ARS | Publication request: THE SALSA (SEMI-ARID LAND-SURFACE-ATMOSPHERE)PROGRAM

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: April 23, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The primary question that the SALSA Program is striving to answer is: What are the consequences of natural- and human-induced change on the basin-wide water balance and ecological diversity of the Upper San Pedro River Basin at event, seasonal, interannual, and decadal time scales? In contrast to many prior land-atmosphere experiments, this program's time horizon is long-term with the goal of creating the capability to provide sustainable basin-wide monitoring and research to address the primary question for at least 5 years. The Upper San Pedro can then be utilized as a long term, terrestrial "Pathfinder" NASA/EOS validation area where process-based models and pre- and post-launch satellite algorithms can be tested for semi-arid regions. The Upper San Pedro Basin (6800 sq. km) flowing north from Sonora, Mexico into southeastern Arizona, USA, encompasses a variety of factors which make it an exceptional location to address a number of scientific and socio-economic challenges. These factors include significant topographic variability, exceptional ecological diversity, riparian hydrology, and different cross-border land use practices resulting in landscape changes clearly evident in multi-spectral satellite images enabling the study of anthropogenic changes on land surface parameters. These factors and the program approach developed in a recent multi- disciplinary, multi-national SALSA Program workshop will be discussed.