ph.D. Dissertation, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

  • Tasumi, M. 2003. Progress in operational estimation of regional evapotranspiration using satellite imagery. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.

  • Tasumi, M., Trezza, R., Allen, R.G. & Wright, J.L. 2003. Some U.S. Validation Tests on the SEBAL Model for Evapotranspiration via Satellite. Proceedings of the ICID Workshop on Remote Sensing of Evapotranspiration for Large Regions. 13 p.

  • Tasumi, M., Allen, R.G., Trezza, R. & Wright, J.L. 2005a. Use of SEBAL to assess the band width of crop coefficient curves in Idaho. ASCE Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 131(1): 94–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tasumi, M., Trezza, T., Allen, R.G. & Wright, J.L. 2005b. Operational aspects of satellite-based energy balance models for irrigated crops in the semi-arid U.S. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Systems 19: 355–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trezza, R. 2002. Evapotranspiration using a satellite-based surface energy balance with standardized ground control. Ph.D. Dissertation, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

  • Wright, J.L. 1982. New evapotranspiration crop coefficients. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Division (ASCE), 108: 57–74.

  • Wright, J.L. 1996. Derivation of Alfalfa and Grass reference evapotranspiration. In: C.R. Camp, E.J. Sadler, & R.E. Yoder (Eds.), Evapotranspiration and Irrigation Scheduling, Proceedings of the International Conference, ASAE, San Antonio, TX, pp. 133–140.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard G. Allen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Allen, R.G., Tasumi, M., Morse, A. et al. A Landsat-based energy balance and evapotranspiration model in Western US water rights regulation and planning. Irrig Drainage Syst 19, 251–268 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10795-005-5187-z

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10795-005-5187-z

Key Words

Navigation