Evapotranspiration (ET) is a major component of the hydrologic cycle. ET data are used for a variety of water management and research purposes such as irrigation scheduling, water and crop modeling, streamflow, water availability, and many more. Remote sensing products have been widely used to create spatially representative ET data sets which provide important information from field to regional scales. As UAV capabilities increase, remote sensing use is likely to also increase. For that purpose, scientists at the USDA-ARS research laboratory in Bushland, TX developed the Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote Sensing System (BEARS) software. The BEARS software is a Java based software that allows users to process remote sensing data to generate ET outputs using predefined models, or enter custom equations and models. The capability to define new equations and build new models expands the applicability of the BEARS software beyond ET mapping to any remote sensing application. The software also includes an image viewing tool that allows users to visualize outputs, as well as draw an area of interest using various shapes.

The NorWeST webpage hosts stream temperature data and climate scenarios in a variety of user-friendly digital formats for streams and rivers across the western U.S. Temperature data and model outputs, registered to NHDPlus stream lines, are posted to the website after QA/QC procedures and development of the final temperature model within a river basin.

The relative influences of total precipitation and air temperature on the annual low streamflow extremes are quantified from 42 Pacific Northwest stream gauges from 1948 to 2013 using mean annual streamflow as a proxy for precipitation amount effects and streamflow center of timing as a proxy for temperature effects on low flow metrics.

The Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments (AWAE) research program is one of eight Science Program areas within the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). Our science develops core knowledge, methods, and technologies that enable effective watershed management in forests and grasslands, sustain biodiversity, and maintain healthy watershed conditions.