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Water Stress Explains the Aerodynamic versus Radiometric Surface Temperature Paradox in Thermal-based Evaporation Modeling
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  • Kaniska Mallick,
  • Dennis D Baldocchi,
  • Andrew James Jarvis,
  • Tian Hu,
  • Ivonne Trebs,
  • Mauro Sulis,
  • Nishan Bhattarai,
  • Christian Bossung,
  • Yomna Eid,
  • Jamie Cleverly,
  • Jason Beringer,
  • William Woodgate,
  • Richard Silberstein,
  • Nina Hinko-Najera,
  • Wayne Stewart Meyer,
  • Darren Ghent,
  • Zoltan Szantoi,
  • Gilles Boulet,
  • William P. Kustas
Kaniska Mallick
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Dennis D Baldocchi
University of California, Berkeley
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Andrew James Jarvis
Lancaster University
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Tian Hu
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
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Ivonne Trebs
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)
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Mauro Sulis
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
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Nishan Bhattarai
United States Department of Agriculture
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Christian Bossung
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
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Yomna Eid
The Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg
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Jamie Cleverly
James Cook University
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Jason Beringer
University of Western Australia
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William Woodgate
The University of Queensland
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Richard Silberstein
Edith Cowan University
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Nina Hinko-Najera
University of Melbourne
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Wayne Stewart Meyer
University of Adelaide
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Darren Ghent
University of Leicester
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Zoltan Szantoi
European Space Agency
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Gilles Boulet
CESBIO/IRD, France
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William P. Kustas
USDA-ARS
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Abstract

To explain the inequality between aerodynamic and radiometric surface temperature, we used an analytical surface energy balance model where evaporation is directly estimated by constraining the state equations of aerodynamic temperature and biophysical conductances through radiometric temperature. While the derived aerodynamic temperature was comparable with a flux-inverted counterpart, evaporation and sensible heat fluxes also showed good correspondence with in-situ eddy covariance observations over contrasting aridity in Australia. Results showed aerodynamic temperature frequently exceeds the radiometric temperature in arid and semiarid ecosystems for two reasons: (i) declining canopy-surface conductance and evaporative fraction due to escalated water stress and vapor pressure deficit, and (ii) a simultaneous increase in aerodynamic conductance, air temperature and sensible heat flux. The analytical approach provides valuable insights into the long-lasting debate of aerodynamic versus radiometric temperature paradox by recognizing the feedback between biophysical conductances and the supply-demand limit of solar radiation, soil moisture, and vapor pressure deficit.