ECOSYSTEM SPACEBORNE THERMAL RADIOMETER EXPERIMENT ON SPACE STATION (ECOSTRESS)

• Sponsoring Institution: Agricultural Research Service/USDA
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: USDA INHOUSE
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0438219
• Project Start Date: Apr 21, 2020
• Project End Date: Jul 31, 2023
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
RM 331, BLDG 003, BARC-W
BELTSVILLE,MD 20705-2351

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
(N/A)

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

60%

Applied

40%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0210	2020	50%
111	0320	2050	20%
112	0330	2070	10%
132	0499	2020	10%
404	7210	2050	10%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 132 - Weather and Climate; 404 - Instrumentation and Control Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds; 0210 - Water resources; 0499 - Atmosphere, general/other; 0330 - Wetland and riparian systems; 7210 - Remote sensing equipment and technology;

Field Of Science
2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 2020 - Engineering; 2050 - Hydrology;

Keywords

water

use

evapotranspiration

drought

monitoring

drought

impact

thermal

infrared

remote

sensing

Goals / Objectives
The overall objective is to demonstrate applications for the new ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) multi-spectral thermal infrared sensor, proposed for launch on the International Space Station. Land surface temperature maps obtained with ECOSTRESS at high temporal frequency will be used in surface energy balance models to estimate evapotranspiration and used to address science questions relating to water use and climate change by: 1. Identify critical thresholds of water use and water stress in key climate sensitive biomes; 2. Detect the timing, location, and predictive factors leading to plant water uptake decline and/or cessation over the diurnal cycle; and 3. Measure agricultural water consumptive use over the contiguous United States (CONUS) at spatiotemporal scales applicable to improve drought estimation accuracy.

Project Methods
Ecostress thermal imagery at approximately 50-m spatial resolution and 5-day revisit interval will be ingested into existing USDA energy balance models to produce time-series of daily evapotranspiration (water use) at target evaluation sites and climate hot spots within the US and globally. The model estimates will be evaluated for accuracy with respect to ground measurements made in a range of climate and cover conditions. The time series will then be used to investigate variability in water use and water use efficiency across heterogeneous landscapes, and dependence on landcover type and land/water management strategy. The response of vegetation water use under conditions of drought onset, occurring during the ECOSTRESS mission lifetime, will be investigated to identify factors determining resilience to water deficiency (e.g., rooting depth, plant type, access to ancillary moistures sources).