How Much Water Is Evaporated Across California? A Multiyear Assessment Using a Biophysical Model Forced With Satellite Remote Sensing Data

Abstract California is expected to experience great spatial/temporal variations evaporation. These variations arise from strong north‐south, east‐west gradients in rainfall and vegetation, strong interannual variability in rainfall (±30%) and strong seasonal variability in the supply and demand for moisture. We used the Breathing Earth System Simulator to evaluate the rates and sums of evaporation across California, over the 2001–2017 period. Breathing Earth System Simulator is a bottom‐up, biophysical model that couples subroutines that calculate the surface energy balance, photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance. The model is forced with high‐resolution remote sensing data (1 km).The questions we address are as follows: How much water is evaporated across the natural and managed ecosystems of California? How much does evaporation vary during the booms and busts in annual rainfall? and…