JCSET | Watershed Studies Institute Research Symposium

Linking field observations and satellite data to assess the impacts of environmental controls on water use efficiency, for the state of Kentucky.

Presenter Information

Sydney AbbottFollow

Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Junior

Major

Earth and Environmental Sciences

List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)

Dr. Bassil El Masri

Presentation Format

Poster Presentation

Abstract/Description

Linking field observations and satellite data to assess the impacts of environmental controls on water use efficiency, for the state of Kentucky.

Sydney Abbott, Bassil El Masri

Murray State University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Water use efficiency (WUE), the ratio of carbon assimilation to water loss, is a key physiological parameter linking carbon and water cycles. Understanding changes in WUE is critical to quantify the terrestrial ecosystem response to climate change. In this study, we evaluated satellite data against data collected at an eddy covariance site at Kentucky State University for 5 years (2016-2020). We compared the site data to remotely sensed data obtained from ECOSTRESS and MODIS. Our goal is to determine how climate change might have effected water use efficiency. ECOSTRESS, on board the International Space Station, provided new opportunities to monitor plant WUE and water stress from space. We used MODIS Evapotranspiration (ET), latent heat, Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), ECOSTRESS ET and WUE. We calculated MODIS and site WUE as the ratio of GPP to ET. Our results showed that MODIS slightly overestimated the ET from the site data, while MODIS underestimated the WUE compared to the site WUE. ECOSTRESS WUE showed higher values than MODIS WUE. MODIS underestimated GPP compared to the site data in 2016 and overestimated in 2017 and 2018. Results also showed that ET fluctuates with the seasons and changes little between each year. Whereas WUE was lower in 2016, had a huge spike in 2017, and dropped slightly in 2018. However, WUE was still higher in 2018 than in 2016. The GPP was higher in 2017 than both 2016 and 2018 and was lowest in 2016. The importance of this research is to be able to predict future changes in vegetation due to climate change. It is especially important in Kentucky and other farming states, that will be greatly impacted by these changes.

Keywords: Evapotranspiration, Gross Primary Productivity, Water Use Efficiency, MODIS, ECOSRTESS

Spring Scholars Week 2021 Event

Watershed Studies Institute Symposium

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Linking field observations and satellite data to assess the impacts of environmental controls on water use efficiency, for the state of Kentucky.

Linking field observations and satellite data to assess the impacts of environmental controls on water use efficiency, for the state of Kentucky.

Sydney Abbott, Bassil El Masri

Murray State University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Water use efficiency (WUE), the ratio of carbon assimilation to water loss, is a key physiological parameter linking carbon and water cycles. Understanding changes in WUE is critical to quantify the terrestrial ecosystem response to climate change. In this study, we evaluated satellite data against data collected at an eddy covariance site at Kentucky State University for 5 years (2016-2020). We compared the site data to remotely sensed data obtained from ECOSTRESS and MODIS. Our goal is to determine how climate change might have effected water use efficiency. ECOSTRESS, on board the International Space Station, provided new opportunities to monitor plant WUE and water stress from space. We used MODIS Evapotranspiration (ET), latent heat, Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), ECOSTRESS ET and WUE. We calculated MODIS and site WUE as the ratio of GPP to ET. Our results showed that MODIS slightly overestimated the ET from the site data, while MODIS underestimated the WUE compared to the site WUE. ECOSTRESS WUE showed higher values than MODIS WUE. MODIS underestimated GPP compared to the site data in 2016 and overestimated in 2017 and 2018. Results also showed that ET fluctuates with the seasons and changes little between each year. Whereas WUE was lower in 2016, had a huge spike in 2017, and dropped slightly in 2018. However, WUE was still higher in 2018 than in 2016. The GPP was higher in 2017 than both 2016 and 2018 and was lowest in 2016. The importance of this research is to be able to predict future changes in vegetation due to climate change. It is especially important in Kentucky and other farming states, that will be greatly impacted by these changes.

Keywords: Evapotranspiration, Gross Primary Productivity, Water Use Efficiency, MODIS, ECOSRTESS