FIFE 1987 WATER-BUDGET ANALYSIS

The First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (IS LSCP) Field Experiment (FIFE) represents one of the largest data colle ction campaigns to date in our endeavor to observe the hydrodynamic an d thermodynamic processes occurring on the land surface of the Earth. Data for FIFE have been widely used to improve our understanding of la nd surface processes and to improve the representation of the land sur face and boundary layer in atmospheric models. Because FIFE data are b eing used to test models of land surface processes, it is important to examine how well the FIFE data preserve the water budget. Therefore t his study examined the data consistency issue from a hydrologic perspe ctive. More specifically, we investigated whether there is a consisten t land surface water balance for the FIFE area over the 1987 experimen t period. All components of water balance, i.e., rainfall, evaporation , runoff, and soil moisture, were examined individually as well as col lectively. Gridded fields were made of each component. Both the gridde d fields and areal averages were analyzed. The processed data were als o compared with the data sets processed by other researchers. Inconsis tencies in the data were pointed out and the sources were investigated . The results indicate that spatially averaged rainfall, fluxes, and s oil moisture storage time series derived from the FIFE data close the water budget reasonably well. It is recommended that these data be use d for future development and testing of models.