Evaluation of regional scale evapotranspiration using SEBS model in western Chinese loess plateau

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an essential element of the hydrological cycle and plays a significant role in regional and global climate through the hydrological circulation. Its calculation or estimation has important applications in assessing ground water recharge, predicting crop yield, planning land use, etc. Here we use Landsat TM images to estimate surface ET in western Loess Plateau of China. The current model of Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS), which is based on energy balance equation, estimates the spatial variation of most hydro-meteorological parameters empirically and ET is evaluated as the residual value after computing net radiation, soil heat flux and sensible heat flux by remote sensing information and ground observation data. Finally, the daily ET is calculated based on the evaporative fraction. Due to the shortage of flux stations in this area we use only one observation data to calibrate the result, which demonstrate that using SEBS model to explore surface ET is a suitable selection in this area.