Validation of evaporation estimates from a modified surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL) model in the south-eastern United States

A modified surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL) model, which has been widely used in the western United States since its development in 1998, was validated in the humid south-eastern United States using daily and monthly evapotranspiration (ET) estimates. Sixteen Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images from April 2000 to September 2006 were processed, and the results were compared with energy-budget eddy covariance (EBEC) ET estimates from four US Geological Survey (USGS) stations. The model performed well in terms of Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficients (daily = 0.82, monthly = 0.77) and coefficients of determination (R 2, daily = 0.83, monthly = 0.77). Root mean square errors (RMSEs, daily = 0.48 mm/day, monthly = 16 mm/month), mean absolute errors (MAEs, daily = 0.32 ± 0.36 mm/day, monthly = 12 ± 10 mm/month), mean relative errors (MREs, daily = 7 ± 8%, monthly = 11 ± 12%) and mean bias errors (MBEs, daily = 0.05 mm/day, monthly = −2 mm/month) were comparable to the results from similar studies in the western United States. Results from the study support the applicability of the modified SEBAL model in the rapidly growing south-eastern United States as a tool for estimating consumptive water use via remotely sensed methods.

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