Evapotransportation

David Sparks Ph.D.

 Harvard University just gave a scientific award to the Idaho Department of Water Resources for “Mapping Evapotranspiration from Satellites”. Before we start high-fiving and backslapping, let’s find out what Mapping Evapotranspiration from Satellites means. Bill Kramber, Senior Remote Sensing Analyst. “Evapotransporation is the amount of water evaporated from land or transpired from vegetation and it’s synonymous with consumptive use or the amount of water used by irrigation.”

 Got it. So there’s a satellite 450 miles up in space that’s looking down on Idaho farms and it is able to analyze in detail the amount of water vapor given off through evapotransporation. So what does that do for us? 

 Manager Tony Morse: “Where we want this to go, is watch during a growing season and monitor the amount of water that’s being used in a particular area to try and understand whether or not that area is water short and that question bears on the issue of curtailment.”

 (Kramber) “We can actually see the ET for individual fields…map and show the aquifer re-charge, we can also use it to look at water rights, it can be used in by-back programs.”