A comparison of experimental energy balance components data and SEBAL model results in Dourados, Brazil

The understanding of surface energy flux is important as regards weather and climate models. Therefore, analysis of remotely sensed data, estimation of surface energy balance components (fluxes), validating experiments and results are discussed in this work. Data extracted from NOAA-AVHRR (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) satellite images were used to estimate the fluxes based on the SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance for Land) algorithm, as suggested by Bastiaanssen [Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., 1995, Regionalization of surface flux densites and moisture indicators in composite terrain. PhD thesis, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands.] To validate the results, one wide-ranging field experiment was organized near Dourados, municipality in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, during the summer of 1999. The experiment involved simultaneous taking of satellite images and in-situ measurements. SEBAL results are shown and discussed. The obtained average errors are less than 4%, 6% and 7% for net surface radiation, surface heat and latent flux estimations, respectively, as compared to the in-situ measurements.