A Watershed Evapotranspiration Prediction Using the Blaney-Criddle Approach

DEFINING WATERSHED‐SCALE EVAPORATION USING A NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX1

“…Catchments B and F, near the town of Tifton, Georgia, in the Little River basin, are experimental watersheds operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The watersheds are representative of the Coastal Plain Province of the eastern Unites States, which extends from New England along the Atlantic coast to Texas (Williams, 1985). Catchments B and F have a drainage area of 334 and 114 km2, respectively.…”

“…The watersheds are covered with Quaternary sediments, poorly-sorted sands interbedded with partly indurated sandy claystones and clays that are underlain by limestones over the Hawthorn Formation, an aquiclude at a depth of 1-3 m (ARS-USDA, 1976). The soils are permeable, and the infiltration rates are high (Williams, 1985). The surface topography is relatively flat (Shirmohamaddi et al, 1986).…”

“…The surface topography is relatively flat (Shirmohamaddi et al, 1986). Less than 2 percent of the annual precipitation of 1,200 mm is lost to deep percolation (Williams, 1985;Shirmohamaddi et al, 1986). Climate in the region is characterized as humid subtropical with long, warm summers and short, mild winters (Sheridan, 1997).…”