Development of a User-Friendly Interface for Predicting Climate Change Induced Changes in Evapotranspiration

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Project Number:

WR10R001

Funding Year:

2010

Contract Period:

3/1/2010 - 2/28/2011

Funding Source:

UWS

Investigator(s):

Abstract:

Background/Need:
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the second largest component of Wisconsin’s (WI) hydrologic budget after precipitation, yet the expected changes to this process due to climate change are not well understood. Changes to ET will impact agriculture, tourism, recreation, and ecosystems.
Objectives:
The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop and calibrate a Penman-Monteith model of ET that predicts daily ET in nine WI regions and for five broad vegetation communities for a range of soil types using downscaled global climate model (GCM) data through 2100, and (2) to package the model into a publically-accessible graphical user interface (GUI) to allow interested parties to evaluate the likely changes to ET in their specific location.

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