Non Technical Summary
(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0210	2020	50%
111	0320	2050	20%
112	0330	2070	10%
132	0499	2020	10%
404	7210	2050	10%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 132 - Weather and Climate; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 404 - Instrumentation and Control Systems; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water;

Subject Of Investigation
0330 - Wetland and riparian systems; 0210 - Water resources; 7210 - Remote sensing equipment and technology; 0320 - Watersheds; 0499 - Atmosphere, general/other;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 2050 - Hydrology;

Goals / Objectives
ARS and the Cooperator are interested in studying the utility of the satellite-derived Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) for identifying drought-prone areas, with potential applications in crop insurance. The ESI identifies areas of anomalous crop water use in agricultural areas, and can provide early warning of declining vegetation health as reflected in reduced transpiration rates. Retrospective maps of ESI may provide useful information about drought-prone regions and statistical connectivity between other regional indicators, which may be of value within the crop insurance industry.

Project Methods
The project will be managed jointly between ARS and the Cooperator. The Cooperator will evaluate the relationship between Pacific sea surface temperatures and drought development using gridded ESI data products. The Cooperator will also conduct basic clustering analyses to assess regional drought patterns to improve risk diversification. ARS will provide retrospective ESI datasets to the Cooperator and will assist in interpretation of results.