The IASI Water Deficit Index to Monitor Vegetation Stress and Early Drying in Summer Heatwaves: An Application to Southern Italy

Guido Masiello (), Francesco Ripullone, Italia De Feis, Angelo Rita, Luigi Saulino, Pamela Pasquariello, Angela Cersosimo, Sara Venafra () and Carmine Serio
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Guido Masiello: Scuola di Ingegneria, Università della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Francesco Ripullone: Scuola di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Italia De Feis: Istitituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo “Mauro Picone”, IAC-CNR, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Angelo Rita: Dipartimento di Agraria, Università di Napoli Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Luigi Saulino: Dipartimento di Agraria, Università di Napoli Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Pamela Pasquariello: Scuola di Ingegneria, Università della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Angela Cersosimo: Scuola di Ingegneria, Università della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Sara Venafra: Scuola di Ingegneria, Università della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Carmine Serio: Scuola di Ingegneria, Università della Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-18

Abstract: The boreal hemisphere has been experiencing increasing extreme hot and dry conditions over the past few decades, consistent with anthropogenic climate change. The continental extension of this phenomenon calls for tools and techniques capable of monitoring the global to regional scales. In this context, satellite data can satisfy the need for global coverage. The main objective we have addressed in the present paper is the capability of infrared satellite observations to monitor the vegetation stress due to increasing drought and heatwaves in summer. We have designed and implemented a new water deficit index ( wdi ) that exploits satellite observations in the infrared to retrieve humidity, air temperature, and surface temperature simultaneously. These three parameters are combined to provide the water deficit index. The index has been developed based on the Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Interferometer or IASI, which covers the infrared spectral range 645 to 2760 cm −1 with a sampling of 0.25 cm −1 . The index has been used to study the 2017 heatwave, which hit continental Europe from May to October. In particular, we have examined southern Italy, where Mediterranean forests suffer from climate change. We have computed the index’s time series and show that it can be used to indicate the atmospheric background conditions associated with meteorological drought. We have also found a good agreement with soil moisture, which suggests that the persistence of an anomalously high water deficit index was an essential driver of the rapid development and evolution of the exceptionally severe 2017 droughts.

Keywords: climate change; drought; water deficit index; infrared observations; satellite; remote sensing; surface temperature; air temperature; humidity; dew point temperature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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