scholarly journals Satellite Psychrometric Formulation of the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) Model for Quantifying and Mapping Evapotranspiration

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel B Senay

Abstract.Remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (ET) can be derived using various methods, from soil moisture accounting to vegetation-index based approaches to simple and complex surface energy balance techniques. Due to the complexity of fully representing and parameterizing ET sub-processes, different models tend to diverge in their estimations. However, most models appear to provide reasonable estimations that can meet user requirements for seasonal water use estimation and drought monitoring. One such model is the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop). This study presents a formulation of the SSEBop model using the psychrometric principle for vapor pressure/relative humidity measurements where the “dry-bulb” and “wet-bulb” equivalent readings can be obtained from satellite-based land surface temperature estimates. The difference in temperature between the dry (desired location) and wet limit (reference value) is directly correlated to the soil-vegetation composite moisture status (surface humidity) and thus producing a fractional value (0-1) to scale the reference ET. The reference ET is independently calculated using available weather data through the standardized Penman-Monteith equation. Satellite Psychrometric Approach (SPA) explains the SSEBop model more effectively than the energy balance principle because SSEBop does not solve all terms of the surface energy balance such as sensible and ground-heat fluxes. The SPA explanation demonstrates the psychrometric constant for the air can be readily adapted to a comparable constant for the surface, thus allowing the creation of a “surface” psychrometric constant that is unique to a location and day-of-year. This new surface psychrometric constant simplifies the calculation and explanation of satellite-based ET for several applications in agriculture and hydrology. The SPA formulation of SSEBop was found to be an enhancement of the ET equation formulated in 1977 by pioneering researchers. With only two key parameters, improved model results can be obtained using a one-time calibration for any bias correction. The model can be set up quickly for routine monitoring and assessment of ET at landscape scales and beyond. Keywords: Dry-bulb, ET fraction, ET modeling, Remote sensing, Satellite psychrometry, Wet-bulb.

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (03) ◽  
pp. 274-285
Author(s):  
H. V. Parmar ◽  
N. K. Gontia

Remote sensing based various land surface and bio-physical variables like Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Land Surface Temperature (LST), surface albedo, transmittance and surface emissivity are useful for the estimation of spatio-temporal variations in evapotranspiration (ET) using Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) method. These variables were estimated under the present study for Ozat-II canal command in Junagadh district, Gujarat, India, using Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 images of summer season of years 2014 and 2015. The derived parameters were used in SEBAL to estimate the Actual Evapotranspiration (AET) of groundnut and sesame crops. The lower values NDVI observed during initial (March) and end (May) stages of crop growth indicated low vegetation cover during these periods. With full canopy coverage of the crops, higher value of NDVI (0.90) was observed during the mid-crop growth stage. The remote sensing-based LST was lower for agricultural areas and the area near banks of the canal and Ozat River, while higher surface temperatures were observed for rural settlements, road and areas with exposed dry soil. The maximum surface temperatures in the cropland were observed as 311.0 K during March 25, 2014 and 315.8 K during May 31, 2015. The AET of summer groundnut increased from 3.75 to 7.38 mm.day-1, and then decreased to 3.99 mm.day-1 towards the end stage of crop growth. The daily AET of summer sesame ranged from 1.06 to 7.72 mm.day-1 over different crop growth stages. The seasonal AET of groundnut and sesame worked out to 358.19 mm and 346.31 mm, respectively. The estimated AET would be helpful to schedule irrigation in the large canal command.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.G. Hall ◽  
D.E. Strebel ◽  
P.J. Sellers ◽  
K.F. Huemmrich ◽  
S.J. Goetz

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2369
Author(s):  
Jing Lu ◽  
Li Jia ◽  
Chaolei Zheng ◽  
Ronglin Tang ◽  
Yazhen Jiang

The diurnal cycle of evapotranspiration (ET) is significant in studying the dynamics of land–atmosphere interactions. The diurnal ET cycle can be considered as an indicator of dry/wet surface conditions. However, the accuracy of current models in estimating the diurnal ET cycle is generally low. This study developed an improved scheme to estimate the diurnal cycle of ET by solving the surface energy balance equation combined with simplified parameterization, with daily ET as the constraint. Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) land surface temperature, and longwave and shortwave radiation products were the primary inputs. Daily ET was from the remote sensing-based ETMonitor model. The estimated instantaneous (30 min) ET from the improved scheme outperformed the official MSG instantaneous ET product when compared with in situ half-hourly measurements at 35 flux sites from the FLUXNET2015 dataset, and was also comparable with European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5 ET data, with an R2 of 0.617 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 65.8 W/m2 for the improved scheme. Results were largely improved compared with those without daily ET as the constraint. The improved method was stable for the estimation of ET’s diurnal cycle at the similar atmospheric conditions and the accuracy was comparative at different land cover surfaces. Errors in the input variables and the simplification of surface heat flux parameterization affected surface energy balance closure, which can lead to instability of the solution of constants in the simplified parameterization and further to the uncertainty of ET’s diurnal cycle estimation. Measurement errors, different source areas in measured variables, and inconsistent spatial representativeness between remote sensing and site measurements also impacted the evaluation.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Kleidon ◽  
Maik Renner

