Testing the Rationale behind an Assumed Linear Relationship between Evapotranspiration and Land Surface Temperature
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20, Issue 5
Abstract
Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence indicate a linear relationship between the land surface temperature () and the corresponding evapotranspiration (ET) rate under spatially constant wind and net energy conditions at a homogeneous vegetated surface. Such a relationship lies at the core of the popular surface energy balance algorithm (SEBAL); the satellite-based energy balance approach for mapping evapotranspiration with internalized calibration (METRIC); and the lesser known calibration-free evapotranspiration mapping (CREMAP) method, just to name a few. The present findings are based on analytical solutions of the coupled turbulent heat and vapor transport equations and further corroborated by monthly reanalysis data of , ET, and sensible heat transfer rates over extensive areas in North America and Europe, where the CREMAP method has previously been applied.
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Acknowledgments
This work has been supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA, No. 83376) and the Agricultural Research Division of the University of Nebraska.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20 • Issue 5 • May 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 22, 2013
Accepted: Aug 27, 2014
Published online: Sep 30, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 28, 2015
Published in print: May 1, 2015
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