Evaluation of a MODIS-Based Potential Evapotranspiration Product at the Point Scale

Abstract This paper outlines the development of a continuous, daily time series of potential evapotranspiration (PET) using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor data from the Terra satellite platform. The approach is based on the Priestley–Taylor equation, incorporating a daily net radiation model during cloudless days. A simple algorithm using “theoretical clear-sky” net radiation (incorporating daily cloud fraction and cloud optical thickness) and PET is then used to estimate net radiation and PET under cloudy conditions. The method requires minimal ground-based observations for initial calibration of regional radiation algorithm coefficients. Point-scale comparisons are undertaken at four flux-tower sites in North America covering a range of hydroclimatic conditions and biomes. Preliminary results at the daily time step for a 4-yr period (2001–04) show good correlation (R2 = 0.89) and low bias (0.34 mm day−1) for three of the more humid sites. Results are further improved when a...

[1]  William P. Kustas,et al.  Local energy flux estimates for unstable conditions using variance data in semiarid rangelands , 1994 .

[2]  Antonio R. Pereira,et al.  Analysis of the Priestley-Taylor parameter , 1992 .

[3]  Z. Schlett,et al.  A simplified but accurate spectral solar irradiance model , 2003 .

[4]  Craig S. T. Daughtry,et al.  Analytical treatment of the relationships between soil heat flux/net radiation ratio and vegetation indices , 1993 .

[5]  S. Islam,et al.  Estimation of surface evaporation map over Southern Great Plains using remote sensing data , 2001 .

[6]  Alberto M. Mestas-Nuñez,et al.  Eastern Equatorial Pacific SST Variability: ENSO and Non-ENSO Components and Their Climatic Associations , 2001 .

[7]  David I. Stannard,et al.  Comparison of Penman‐Monteith, Shuttleworth‐Wallace, and Modified Priestley‐Taylor Evapotranspiration Models for wildland vegetation in semiarid rangeland , 1993 .

[8]  Raghavan Srinivasan,et al.  Estimation of Potential Evapotranspiration from NOAA-AVHRR Satellite , 2003 .

[9]  Martha C. Anderson,et al.  GOES surface insolation to estimate wetlands evapotranspiration , 2002 .

[10]  C. Gueymard.  Prediction and Performance Assessment of Mean Hourly Global Radiation , 2000 .

[11]  H. D. Bruin,et al.  The Priestley-Taylor Evaporation Model Applied to a Large, Shallow Lake in the Netherlands , 1979 .

[12]  Gerhard Czeplak,et al.  Solar and terrestrial radiation dependent on the amount and type of cloud , 1980 .

[13]  W. Bastiaanssen,et al.  A remote sensing surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL). , 1998 .

[14]  S. Idso,et al.  Wheat canopy temperature: A practical tool for evaluating water requirements , 1977 .

[15]  Gautam Bisht,et al.  Comparison of evaporative fractions estimated from AVHRR and MODIS sensors over South Florida , 2004 .

[16]  William P. Kustas,et al.  Preface [to special section on Monsoon '90 Multidisciplinary Experiment] , 1994 .

[17]  Nobuyuki Tamai,et al.  A hybrid model for estimating global solar radiation , 2001 .

[18]  Lucas Alados-Arboledas,et al.  Relationship between net radiation and solar radiation for semi-arid shrub-land , 2003 .

[19]  Leo J. Fritschen,et al.  Net and solar radiation relations over irrigated field crops , 1967 .

[20]  J. Norman,et al.  Remote sensing of surface energy fluxes at 101‐m pixel resolutions , 2003 .

[21]  W. James Shuttleworth,et al.  Solar radiation and evapotranspiration in northern Mexico estimated from remotely sensed measurements of cloudiness , 2001 .

[22]  N. J. Rosenberg,et al.  Microclimate: The Biological Environment. , 1976 .

[23]  Jetse D. Kalma,et al.  Radiation balance of natural and agricultural vegetation , 1966 .

[24]  Alan L. Flint,et al.  Use of the Priestley-Taylor evaporation equation for soil water limited conditions in a small forest clearcut , 1991 .

[25]  R. L. Elliott,et al.  Configuration decisions for an automated weather station network , 1994 .

[26]  Philip N. Slater,et al.  Mapping surface energy balance components by combining landsat thematic mapper and ground-based meteorological data , 1989 .

[27]  R. H. Shaw.  A Comparison of Solar Radiation and Net Radiation , 1956 .

