Earth ID: 3632

Evapotranspiration from Landsat

Visualizations by Adam Martin Released on September 14, 2009

Instruments on the Landsat satellites capture images in the visible spectrum, but they also take images in wavelengths invisible to the naked eye. Landsat's thermal imager captures land surface temperature data. As farmers irrigate fields, water evaporates from the soil and transpires from plants' leaves. The combined process is called evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiring water absorbs energy, so farm fields consuming more water appear cooler in the thermal band. Landsat-based evapotranspiration measurements provide an objective way for water managers to assess on a field-by-field basis how much water agricultural growers are using. The measurements have even been used to help settle water rights conflicts in court.

In this animation, the first image shows an agricultural region in Idaho on August 14, 2000, captured in the visible spectrum. The round, green circles are irrigated farm fields. The second image, using Landsat's thermal band, depicts cooler and warmer areas. Irrigated fields appear cooler because evapotranspiring water absorbs energy and cools the fields. The thermal image dissolves into a map of evapotranspiration, created using the METRIC tool.

This visible spectrum image shows an agricultural region in Idaho. The round, green circles are individual irrigated farm fields. The image was created by combining Landsat bands 1, 2 and 3.

This thermal band image shows the same agricultural region in Idaho on the same day. The thermal band - Landsat's band 6 - captures data on land surface temperature. As agricultural growers irrigate farm fields, water evaporating from the soil and transpiring from the plants' leaves absorbs energy and cools the fields.

This image is a map of evapotranspiration of the same agricultural region in Idaho on the same day, created by processing Landsat data with the METRIC tool.

Visualization Credits

Adam Martin (UMBC): Lead Animator
Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Stefanie Misztal (UMBC): Video Editor
Jennifer A. Shoemaker (UMBC): Producer
Darrel Williams (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Richard Trezza (University of Idaho): Scientist
Richard Allen (University of Idaho): Scientist
Jennifer A. Shoemaker (UMBC): Writer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3632

Mission:
Landsat

Data Used:

Landsat-7/ETM+

08/14/2000

http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/wrs.html

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This item is part of this series:
Agriculture Animations - Land Use Change

Keywords:
DLESE >> Environmental science
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Water Vapor >> Evaporation
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Water Vapor >> Evapotranspiration
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Hydrosphere >> Ground Water >> Water Table
GCMD >> Location >> Idaho
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> For Educators
SVS >> Farming
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0