Abstract:
Irrigation has a considerable influence on land surface energy and water budgets. Irrigation-related processes influence energy partitioning, planetary boundary layer, land surface temperature, evapotranspiration, and runoff. However, observations related to irrigation and its influence on land surface hydrology and climate are limited. Among the limited observations available, most are from the field scale experiments that do not provide information on the regional scale impacts of irrigation. While land surface and climate models do not represent the complexity of field-scale irrigation, these modeling experiments provide valuable insights into regional-scale effects. We respond to a recent comment on our modeling study of irrigation impacts on regional climate. We acknowledge the limitations of our modeling experiments. However, we aimed to provide an experimental framework to understand the role of improved irrigation efficiency in water savings and in reducing moist heat stress at the regional scale.