Abstract
In 2009, the University of Alabama-Huntsville configured their GOES satellited-based solar radiation product to include Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba. The half-hourly and daily integrated data are available at 1 km resolution for Puerto Rico and the USVI and 2 km for Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba. These data made it possible to implement estimates of satellite radiation-based evapotranspiration methods on all of the islands. The use of the solar radiation data in combination with estimates of other climate parameters facilitated the development of a water and energy balance algorithm for Puerto Rico. The purpose of this paper is to describe the theoretical background and technical approach for estimating the components of the daily water and energy balance. The operational water and energy balance model is the first of its kind in Puerto Rico. Model validation results are presented for reference and actual evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and streamflow. Mean errors for all analyses were less than 7%. The water and energy balance model results can benefit such diverse fields as agriculture, ecology, coastal water management, human health, renewable energy development, water resources, drought monitoring, and disaster and emergency management. This research represents a preliminary step in developing a suite of gridded hydro-climate products for the Caribbean Region.
Highlights
Hydrologic water budgets are essential because they provide the information needed to evaluate a region or country’s water resources
Soil saturation from the model was recently used in a Hurricane María flood modeling study in western Puerto Rico ([67])
A possible explanation for the higher observed θ values is that the mean observed θ is weighted towards the shallow sensors because more sensors are near the surface
Summary
Hydrologic water budgets are essential because they provide the information needed to evaluate a region or country’s water resources. The regional-scale evaluation helps forecast floods and droughts, maintain sustainable water supplies, and assess the impacts of changing climate and land-use changes on water resources ([1,2]). Floods and droughts are common occurrences in the Caribbean region ([4]). To better understand the hydrologic processes in these islands, tools are needed to estimate the temporal and spatial distribution of the components of the hydrologic cycle, along with other relevant agro-hydro-meteorological variables. Accurate methods are needed to estimate rainfall, evapotranspiration, runoff, aquifer recharge, and soil moisture. The need becomes more critical with the increasing manifestations of climate change ([5])
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