Evaluation of a Two-Source Energy Balance Model in an Advective Environment

A two-source energy balance model (TSEB) was evaluated in terms of latent heat flux (LE) for six crops, wheat stubble, and bare soil in an advective environment, and net radiation (R_n) was modeled both with and without separate transfer characteristics used for visible and near-infrared radiation. Observed (i.e., ground-truth) LE was derived from changes in mass measured by precision weighing lysimeters averaged to 0.5-h, and observed R_n was measured by net radiometers at the lysimeters. Agreement between observed and predicted R_n was not greatly influenced by separation of visible and near-infrared radiation, possibly because constant soil albedo was assumed for visible and near-infrared wavelengths. The TSEB tended to overestimate LE for smaller observed LE (< |400| W m^–2) by up to 200 W m^–2, but relative error improved as observed LE increased and appeared not to be influenced by strong regional advection.