Estimation of Land Surface Energy Fluxes: An Application of Satellite Remote Sensing Procedure

Surface energy fluxes, including sensible heat, latent heat, net radiation, and soil heat flux, play crucial role in surface energy dynamics of any terrain or landscapes. Estimation or measurement of these energy fluxes is critical for completing the water balance in terrestrial ecosystems, and therefore accurately predicting the effects of global climate and land use change. There are various methods available for ET estimation. Bowen ratio energy balance and eddy correlation techniques offer powerful alternatives for measuring land surface energy fluxes. In spite of the elegance, high accuracy and theoretical attractions of these techniques for measuring ET, their practical use over large areas can be limited. These techniques provide measurements at a point scale and may not be practical when quantifying water use over large areas due to the number of measurement sites needed and the operational expense of such a dense network. Application of ET mapping from satellite measurements can overcome aforementioned limitations. The objective of this study is to assess the performance of the METRIC^TM (Mapping Evapotranspiration at high Resolution using Internalized Calibration) model for estimating land surface energy fluxes to improve our understanding of processes that govern water use in managed and native ecosystems in south-central Nebraska.