Post-processed data and graphical tools for a CONUS-wide eddy flux evapotranspiration dataset.

Area of Science:

• Earth Science
• Hydrology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• High-quality in situ evapotranspiration (ET) data are essential for water resource management and earth science research.
• Existing datasets often lack comprehensive data provenance and rigorous quality assurance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a post-processed, quality-assured dataset of daily and monthly evapotranspiration (ET) measurements.
• To provide a benchmark dataset for validating satellite-based remote sensing ET models, specifically for the OpenET initiative.
• To offer a valuable resource for other applications in hydrologic and atmospheric modeling.

Main Methods:

• Compiled data from 161 eddy covariance flux tower stations across the contiguous United States, selected for data quality.
• Processed half-hourly energy balance data, including gap-filling and aggregation to daily frequency.
• Corrected turbulent fluxes for energy balance closure errors using the FLUXNET2015/ONEFlux approach.
• Included associated data such as energy fluxes, meteorological measurements, and reference ET from gridMET.

Main Results:

• Developed a robust ET-oriented dataset with documented data provenance and quality assurance.
• The dataset includes 161 stations, with 148 eddy covariance flux towers, providing daily and monthly ET values.
• Incorporated metadata, energy balance diagnostics, and interactive time series graphs for each station.

Conclusions:

• The presented dataset provides a reliable and comprehensive resource for advancing water management and earth science research.
• It serves as a critical tool for benchmarking and improving satellite-derived ET estimates.
• The dataset's open-source processing and rich metadata facilitate diverse applications in regional modeling and scientific inquiry.