Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Evaluating biological and physical drivers of evapotranspiration trends at northeastern US watersheds

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Despite a general consensus that the Earth’s hydrologic cycle is intensifying as a result of anthropogenic climate forcing (e.g. Huntington 2006), there remains substantial uncertainty over the consequences of this intensification for terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET; e.g., Hobbins and others 2004, Walter and others 2004, van Heerwaarden and others 2010). Most models indicate that climate change will cause an increase in ET, but evidence from field observations has been inconsistent. Unidirectional changes in ET could profoundly alter local water balances and streamflow dynamics, having important implications for water supply and associated services, including drinking water, irrigation, recreation, wastewater assimilation, and power generation.

Parent Publication

Citation

Campbell, John L.; Vadeboncoeur, Matthew A.; Asbjornsen, Heidi; Green, Mark B.; Adams, Mary Beth; Boyer, Elizabeth W. 2016. Evaluating biological and physical drivers of evapotranspiration trends at northeastern US watersheds. In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to estuaries: advances in watershed science and management -Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina. e-General Technical  Report  SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 3 p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/52036