Data for Quantifying evapotranspiration from the peripheral area between the most downstream stream gages and the open water body of the Great Salt Lake

The peripheral area between the most downstream stream gages and the open water body of the Great Salt Lake (GSL) is expanding as lake level is dropping. There is a need to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) from this peripheral area to better understand the role of water loss from this area in the overall water balance of GSL. This study compared a water balance ET estimate for this peripheral area derived from precipitation, streamflow, and outflow to the lake with remotely sensed ET estimates based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat satellite data. Land cover from National Land Cover Database (NLCD) was intersected with remotely sensed MODIS ET to determine ET from the land cover types present from 2003 and 2021. The results showed that ET from the GSL peripheral area resulted in, on average, a 21% reduction of the upstream USGS gage streamflow prior to flowing into the lake. The MODIS ET product indicated that within this peripheral area, Open Water and Wetlands had the highest and second-highest annual ET, respectively. These land cover types covered between 49 and 57% of the area and contributed between 60-75% to the total ET volume that ranged between 0.99 and 1.48 km3/yr. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of water losses in this area for understanding their impact on lake inflows.

This resource contains data for the paper: Abualqumboz, M. S. and D. G. Tarboton, (2025), \"Quantifying Evapotranspiration from the Peripheral Area between the Most Downstream Stream Gages and the Open Water Body of the Great Salt Lake,\" Preprint submitted to Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies, Available at SSRN:, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5356589.