Identifying ephemeral and perennial stream reaches using apparent thermal inertia of an ungauged basin in central New Mexico

The night and day temperature images from advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) remote sensing images are used to identify ephemeral and perennial stream reaches for use in the calibration of an integrated hydrologic model of an ungauged basin. The concept is based on apparent thermal inertia [ATI = (1-albedo)/(day temperature - night temperature)]. These calculations help both the conceptual model and the calibration for the hydrologic model by indicating where there are thin alluvium and/or shallow groundwater. The study is on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, a long-term ecological research project that ASTER has included in its regular duty cycle. There are over 360 ASTER scenes in 8 years; however, only 10 night/day pairs suitable for ATI were found. The results correlate to the soil moisture recorded at two locations near the channel (R² of 0.88). The relationship between soil moisture and surrounding materials allows for differentiation of the perennial and ephemeral stream reaches.