Ticker for August 6, 1999

                
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August 6, 1999     August 6, 1999     August 6, 1999     August 6, 1999


Evapotranspiration Model Added to Suite of Mesonet Ag-Weather Applications


This week, another weather-driven model was added to the suite of
Mesonet-related models for agriculture and natural resources at:
http://agweather.mesonet.org/models/models.html

The Oklahoma Evapotranspiration Model is a tool which can be used
to estimate daily water loss from a plant canopy through the combined
processes of evaporation and transpiration.  Using weather data from
the Oklahoma Mesonet, the model calculates daily grass reference
evapotranspiration (ET) for each of Mesonet's 115 sites.  Based on
those reference values, it estimates daily ET values for alfalfa,
cool- and warm-season grass, and good old pan evaporation.

The model is useful for purposes of irrigation scheduling.  If a user
knows the proper "crop coefficients" for a particular crop, he can
use the reference ET values (or pan evaporation) to get an estimate
of water lost in the soil column from a given start date.

For warm (e.g., Bermudagrass) or cool (e.g., fescue, ryegrass) season
grass lawns, one can use the appropriate ET values to estimate the
amount of water lost from lawns.  The Oklahoma Evapotranspiration Model
web site has instructions and downloadable forms for purposes of lawn
irrigation.

More interactive sections and graphical output will be added by the
end of the season.

The Oklahoma Evapotranspiration Model and many more details pertaining
to it can be found at:

http://agweather.mesonet.org/models/evap/