Abstract. Turbulent fluxes strongly shape the conditions at the land surface, yet they are typically formulated in terms of semi-empirical parameterisations that make it difficult to derive theoretical estimates of how global change impacts land surface functioning. Here, we describe these turbulent fluxes as the result of a thermodynamic process that generates work to sustain convective motion and thus maintains the turbulent exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. We first derive a limit from the second law of thermodynamics that is equivalent to the Carnot limit, but which explicitly accounts for diurnal heat storage changes in the lower atmosphere. We then use this limit of a cold heat engine together with the surface energy balance to infer the maximum power that can be derived from the turbulent fluxes for a given solar radiative forcing. The surface energy balance partitioning estimated from this thermodynamic limit requires no empirical parameters and compares very well with the observed partitioning of absorbed solar radiation into radiative and turbulent heat fluxes across a range of climates, with correlation coefficients r2 ≥ 95 % and slopes near one. These results suggest that turbulent heat fluxes on land operate near their thermodynamic limit on how much convection can be generated from the local radiative forcing. It implies that this type of approach can be used to derive first-order estimates of global change that are solely based on physical principles.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Xin ◽  
Q. Liu

Abstract. A Two-layer Surface Energy Balance Parameterization Scheme (TSEBPS) is proposed for the estimation of surface heat fluxes using Thermal Infrared (TIR) data over sparsely vegetated surfaces. TSEBPS is based on the theory of the classical two-layer energy balance model, as well as a set of new formulations derived from assumption of the energy balance at limiting cases. Two experimental data sets are used to assess the reliabilities of TSEBPS. Based on these case studies, TSEBPS has proven to be capable of estimating heat fluxes at vegetation surfaces with acceptable accuracy. The uncertainties in the estimated heat fluxes are comparable to in-situ measurement uncertainties.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 6795-6832
Author(s):  
X. Xin ◽  
Q. Liu

Abstract. A Two-layer Surface Energy Balance Parameterization Scheme (TSEBPS) is proposed for the estimation of surface heat fluxes using thermal infrared (TIR) data over sparsely vegetated surfaces. TSEBPS is based on the theory of the classical two-layer energy balance model, as well as a set of new formulations derived from assumption of the energy balance at limiting cases. Two experimental data sets are used to assess the reliabilities of TSEBPS. Based on these case studies, TSEBPS has proven to be capable of estimating heat fluxes at vegetation surfaces with acceptable accuracy. The uncertainties in the estimated heat fluxes are comparable to in-situ measurement uncertainties.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhong ◽  
Yaoming Ma ◽  
Zeyong Hu ◽  
Yunfei Fu ◽  
Yuanyuan Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract. The estimation of land surface heat fluxes has significant meaning for energy and water cycle studies, especially for the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which has unique topography and strong land–atmosphere interactions. The land surface heating status also directly influences the movement of atmospheric circulation. However, for a long time, plateau-scale land surface heat flux information with high temporal resolution has been lacking, which greatly limits understanding of diurnal variations in land–atmosphere interactions. Based on geostationary and polar orbiting satellite data, a surface energy balance system (SEBS) was used in this paper to derive hourly land surface heat fluxes with a spatial resolution of 10 km. Six stations scattered through the TP and equipped for flux tower measurements were used to correct the energy imbalance problem existing in the measurements and to perform cross-validation. The results showed good agreement between derived fluxes and in situ measurements through 3738 validation samples. The RMSEs for net radiation flux, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux and soil heat flux were 76.63 W m−2, 60.29 W m−2, 64.65 W m−2 and 37.5 W m−2, respectively. The derived results were also found to be superior to GLDAS flux products (RMSEs for the surface energy balance components were 114.32 W m−2, 67.77 W m−2, 75.6 W m−2 and 40.05 W m−2, respectively). The diurnal and seasonal cycles of land surface energy balance components were clearly identified. Their spatial distribution was found to be consistent with the heterogeneous land surface status and general hydrometeorological conditions of the TP.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1555-1577
Author(s):  
Alexandra Giese ◽  
Aaron Boone ◽  
Patrick Wagnon ◽  
Robert Hawley

Abstract. Few surface energy balance models for debris-covered glaciers account for the presence of moisture in the debris, which invariably affects the debris layer's thermal properties and, in turn, the surface energy balance and sub-debris melt of a debris-covered glacier. We adapted the interactions between soil, biosphere, and atmosphere (ISBA) land surface model within the SURFace EXternalisée (SURFEX) platform to represent glacier debris rather than soil (referred to hereafter as ISBA-DEB). The new ISBA-DEB model includes the varying content, transport, and state of moisture in debris with depth and through time. It robustly simulates not only the thermal evolution of the glacier–debris–snow column but also moisture transport and phase changes within the debris – and how these, in turn, affect conductive and latent heat fluxes. We discuss the key developments in the adapted ISBA-DEB and demonstrate the capabilities of the model, including how the time- and depth-varying thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity depend on evolving temperature and moisture. Sensitivity tests emphasize the importance of accurately constraining the roughness lengths and surface slope. Emissivity, in comparison to other tested parameters, has less of an effect on melt. ISBA-DEB builds on existing work to represent the energy balance of a supraglacial debris layer through time in its novel application of a land surface model to debris-covered glaciers. Comparison of measured and simulated debris temperatures suggests that ISBA-DEB includes some – but not all – processes relevant to melt under highly permeable debris. Future work, informed by further observations, should explore the importance of advection and vapor transfer in the energy balance.


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