The precision of satellite-based irrigation quantification in the Indus and Ganges basins

Abstract. Even though irrigation is the largest direct anthropogenic interference with the terrestrial water cycle, limited knowledge on the amount of water applied for irrigation exist. Quantification of irrigation via evapotranspiration (ET) or soil moisture residuals between remote sensing models and hydrological models, with the latter acting as baselines of natural conditions without the influence of irrigation, have successfully been applied in various regions. Here, we implement an novel ensemble methodology to estimate the precision of ET-based net irrigation quantification by combining different ET and precipitation products in the Indus and Ganges basins. A multi-model calibration of 15 models independently calibrated to simulate natural rainfed ET was conducted prior to the irrigation quantification. Based on the ensemble average, the 2003–2013 net irrigation amounts to 246 mm/year (78 km³/year) and 115 mm/year (76 km³/year) in Indus and Ganges basin, respectively. Net irrigation in Indus basin is evenly split between dry and wet period, whereas 73 % of net irrigation occurs during the dry period in Ganges basin. We found that although annual ET from remote sensing models varied by 91.5 mm/year, net irrigation precision was within 25 mm/season during the dry period, which emphasizes the robustness the applied multi-model calibration approach. Net irrigation variance was found to decrease as ET uncertainty decreased, which related to the climatic conditions, i.e. high uncertainty under arid conditions. A variance decomposition analysis showed that ET uncertainty accounted for 81 % of the overall net irrigation variance and that the influence of precipitation uncertainty was seasonally dependent, i.e. with an increase during the monsoon season. The results underline the robustness of the framework to support large scale sustainable water resource management of irrigated land.