Continental-scale hydrological consistency of evapotranspiration products using GRACE

Abstract:

Multiple remote sensing products based on satellite observations are available at regional and global scales, allowing to obtain an estimation of the individual components of the hydrological cycle. However, using these products to provide closure of the water budget at the basin scale with accuracy remains a challenge. In this work, 12 large continental-scale basins covering a range of various climate types were chosen as regions of interest. Terrestrial water storage changes from GRACE, streamflow data from the Global Runoff Database and precipitation from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), were used as a surrogate evaluation of observed spatio-temporal patterns of multi-model evapotranspiration estimates, derived from a long-term flux product as part of the LandFLUX project. The 10 year period of analysis also allows for the estimation of temporal trends in water storage changes and provides an opportunity to examine the capacity for water budget closure.