Testing the performance of a thermal-based crop coefficient technique in Idaho as a fundamental study for global <i>ET</i> estimation

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  • Testing the performance of a thermal-based crop coefficient technique in Idaho as a fundamental study for global ET estimation

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Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the key factors in the planning and management of irrigation water resources. Accurate estimation of ET enables better irrigation planning, scheduling, and performance evaluation of water. As a fundamental study for developing a global ET estimation method, the performance of a thermal-based crop coefficient technique to estimate regional evapotranspiration in irrigated agricultural fields was examined. The study area was the Magic Valley irrigated agricultural region in southern Idaho, USA. Landsat surface temperature images were used as input data. ET in the main cultivation season (March to October) of the year 2000 was estimated using a thermal-based crop coefficient technique, and the performance of the technique was evaluated by comparing the outputs of the METRIC energy balance model. The root mean square difference in seasonal ET was 76 mm, which was equivalent to 7% of the reference ET. The performance of the thermal-based crop coefficient technique showed some differences according to the crop type. The thermal-based crop coefficient method provides reasonable ET information on a regional scale. With a simple structure and minimum requirement of input data, it was evaluated throughout this study that the method has potential for application on a global scale. Some important characteristics of the key temperature parameters in the method were also identified throughout this research. The findings are useful in future automation of the estimation procedure, which is necessary upon applying the method on a global scale.

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