Regional estimates of evapotranspiration （ET） are critical for a wide range of applications. Satellite remote sensing is a promising tool for obtaining reasonable ET spatial distribution data. However, there are at least two major problems that exist in the regional estimation of ET from remote sensing data. One is the conflicting requirements of simple data over a wide region, and accuracy of those data. The second is the lack of regional ET products that cover the entire region of northern China. In this study, we first retrieved the evaporative fraction （EF） by interpolating from the difference of day/night land surface temperature （AT） and the normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） triangular-shaped scatter space. Then, ET was generated from EF and land surface meteorological data. The estimated eight-day EF and ET results were validated with 14 eddy covariance （EC） flux measurements in the growing season （July September） for the year 2008 over the study area. The estimated values agreed well with flux tower measurements, and this agreement was highly statistically significant for both EF and ET （p 〈0.01）, with the correlation coefficient for EF （R2=0.64） being relatively higher than for ET （R2---0.57）. Validation with EC-measured ET showed the mean RMSE and bias were 0.78 mm d-1 （22.03 W m-2） and 0.31 mm d-1 （8.86 W m-2）, respectively. The ET over the study area increased along a clear longitudinal gradient, which was probably controlled by the gradient of precipitation, green vegetation fractions, and the intensity of human activities. The satellite-based estimates adequately captured the spatial and seasonal structure of ET. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of this simple but practical method for monitoring ET over regions with heterogeneous surface areas.
Soil salinization is a common phenomenon that affects both the environment and the socio-economy in arid and semi-arid regions; it is also an important aspect of land cover change. In this study, we integrated multi-sensor remote sensing data with a field survey to analyze processes of soil salinization in a semi-arid area in China from 1979 to 2009. Generally, the area of salt-affected soils increased by 0.28% per year with remarkable acceleration from 1999 to 2009 （0.42% increase per year）. In contrast, the area of surface water bodies showed a decreasing trend （-0.08% per year） in the same period. Decreases in precipitation and increases in aridity due to annual （especially summer） warming provided a favorable condition for soil salinization. The relatively flat terrain favored waterlogging at the surface, and continuous drought facilitated upward movement of soil water and accumulation of surface saline and calcium. Meanwhile, land-use practices also played a crucial role in accelerating soil salinization. The conversion to cropland from natural vegetation greatly increased the demand for groundwater irrigation and aggravated the process of soil salinization. Furthermore, there are potential feedbacks of soil salinization to regional climate. The salinization of soils can limit the efficiency of plant water use as well as photosynthesis; therefore, it reduces the amount of carbon sequestrated by terrestrial ecosystem. Soil salinization also reduces the absorbed solar radiation by increasing land surface albedo. Such conversions of land cover significantly change the energy and water balance between land and atmosphere.
