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OpenET, a new online platform that uses satellites to estimate water consumed by crops and other plants is now available free to farmers and local water managers. The data is available in 17 western states.
Applications of OpenET data include:
- Informing irrigation management and scheduling to maximize “crop per drop” and reduce costs for water, fertilizer and energy.
- Enabling water and land managers to develop more accurate water budgets, water trading programs and other innovative programs.
What is evapotranspiration?
The “ET” in OpenET stands for evapotranspiration — the process by which water evaporates from the land surface and transpires, or is released, from plants. ET is a key measure of water consumed by crops and other vegetation that can be used by farmers and water managers to better track water use as well as water saved, for instance, when farmers change crops or invest in new technologies.
Using publicly available data, OpenET brings together six independent models for estimating evapotranspiration onto a single computing platform.
