Assessing the accuracy of OpenET satellite-based evapotranspiration data to support water resource and land management applications

John Volk; Justin Huntington; Forrest Melton; Richard M. Allen; Martha Anderson; Joshua Fisher; Ayse Kilic; Anderson Ruhoff; Gabriel B. Senay; Blake Minor; Charles Morton; Thomas Ott; Lee Johnson; Bruno Comini de Andrade; Will Carrarra; Conor Doherty; Christian Dunkerly; MacKenzie Friedrichs; Alberto Guzman; Christopher Hain; Gregory Halverson; Yanghui Kang; Kyle Knipper; Leonardo Laipelt; Samuel Ortega-Salazar; Christopher Pearson; Gabriel Edwin Lee Parrish; A.J. Purdy; Peter M. ReVelle; Tianxin Wang; Yun Yang

doi:10.1038/s44221-023-00181-7

Assessing the accuracy of OpenET satellite-based evapotranspiration data to support water resource and land management applications

Nature Water

By: John Volk, Justin Huntington, Forrest Melton, Richard M. Allen, Martha Anderson, Joshua Fisher, Ayse Kilic, Anderson Ruhoff, Gabriel B. Senay, Blake Minor, Charles Morton, Thomas Ott, Lee Johnson, Bruno Comini de Andrade, Will Carrarra, Conor Doherty, Christian Dunkerly, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Alberto Guzman, Christopher Hain, Gregory Halverson, Yanghui Kang, Kyle Knipper, Leonardo Laipelt, Samuel Ortega-Salazar, Christopher Pearson, Gabriel Edwin Lee Parrish, A.J. Purdy, Peter M. ReVelle, Tianxin Wang, and Yun Yang

https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00181-7

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Abstract

Remotely sensed evapotranspiration (ET) data offer strong potential to support data-driven approaches for sustainable water management. However, practitioners require robust and rigorous accuracy assessments of such data. The OpenET system, which includes an ensemble of six remote sensing models, was developed to increase access to field-scale (30 m) ET data for the contiguous United States. Here we compare OpenET outputs against data from 152 in situ stations, primarily eddy covariance flux towers, deployed across the contiguous United States. Mean absolute error at cropland sites for the OpenET ensemble value is 15.8 mm per month (17% of mean observed ET), mean bias error is −5.3 mm per month (6%) and r² is 0.9. Results for shrublands and forested sites show higher inter-model variability and lower accuracy relative to croplands. High accuracy and multi-model convergence across croplands demonstrate the utility of a model ensemble approach, and enhance confidence among ET data practitioners, including the agricultural water resource management community.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Assessing the accuracy of OpenET satellite-based evapotranspiration data to support water resource and land management applications
Series title	Nature Water
DOI	10.1038/s44221-023-00181-7
Volume	2
Publication Date	January 15, 2024
Year Published	2024
Language	English
Publisher	Nature
Contributing office(s)	Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Description	13 p.
First page	193
Last page	205
Country	United States
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page