Mapping evapotranspiration coefficients in the Paris metropolitan area
Abstract
Global changes involve adaptation and updated knowledge about the systems affected by these changes. Due to innovation and population growth also, the land cover pattern is exposed to modify its components, both natural and artificial, with implication for the several fields of Earth Sciences. Here, we present the spatial distribution of the land cover evapotranspiration coefficients (Kclc) in one of the most dynamic and important territories in Europe, in Paris metropolitan area. Specified crop coefficients were analysed for different crops and vegetative areas, but also the evapotranspiration coefficients related to the urban areas, bare soils and rocks, open water and rivers were presented in the present paper. The investigation has included the review and the adapted analysis of the land cover coefficients taken from the specific literature. Using the ArcGIS environment, the spatial distribution of the land cover coefficients related to four seasons (initial season, mid-season, end-season, and cold season) was carried out. The main results indicate maximum values up to 1.6 of the Kclc in the mid-season, for the areas occupied by the broadleaved forest. In the same season, the Kclc high values of 1.35 and 1.5 spread in the areas covered by complex cultivation patterns, nonirrigated arable land, respectively by mixed forest. The initial season presents values of Kclc that range from 0.1 to 1.3, while in the end season the land cover coefficients range from 0.2 to 1.5. The cold season indicates the lower values in major part of the Paris metropolitan area with few locations, in the South and East sides of the study area, where the coefficient reaches value 1. This work highlights the variation of the crop coefficients, but also of different land cover types in the metropolitan area of Paris with implications for agriculture management, hydrogeologists, and climatologists. Further investigations will include evapotranspiration calculations and climate effects assessment on the water resources in this area.