Applicability of Classical Predictive Equations for the Estimation of Evapotranspiration from Urban Green Spaces: Green Roof Results
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 1
Abstract
Green roofs and other urban green spaces can provide a variety of valuable benefits linked to evaporative processes, including storm-water management, reduction of urban heat island, and carbon sequestration. Accurate and representative estimation of urban evapotranspiration (ET) is a necessary tool for predicting such benefits. However, many common ET estimation procedures were developed for agricultural applications, and thus carry inherent assumptions that may not be applicable to urban green spaces, including green roofs. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of two combination methods for the prediction of ET from a green roof. Two ET estimation methodologies were compared, using on-site and regionally available data sets for daily time steps, to weighing lysimeter measurements of actual ET at a green roof site in the Bronx, New York. Regionally available estimates of potential ET did not accurately predict lysimeter measured actual ET on 30 nonconsecutive, non-water-limited days in months from September through December. Over the same period, the ASCE Standardized Reference Evapotranspiration Equation performed well in predicting actual ET with an RMSD of only . Additionally, the ET equation for short reference types, using on-site climatic data and coupled with a variation of the Thornthwaite-Mather approximation, which accounts for variable media moisture conditions, gave reasonable predictions of actual evapotranspiration for 89 days analyzed (representing months from June through January) with an aggregate underestimation of 10.1%. However, this method was highly sensitive to input parameters, specifically media field capacity. Further on-site data collection is necessary to fully evaluate the performance of the equations over different seasons at this location, and monitoring of supplementary urban green spaces and green infrastructure sites will also lend further insights regarding urban evapotranspiration.
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Acknowledgments
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program has provided funding support (NSFGRFP 200908922). Columbia University has been instrumental in facilitating the collaborative efforts in monitoring green roof performance at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS) and has provided support on equipment installation and setup as well as climatic data collected by Columbia University at the ECFS green roof. ECFS, particularly Peter Mott and Howard Waldman, have provided enthusiastic support, funding for equipment and access to ECFS facilities. Northeast Regional Climate Center is acknowledged for provision of data. Chris Brunner, Ben Cohen, and Universal Supply Co. of Hammonton, New Jersey, are acknowledged for their aid in the green roof weighing lysimeter construction and provision of gratis materials. Cooper Union, Professor Joseph Cataldo, Krzysztof Wiater, and Cecilia Ye are thanked for providing facilities and aid in preliminary equipment testing before field deployment. Olyssa Starry is acknowledged for her generous insights regarding Sedum physiology and metabolic pathways. A portion of this manuscript has been submitted for publication in the conference proceedings of the ASCE-EWRI 2011 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 1 • January 2013
Pages: 99 - 107
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 10, 2011
Accepted: Jan 4, 2012
Published online: Dec 16, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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