HR: 17:30h
AN: H24B-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Relation between Surface Flux Measurements and Hydrologic Conditions in a Subtropical Scrubland during the North American Monsoon
AU: * Vivoni, E R
EM: vivoni@nmt.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, United States
AU: Watts, C J
EM: watts@raramuri.fisica.uson.mx
AF: Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis Encinas y Rosales, Hermosillo, SON 83000, Mexico
AU: Rodriguez, J C
EM: jcrod2001@yahoo.com
AF: Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis Encinas y Rosales, Hermosillo, SON 83000, Mexico
AU: Garatuza-Payan, J
EM: garatuza@itson.edu.mx
AF: Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, 5 de Febrero 818 Sur, Ciudad Obregon, SON 85000, Mexico
AU: Mendez-Barroso, L A
EM: lmendez@nmt.edu
AF: Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, United States
AU: Yepez, E A
EM: garatuza@itson.edu.mx
AF: University of New Mexico, 167 Castetter Hall, Albuquerque, NM 87131, United States
AU: Saiz-Hernandez, J
EM: jsaiz@dicym.uson.mx
AF: Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis Encinas y Rosales, Hermosillo, SON 83000, Mexico
AU: Gochis, D J
EM: gochis@rap.ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AB: Land-atmosphere interactions are poorly understood in the North American monsoon region due to the paucity of field observations of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Given the strong hydroclimatic seasonality and the variations induced by complex terrain, measuring and interpreting hydrological fluxes and states is a challenge. In this study, we describe recent efforts designed to reveal the interactions between surface conditions and turbulent fluxes in a subtropical scrubland experiencing dramatic greening during the monsoon season. Our analysis is based on the following data sets: (1) turbulent flux estimates from an eddy covariance tower, (2) vertical profiles of water vapor and carbon dioxide content, (3) spatial sampling of soil moisture and temperature in the tower footprint and (4) remotely-sensed surface characteristics. Based on these observations, we investigate the temporal variability in the relation between total evapotranspiration and footprint-averaged soil moisture, showing that vegetation greening, as captured by remote sensing, has a significant impact. We also relate the total evapotranspiration to CO2 and water vapor profile measurements to characterize diurnal patterns and their seasonal evolution. Finally, we discuss recent experiments utilizing stable isotopes to partition total evapotranspiration into evaporation and transpiration components in the subtropical scrubland. We also highlight how the field observations will aid numerical modeling efforts in the North American monsoon region.
UR: http://www.ees.nmt.edu/vivoni/sonora/www/
DE: 1818 Evapotranspiration
DE: 1840 Hydrometeorology
DE: 1843 Land/atmosphere interactions (1218, 1631, 3322)
DE: 1851 Plant ecology (0476)
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting