What have we learned from continuous crop and forest evapotranspiration observations in the Central Sands?

Ammara Talib, Ankur R Desai (2019)
Feb 5, 2019

Conference: ‘UW Extension & Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) Grower Conference 2019’

Ways to measure ET:

  • Meteorological approximations: Thornthwaite, Priestly-Taylor, Penman-Montieth – Strong assumptions on surface properties, ET driven by radiation

  • Residual: Measure precipitation, soil moisture, runoff, back out ET – Subject to high uncertainty Lysimeters: Labor-intensive, small-area estimate

  • Remote sensing: Assumptions on links between electromagnetic radiation and ET, satellites don’t work with clouds

  • Process models: Captures all aspects but requires extensive, hard to measure parameters

  • Eddy covariance: Direct method, whole field, expensive and expertise required

  • Machine “Learning”: Site-specific, hard to extrapolate or interpret, but powerful for forecasting

Machine learning Remote sensing Forecasting Models
Ammara Talib
Ammara Talib
PhD Candidate, Civil & Environmental Engineering

My research interests include using process based models, machine learning, and statistical modeling to predict and forecast water quality and quantity issues.