Engineering Commons^™

Modeling The Spatially Varying Water Balance Processes In A Semi- Arid Mountainous Watershed Of Idaho, Benjamin T. Stratton, Venkataramana Sridhar, Molly M. Gribb, James P. Mcnamara, B. Narasimhan

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mountainous watersheds in semi-arid regions are complex hydrologic systems. To critically evaluate the hydrological processes, high resolution spatio-temporal information is necessary. Also, calibrating and validating a watershed-scale model is necessary to enable our understanding of the water balance components in the gauged watersheds. The distributed Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model was applied to a research watershed, the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed (DCEW), near Boise Idaho to investigate its water balance components both temporally and spatially. Daily streamflow data from four streamflow gauges were used for calibration and validation of the model. Monthly estimates of streamflow during the calibration …

Slides: Groundwater Declines, Climate Change And Approaches To Adaptation, Katharine Jacobs

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Katharine Jacobs, Director of the Arizona Water Institute, University of Arizona

37 slides

Hydrological Behavior Of Grasslands Of The Sandhills Of Nebraska: Water And Energy Balance Assessment From Measurements, Treatments And Modeling, Venkataramana Sridhar, David A. Wedin

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding energy and water balance processes in the Sandhills is crucial to assess the land-atmosphere feedback effects. The Sandhills located in western Nebraska covers a vast grassland ecosystem with limited variability in vegetation and soil. However, the combined effect of topography, land cover and micrometeorology by subjecting the land surface to various disturbances and treatments is rarely studied. The NOAH Land Surface Model was used to estimate net radiation, latent, sensible and ground heat fluxes as well as water balance components for two growing seasons between 2005 and 2006 in various plots at the Grasslands Destabilization Experimental site where these …

Actual And Reference Evaporative Losses And Surface Coefficients Of A Maize Field During Nongrowing (Dormant) Periods, Christopher H. Hay, Suat Irmak

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Effective water resources planning, allocation, management, and use in agroecosystems require accurate quantification of actual evapotranspiration (ET_c) during growing and nongrowing (dormant) periods. Prediction of ET_c for a variety of vegetation surfaces during the growing season has been researched extensively, but relatively little information exists on evaporative losses during nongrowing periods for different surfaces. The objectives of this research were to evaluate ET_c in relation to available energy, precipitation, and grass and alfalfa-reference ET (ET_o and ET_r) for a maize (Zea mays L.) field and to analyze the dynamics of surface coefficients …

Impact Of Microclimatic Data Measured Above Maize And Grass Canopies On Penman‐Monteith Reference Evapotranspiration Calculations, Suat Irmak, Lameck O. Odhiambo

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Estimation of reference evapotranspiration (ET_ref) using measured microclimatic data and the Penman‐Monteith (PM) method provides a powerful means of quantifying actual plant evapotranspiration (ET_a) needed for use in various disciplines. When applying the PM method to estimate ET_ref, it is desirable to measure the required microclimatic data over a reference grass or alfalfa surface rather than above non‐reference surfaces. However, in reality, establishing and maintaining a reference surface for long periods of time is a difficult task. Other surface energy balance systems, such as the Bowen ratio energy balance system (BREBS), eddy covariance system, …