Volume 1 Issue 3 (2025)

The influence of the Water Table (WT) and the capillary fringe plays a critical role in soil water dynamics, affecting plant‑available water, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and Land Surface Temperature (LST). This study examined the functioning of the aquifer–soil–plant–atmosphere system such as transpiration, evaporation, plant root water uptake and capillarity to assess how the WT and the capillary fringe affect LST. Field measurements were integrated with satellite data, including WT depth, precipitation records, and satellite‑derived products such as LST, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and potential evapotranspiration from reanalysis data (ERA5‑Ag). The research was conducted in a shallow aquifer within the Salado River watershed, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, over the period 2007–2023. Results revealed a strong inverse relationship (R² = 0.74) between the WT and LST. This relationship was modeled using an equation valid during the summer months, when atmospheric demand is high and soils are dry. The approach was validated using measurements from nearby piezometers, yielding a bias of −0.17 m and a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.44 m. Satellite‑derived LST was shown to effectively reflect the influence of the WT on plant transpiration under water‑stressed conditions. By isolating the effect of evaporation, this method offers a novel means of indirectly assessing the hydrogeological status of shallow aquifers.