ARS | Publication request: ESTIMATING LAND-SURFACE ENERGY BUDGETS FROM SPACE: REVIEW AND CURRENT EFFORTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON AND USDA-ARS

Submitted to: American Meteorological Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 8, 2003
Publication Date: January 7, 2004
Citation: Diak, G.R., Mecikalski, J.R., Anderson, M.C., Norman, J.M., Kustas, W.P., Torn, R.D., and DeWolf, R.L. 2004. Estimating landsurface energy budgets from space: Review and current efforts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and USDA-ARS. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 85:65-78.

Interpretive Summary: Since the advent of the meteorological satellite, a large research effort within the community of earth scientists has been directed at assessing the components of the land-surface energy balance from space. We review the development of these techniques from first efforts to the present time, and also describe our integrated system to estimate the surface radiative and water and energy balance. This system is now running in real time over the continental United States at a resolution of 10 km, producing daily and time-integrated surface flux components. Such operational information will be very useful for monitoring in real time regional crop water use and stress critical for improving irrigation efficiency and yield estimation for agriculture.

Technical Abstract: Since the advent of the meteorological satellite, a large research effort within the community of earth scientists has been directed at assessing the components of the land-surface energy balance from space. We review the development of these techniques from first efforts to the present time, and also describe our integrated system to estimate the radiative and turbulent land-surface fluxes. This system is now running in real time over the continental United States at a resolution of 10 km, producing daily and time-integrated flux components.