Part of the book: Evapotranspiration
A solar insolation satellite remote sensing product for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba became available in 2009 through a collaboration between the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Solar insolation data are available at 1 km resolution for Puerto Rico and the USVI and 2 km resolution for the other islands, as derived from 500 m resolution GOES-16 visible imagery. The insolation data demonstrate the powerful utility of satellite-derived fields for water resource applications, specifically the routine production of potential and reference evapotranspiration. This chapter describes the theoretical background and technical approach for estimating components of the daily water and energy balance in Puerto Rico. Useful information can be obtained from the model, which benefits disaster and emergency management, agriculture, human health, ecology, coastal water management, and renewable energy development at the island scale.
Part of the book: Satellite Information Classification and Interpretation