Surface hydrologial budget from the ISAC micrometeorological station in Salento peninsula

Data from 14 years (2003-2016) of activity of the ISAC-Lecce eddy covariance micrometeorological station have been analyzed with focus on the atmosphere-surface water budget in the Salento Peninsula, the far South-East region in the Italian peninsula (Apulia region). Seasonal and annual totals for precipitation and evapotranspiration have been calculated together with some suitable indices such as the aridity index, the precipitation intensity and the ground water infiltration fraction (difference between precipitation and real evapotranspiration, divided by precipitation). An analysis of the footprint associated to the measured scalar fluxes has been performed to assess their areal representativeness. An evaluation of the uncertainty of the results, related to the measurement errors, the data gaps in the time series and the surface energy budget closure has been attempted. A decadal analysis of the surface water budget is important for the evaluation of the surface water infiltration potentially affecting the recharge of the karstic aquifer that provides fresh water to the whole region.