INNOVATION
Texas, providing important spatial information for water balance estimation and recharge within different watersheds and land use contexts.
This flux tower data is being used to verify the accuracy of datasets generated by the Global Daily Evapo-Transpiration project, known as GloDET, that runs the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service’s ALEXI two-source energy balance model. The data is also being used in field trials for irrigation scheduling to validate output and improve predictions from a model being used to support a farmer-friendly smartphone and online app being developed by the team.
Project – Development of a Low-Pressure and Low-Flow Water and Energy Efficiency Media Filtration System
Figure 3. In October 2019, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln- based team joined representatives of the Upper Republican Natural Resources District, the Nebraska Water Balance Alliance and industry partners including DTN on a tour of the HUC-12 watershed served by the flux network. The group’s discussions with regard to how to improve water balance methodologies using best-available precipitation and evapotranspiration data laid the groundwork for potential future public-
private engagement. Photo credit: Naisargi Dave
Project – Advancing Development of the Parallel 41 Flux Network to Support Real-Time Evapotranspiration Estimates and Monitoring Using Remote Sensing
Goal – To expand a multistate network of eddy covariance flux towers that provide real-time evapotranspiration estimates used by farmers and other stakeholders
Partners – University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kansas State University, The Climate Corporation, LI-COR Biosciences, RealmFive
The Parallel 41 Network project consists of several latest generation smart eddy covariance flux towers located across the midwestern United States that provide quality-controlled, gap-filled and continuously measured ET, daily reference ET, daily crop coefficient and cumulative measured ET during the growing season. This valuable information can be used by farmers and others to measure crop water use, schedule irrigations, assess plant water stress, monitor drought and calculate water balance and productivity. The project has fostered and expanded collaborative discussion with power companies involved in monitoring energy use and many other groups, including Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts, which are interested in supporting improvements in irrigation efficiency and water conservation (see fig. 3).
In 2020, network expansion of five new towers will help fill in gaps in spatial coverage, making it possible to monitor additional crops and naturally vegetated surfaces in Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas and
30 Irrigation TODAY | Summer 2020
Goal – To develop a prototype filter which will be more water efficient and operate on lower pressures
Partners – California State University, Fresno and Perigo LLC
Sand media filtration in agricultural irrigation systems typically involves the use of tanks that require large amounts of pressure and water to sufficiently filter out and discharge contaminants. The team working on this project set out to develop a prototype low- pressure media filter and compare its functionality to that of several off-the-shelf filtration devices.
“In agricultural settings in places like California, where we have high water and energy costs, it is costly to pump thousands of gallons of water through a 40-50 psi system,” says Kaomine Vang, project lead and project manager at California State University, Fresno’s Center for Irrigation Technology. “Typical system pressures can be excessive and destructive for producers using drip irrigation, with drip emitters configured to perform at much lower pressures — 14 psi or less. If producers can use smaller pumps and reduce the pressure in their systems, this could lead to significant cost and water savings.”
Project – Irrigation Pumping Plant Performance Calculator
Goal – To develop a calculator tool to help agricultural irrigators assess center pivot pumping plant performance and water use efficiency
Partners – The Electric Power Research Institute, Hydraulic Institute, IIC partners at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Colorado State University, Kansas State University and Tri-State G&T
irrigationtoday.org
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