Estimating recharge is a critical aspect of groundwater management, when aquifer resources are constrained by multiple users. The Edwards Aquifer, an artesian aquifer underlying Austin and San Antonio, Texas, sustains municipalities, farmers and fragile habitats at discharge locations. Rising municipal demand for Edwards water supports the need for effective conservation over time to maintain the well-being of all users. Predicting recharge is a valuable tool for determining future available resources. Evapotranspiration (ET) accounts for a majority of water loss following precipitation, significantly affecting recharge. Developing a method for accurate regional estimates of ET is complicated by aquifer characteristics, expensive instrumentation, and a variable climate. This study investigates a specific method for estimating regional potential ET (ETp), by combining the Priestley-Taylor equation with data primarily retrieved from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Improved resolution and timing of satellite measurements provides greater regional specificity for variables related to ET calculations. ETp is then estimated for 2004 and 2005, utilizing data from MODIS, aboard NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites. Land surface temperature, leaf area index and albedo retrieved from MODIS replace in situ measurements, which are often nonexistent in a regional context. Incoming radiation, a direct input in the Priestley-Taylor equation, is retrieved from the National Center for Environmental Prediction’s North American Regional Reanalysis Model (NARR). Results show methods overestimate ET between 400% to over 1000% when compared to actual ET (ETa) at two locations in the northeast portion of the aquifer. Correlation is improved when ETp is treated as an instantaneous rate rather than daily. During months of above average precipitation, which are more representative of potential conditions, instantaneous ETp exceeded ETa by an average of 81%, with a root mean squared error of 1.15 mm/30min and an average positive bias of 2.84 mm/30min. Considering the soil moisture limited conditions throughout Central Texas, a positive bias is not surprising. Incorporating a calibrated Priestly-Taylor could improve accuracy, but estimating regional ETp remains restricted by available daily data necessary for calculations and comparison. / text

Integrerad Monitoring (IM) är ett miljöövervakningsprogram som bedriver studier i de fyra svenska avrinningsområdena Aneboda, Gårdsjön, Kindla och Gammtratten. Områdena, som är skyddade och ingår i Natura 2000, domineras av barrskog. Inom IM studeras bland annat vattenbalans, där evapotranspiration utgör en viktig men svårberäknad del. På avrinningsområdesnivå beräknas ofta evapotranspiration med hjälp av sambandet vattenbalans men denna metod medför stora osäkerheter kring hur lagring av vatten (i snö, sjöar, mark- och grundvatten) hanteras. Problematiken är särskilt stor när avdunstning beräknas för kortare tidsperioder, exempelvis på månadsbasis. Det finns istället flera ekvationer baserade på meteorologiska data som kan användas. Studiens syfte var att med hjälp av sådana ekvationer skapa möjlighet till beräkningar av evapotranspiration över olika tidsskalor. Efter en litteraturstudie valdes de två ekvationerna Penman-Monteith och Priestley-Taylor, och med platsspecifika meteorologiska data för IM-områdena beräknade de evapotranspiration som sedan skattades i jämförelse med beräkningar från andra modeller (vattenbalans, Fyris-Q och S-HYPE). Fyra hydrologiska år undersöktes och resultatet visade på stor variation mellan modellerna både på års- och månadsnivå. Vissa år genererade de liknande värden medan andra år skilde sig rejält. De två undersökta ekvationerna uppvisade liknande årliga mönster och påverkades båda mest av variabeln nettostrålning som varierar kraftigt över året. Flera faktorer har inverkan på resultatet och det finns en del osäkerheter kring anpassningar av ekvationerna. Dock kunde avvikande resultat i de flesta fall förklaras av brister i tillgängliga input-data. Om detta åtgärdas bör det därför vara möjligt att skatta evapotranspirationen även för kortare tidsperioder med hjälp av ekvationer baserade på meteorologiska data.

