Evapotranspiration units in the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system, White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent parts of Nevada and Utah
Description
Accurate estimates of ground-water discharge are crucial in the development of a water budget for the
Basin and Range Carbonate-rock Aquifer System (BARCAS) study area. One common method used
throughout the southwest United States is to estimate ground-water discharge from evapotranspiration
(ET). ET is a process by which water from the Earth's surface is transferred to the atmosphere.
The volume of water lost to the atmosphere by ET can be computed as the product of the ET rate and
the acreage of vegetation, open water, and moist soil through which ET occurs. The procedure used in
the study, groups areas of similar vegetation, water, and soil conditions into different ET units and
assigns an average annual ET rate to each unit. The data sets and the procedures used to delineate
the ET-unit map are described in this metadata.