Regional fuzzy chain model for evapotranspiration estimation

Abstract Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the main hydrological cycle components that has extreme importance for water resources management and agriculture especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, regional ET estimation models based on the fuzzy logic (FL) principles are suggested, where the first stage includes the ET calculation via Penman-Monteith equation, which produces reliable results. In the second phase, ET estimations are produced according to the conventional FL inference system model. In this paper, regional fuzzy model (RFM) and regional fuzzy chain model (RFCM) are proposed through the use of adjacent stations’ data in order to fill the missing ones. The application of the two models produces reliable and satisfactory results for mountainous and sea region locations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but comparatively RFCM estimations have more accuracy. In general, the mean absolute percentage error is less than 10%, which is acceptable in practical applications.