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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/22660
Description
Title
A soil-based measure of evapotranspiration
Author(s)
Kirsch, Scott Wood
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Isard, Scott A.
Department of Study
Geography
Discipline
Geography
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Agriculture, Agronomy
Physical Geography
Hydrology
Language
eng
Abstract
A soil based measure of evapotranspiration was field tested in the growing seasons of 1987 and 1988. This method relies on: (1) tracking the plane of zero flux (PZF) in a soil profile over time and (2) quantification of the change in moisture content, above the PZF, in the soil profile over time. This approach effectively eliminates one of the major drawbacks of the traditional water balance, namely the problem of drainage out of or upward flow into the zone of interest in the soil which can result in serious overestimation or underestimation of evapotranspiration. The only instrumentation necessary to implement this procedure are tensiometers, a neutron probe (or some other means of quantifying the moisture content at depth in a non-destructive manner) and a hand-operated gravimetric sampler. This method was found to perform satisfactorily for periods as short as 6 days. An extensive error analysis pertaining to this method is presented as are suggestions for improving the performance of the soil based measure of evapotranspiration.
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