Satellite Mapping of Agricultural Water Requirements in California

Satellite mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated agricultural lands can provide water managers and agricultural producers with information that can be used to optimize agricultural water use, especially in regions with limited water supplies. In particular, the timely delivery of information on agricultural crop water requirements has the potential to make irrigation scheduling more practical, convenient, and accurate. We present findings from the development and deployment of a prototype system for irrigation scheduling and management support in California. The Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) framework utilizes the NASA Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System to integrate satellite observations and meteorological observations from the California Irrigation Management Information System to map crop canopy development, basal crop coefficients (Kcb), and basal crop evapotranspiration (ETcb) values for multiple crop types in the Central Valley of California at the scale of individual fields. Information is distributed to agricultural producers and water managers via a web-based irrigation management decision support system and web services. We present the prototype system, including comparisons of estimates of ETcb from the prototype system against estimates of ET from other methods, including surface renewal stations and observations from wireless sensor networks deployed in operational agricultural fields across California. We also summarize results from ongoing studies to quantify the benefits of using satellite data to enhance ET-based irrigation management in terms of total applied water, crop yield, and nitrate leaching.