Daily Reference Evapotranspiration Based on Temperature for Brazilian Meteorological Stations
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 12
Abstract
Reference evapotranspiration data () are essential for certain classes of agrarian and environmental science studies. The standard model for calculating is the FAO Penman–Monteith (FPM), but its application may be difficult when meteorological data are scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate alternative models to estimate when only air temperature data are available by using daily data from 22 meteorological stations in Brazil under different climate classifications. The data set was divided for model calibration and validation. In addition to the Hargreaves–Samani (HS) model in its original and locally calibrated (HSc) forms, one model based on the HS model (HSb), and two other models (PE and FPMead) were proposed. The values of performance statistics for the calibrated models were similar. In general, the FPMead model (mean absolute error between 0.39 and ) was the best according to a Friedman test at a 5% significance level, followed by the PE, HSb, and HSc models. The best performances for the calibrated models were obtained for the stations in the humid tropical zone (Köppen climate classifications Cfa, Cfb, and Cwa) according to the statistical dimensionless measures.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) for making the meteorological data series available. We also thank Raimundo Jaildo dos Anjos (Coordinator, INMET/3° DISME) for information about some of the available data.
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 12 • December 2019
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©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 7, 2018
Accepted: Aug 13, 2019
Published online: Oct 9, 2019
Published in print: Dec 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Mar 9, 2020
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