[28]  S. Idso.  An Analysis of the Heating Coefficient Concept , 1968 .

[29]  A. Oort,et al.  Observed Interannual Variability in the Hadley Circulation and Its Connection to ENSO , 1996 .

[30]  William P. Kustas,et al.  Daytime net radiation estimated for a semiarid rangeland basin from remotely sensed data , 1994 .

[31]  M. S. Moran,et al.  Use of remote sensing and reference site measurements to estimate instantaneous surface energy balance components over a semiarid rangeland watershed , 1994 .

[32]  W. Brutsaert.  Evaporation into the atmosphere , 1982 .

[33]  Ralph Dubayah,et al.  Estimation of surface net radiation in the boreal forest and northern prairie from shortwave flux measurements , 1997 .

[34]  Steven A. Margulis,et al.  A Comparison of the Triangle Retrieval and Variational Data Assimilation Methods for Surface Turbulent Flux Estimation , 2005 .

[35]  Samuel N. Goward,et al.  Evapotranspiration from combined reflected solar and emitted terrestrial radiation: Preliminary FIFE results from AVHRR data , 1989 .

[36]  Rafael L. Bras,et al.  An extremum principle of evaporation , 2004 .

[37]  A. T. Young,et al.  Revised optical air mass tables and approximation formula. , 1989, Applied optics.

[38]  Robert R. Gillies,et al.  A new look at the simplified method for remote sensing of daily evapotranspiration , 1995 .

[39]  Johannes Schmetz,et al.  Towards a surface radiation climatology: retrieval of downward irradiances from satellites , 1989 .

[40]  M. Budyko,et al.  Climate and life , 1975 .

[41]  Albert A. M. Holtslag,et al.  A Simple Scheme for Daytime Estimates of the Surface Fluxes from Routine Weather Data , 1983 .

[42]  Richard K. Farnsworth,et al.  Mean monthly, seasonal, and annual pan evaporation for the United States , 1983 .

[43]  A. Ångström,et al.  Techniques of Determinig the Turbidity of the Atmosphere , 1961 .

[44]  S. Running,et al.  Estimation of regional surface resistance to evapotranspiration from NDVI and thermal-IR AVHRR data , 1989 .

[45]  A. Huete,et al.  Overview of the radiometric and biophysical performance of the MODIS vegetation indices , 2002 .

[46]  A. Holtslag,et al.  A remote sensing surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL)-1. Formulation , 1998 .

[47]  T. Laevastu.  Factors affecting the temperature of the surface layer of the sea , 1960 .

[48]  F. I. Morton.  Operational estimates of areal evapotranspiration and their significance to the science and practice of hydrology , 1983 .

[49]  Gautam Bisht,et al.  Estimation of the net radiation using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data for clear sky days , 2005 .

[50]  Zohrab Samani,et al.  Estimating solar radiation and evapotranspiration using minimum climatological data , 2000 .

[51]  Wilfried Brutsaert,et al.  An advection-aridity approach to estimate actual regional evapotranspiration. , 1979 .

[52]  M. S. Moran,et al.  Estimating crop water deficit using the relation between surface-air temperature and spectral vegetation index , 1994 .

[53]  L. Wald,et al.  On the clear sky model of the ESRA — European Solar Radiation Atlas — with respect to the heliosat method , 2000 .

[54]  Qiming Zhou,et al.  Estimating local sugarcane evapotranspiration using Landsat TM image and a VITT concept , 1997 .

[55]  Ramakrishna R. Nemani,et al.  An operational remote sensing algorithm of land surface evaporation , 2003 .

[56]  D. Sumner.  Evapotranspiration from successional vegetation in a deforested area of the Lake Wales Ridge, Florida , 1996 .

[57]  C. W. Thornthwaite.  An approach toward a rational classification of climate. , 1948 .

[58]  Marc B. Parlange,et al.  On the concept of equilibrium evaporation and the value of the Priestley-Taylor coefficient. , 1996 .

[59]  T. J. Lyons,et al.  Estimation of Regional Evapotranspiration through Remote Sensing , 1999 .

[60]  Christopher J. Watts,et al.  Use of satellite data to estimate radiation and evaporation for northwest Mexico , 1999 .

[61]  A. Prata.  A new long‐wave formula for estimating downward clear‐sky radiation at the surface , 1996 .

[62]  Chunzai Wang.  Atmospheric Circulation Cells Associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation , 2002 .