Enhancing the Variable Infiltration Capacity Model to Account for Natural and Anthropogenic Impacts on Evapotranspiration in the North American Monsoon Region

Abstract:

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a poorly constrained flux in the North American monsoon (NAM) region, leading to potential errors in land-atmosphere feedbacks. Due to the region’s arid to semi-arid climate, two factors play major roles in ET: sparse vegetation that exhibits dramatic seasonal greening, and irrigated agriculture. To more accurately characterize the spatio-temporal variations of ET in the NAM region, we used the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, modified to account for soil evaporation (E_soil), irrigated agriculture, and the variability of land surface properties derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer during 2000-2012. Simulated ET patterns were compared to field observations at fifty-nine eddy covariance towers, water balance estimates in nine basins, and six available gridded ET products. The modified VIC model performed well at eddy covariance towers representing the natural and agricultural land covers in the region. Simulations revealed that major source areas for ET were forested mountain areas during the summer season and irrigated croplands at peak times of growth in the winter and summer, accounting for 22% and 9% of the annual ET, respectively. Over the NAM region, E_soil was the largest component (60%) of annual ET, followed by plant transpiration (T, 32%) and evaporation of canopy interception (8%). E_soil and T displayed different relations with P in natural land covers, with E_soil tending to peak earlier than T by up to one month, while only a weak correlation between ET and P was found in irrigated croplands. These VIC-based estimates are the most realistic to date for this region, outperforming several other process-based and remote-sensing-based gridded ET products. Furthermore, spatio-temporal patterns reveal new information on the magnitudes, locations and timing of ET in the North American monsoon region, with implications for land-atmosphere feedbacks.