COMS-Based Retrieval of Daily Actual Evapotranspiration over Korea

Evapotranspiration (ET) from the land surface is an important hydrometeorological factor in the exchange of energy between the atmosphere and land surface. The accurate quantification for management of water resources and understanding of climate change are crucial, requiring continuous temporal and spatial monitoring. The objective of this study is to apply and estimate daily actual ET using semiempirical method, B-method, which is based on surface energy balance over heterogeneous area, Korea. To estimate daily ET, we used geostationary meteorological satellite data (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite, COMS) and polar-orbiting satellite data (Systeme Pour ľObservation de la Terre, SPOT). Estimated daily ET using only satellite data was relatively accurate and reflects land surface characteristics. It had high periodicity and spatial resolution over a wide area on clear-sky days. The daily ET was overestimated by about 1 mm/day at the two flux tower measurements sites, but the simulated seasonal variation and pattern were in good agreement with flux tower measurements. In the mixed forest, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 0.94 mm/day and the bias was 1.05 mm/day, while, in the rice paddy, RMSE was 1.12 mm/day and bias was 1.21 mm/day.