The eddy covariance (EC) technique was used to measure half hourly fluxes of energy and evaporation from 15 December 2007 to 30 November 2008 at the Scott Research Farm, located 7 km east of Hamilton. Many other supporting measurements of climate and soil variables were also made. The research addressed three objectives: 1. To examine the accuracy of the eddy covariance measurement technique. 2. Understand the surface partitioning of energy and water vapour on a diurnal to annual timescale. 3. Compare measurements of evaporation to methods of estimation. Average energy balance closure at Scott Farm was deficient by 24%, comparable to published studies of up to 30%. Three lysimeter studies were carried out to help verify eddy covariance data. These resulted in the conclusions that; 1) lysimeter pots needed to be deeper to allow for vegetation rooting depths to be encompassed adequately; 2) forcing energy balance closure was not supported by two of the studies (summer and winter); 3) latent heat flux (λE) gap filling of night time EC data during winter over estimated values by about 10 W m-2; and 4) the spring lysimeter study verified eddy covariance measurements including the closure forcing method. Some uncertainty still exists as to the accuracy of both lysimeter and EC methods of evaporation measurement because both methods still have potential biases, however for the purpose of this study, it would appear data are sufficiently accurate to have confidence in results. Energy and water vapour fluxes varied on both a diurnal and seasonal timescale. Diurnally, fluxes were small or negative at night and were highest during the day, usually at solar noon. Seasonally, spring and summer had the highest energy and evaporation fluxes and winter rates were small but tended to exceed available energy supply. Evaporation was constrained by soil moisture availability during summer and by energy availability during winter. Estimated annual evaporation at Scott Farm was 755 mm, 72% of precipitation. Two evaporation models were compared to eddy covariance evaporation (EEC) measurements; the FAO56 Penman-Monteith model (Eo) and the Priestley-Taylor model (EPT). Both models over estimated evaporation during dry conditions and slightly under estimated during winter. The α coefficient that is applied to EPT was not constant and a seasonally adjusted value would be most appropriate. A crop coefficient of 1.13 is needed for Eo measurements during moist conditions. Eo began over estimating evaporation when soil moisture contents dropped below ~44%. A water stress adjustment was applied to both models which improved evaporation estimates, however early onset of drying was not able to be adjusted for. The adjusted Eo model is the most accurate overall, when compared to EEC.

Modern tools, nontraditional datasets and a better understanding of the interaction between climate and ecohydrology are continuously being developed as today's society is in critical need for improving water management, predicting hydrometeorological hazards and forecasting future climate. In particular, the study of the intra- and inter-annual variations in grass productivity and evapotranspiration caused by variations in precipitation/soil moisture and other biophysical factors is of great significance due to their relation to future climatic changes. The research presented here falls in three parts. In the first part of the dissertation, a land use adaptable model, based on the superposition of the temperature and water vapor pressure effects, is proposed for the effective clear sky emissivity. Ground radiometer and meteorological data, applicable in the subtropical climate of Saint Johns River Water Management District, Florida, were utilized for the model development over the spring season of 2004. The performance of this model was systematically evaluated by pertinent comparisons with previously established models using data over various land covers. The second part of the thesis investigates the dynamics of evapotranspiration with respect to its significant environmental and biological controls over an unmanaged bahia grassland. Eddy correlation measurements were carried out at a flux tower in Central Florida over the annual course of 2004. The main focus was on the sensitivity of the water vapor flux to wetness variables, namely the volumetric soil water content and the current precipitation index. It was shown that the time scales involved with the dynamics of evapotranspiration were on the order of six days, suggesting that depletion of the soil moisture was mostly responsible for the temporal fluctuations in evapotranspiration. Finally, simple models for the Priestley-Taylor factor were employed in terms of water availability, and the modeled results closely matched the eddy covariance flux values on daily time scale during all moisture conditions. In the third part of this work, the partitioning between latent and sensible heat fluxes was systematically examined with respect to biophysical factors. It was found that the seasonal variations in leaf area index, soil water content and net radiation were reflected in a strong seasonal pattern of the energy balance. Calculations of the bulk parameters, namely Priestley-Taylor parameter and decoupling coefficient, indicated that evapotranspiration of this grassland was controlled by water supply limitations and surface conductance. At an annual basis, the cumulative evapotranspiration was 59 percent of the precipitation received at the site. The results of this research complemented with other studies will promote better understanding of land-atmosphere interactions, accurate parameterizations of hydroclimatic models, and assessment of climate impact of grassland ecosystems.