Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)

Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for effective water resource management, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. Advancements in remote sensing technology have made ET models indispensable, offering high-resolution spatial and temporal assessments. Contextual models suc...

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Main Authors: Hamza Barguache, Jamal Ezzahar, Jamal Elfarkh, Said Khabba, Salah Er-Raki, Valerie Le Dantec, Mohamed Hakim Kharrou, Ghizlane Aouade, Abdelghani Chehbouni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156984322500161X
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author Hamza Barguache
Jamal Ezzahar
Jamal Elfarkh
Said Khabba
Salah Er-Raki
Valerie Le Dantec
Mohamed Hakim Kharrou
Ghizlane Aouade
Abdelghani Chehbouni
author_facet Hamza Barguache
Jamal Ezzahar
Jamal Elfarkh
Said Khabba
Salah Er-Raki
Valerie Le Dantec
Mohamed Hakim Kharrou
Ghizlane Aouade
Abdelghani Chehbouni
author_sort Hamza Barguache
collection DOAJ
description Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for effective water resource management, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. Advancements in remote sensing technology have made ET models indispensable, offering high-resolution spatial and temporal assessments. Contextual models such as the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) are particularly valuable for ET estimation. However, one major challenge for these models is the identification of endmembers representing the wet and dry extremes within the AOI. Furthermore, the influence of AOI size on endmember selection raises important considerations for model performance. This work examines how the size of the AOI and endmember selection impact heat flux estimation using the SEBAL model. The research was conducted in an olive orchard at the Agdal site in Marrakech, from May 2022 to April 2023, and at a rainfed wheat field at the Sidi Rehal site from August 2017 to March 2019, using Landsat imagery (L8 and L9) and ERA5 land reanalysis data. For that, SEBAL was applied to six different AOI, ranging from small and homogeneous areas to the full extent of the Landsat imagery. Based on comparisons of SEBAL estimates with eddy covariance data collected from the Agdal site, the analysis shows that difficulties in accurately identifying endmembers are influenced by the size of the AOI. For homogeneous areas, the model struggles to capture the full range of heat fluxes, leading to poor regression relationships. Conversely, applying a shapefile that covers the entire Landsat imagery led to a more uniform distribution of latent heat flux, especially in winter/spring (when the climatic demand is low), which reduced the model’s ability to capture spatial variability. The AOI, which includes a mix of agricultural areas, bare soil, water bodies, and small towns, and whose boundary is relatively close to the measurement station, yielded the best results. It achieved R2 values of 0.95 for H and 0.88 for LE, with RMSE values of 51.24 and 52.41 W/m2 for H and LE, respectively. At the regional scale, the larger AOI size produced the lowest results with greater dispersion at the rainfed wheat site, with RMSE values of 104.99 and 93.30 W/m2 for H and LE, respectively. In contrast, segmenting the region into optimal size of AOI produced more accurate results, achieving R2 values of 0.96 for H and 0.92 for LE, with corresponding RMSE values of 56.9 and 35.88 W/m2, respectively. These findings emphasize the critical role of AOI size and endmember identification in improving SEBAL model accuracy and enhancing ET estimation for the sustainable management of water resources at both local and regional levels.
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spelling doaj-art-e3f14f924fea4a9bb94c26ff718d64aa2025-08-20T02:31:17ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation1569-84322025-05-0113910451410.1016/j.jag.2025.104514Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)Hamza Barguache0Jamal Ezzahar1Jamal Elfarkh2Said Khabba3Salah Er-Raki4Valerie Le Dantec5Mohamed Hakim Kharrou6Ghizlane Aouade7Abdelghani Chehbouni8LMFE, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), MoroccoLMFE, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), Morocco; LSA2D, Higher School of Technology - El Kelaa Des Sraghna, Morocco; CRSA, Centre for Remote Sensing, UM6P Benguerir, MoroccoCRSA, Centre for Remote Sensing, UM6P Benguerir, MoroccoLMFE, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), Morocco; CRSA, Centre for Remote Sensing, UM6P Benguerir, MoroccoCRSA, Centre for Remote Sensing, UM6P Benguerir, Morocco; ProcEDE/Agrobiotec Center, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), MoroccoCESBIO, Centre d’Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère, Toulouse, France; Corresponding author.IWRI, International Water Research Institute, UM6P Benguerir, MorocoLMI TREMA, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), MoroccoCRSA, Centre for Remote Sensing, UM6P Benguerir, Morocco; CESBIO, Centre d’Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère, Toulouse, FranceAccurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for effective water resource management, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. Advancements in remote sensing technology have made ET models indispensable, offering high-resolution spatial and temporal assessments. Contextual models such as the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) are particularly valuable for ET estimation. However, one major challenge for these models is the identification of endmembers representing the wet and dry extremes within the AOI. Furthermore, the influence of AOI size on endmember selection raises important considerations for model performance. This work examines how the size of the AOI and endmember selection impact heat flux estimation using the SEBAL model. The research was conducted in an olive orchard at the Agdal site in Marrakech, from May 2022 to April 2023, and at a rainfed wheat field at the Sidi Rehal site from August 2017 to March 2019, using Landsat imagery (L8 and L9) and ERA5 land reanalysis data. For that, SEBAL was applied to six different AOI, ranging from small and homogeneous areas to the full extent of the Landsat imagery. Based on comparisons of SEBAL estimates with eddy covariance data collected from the Agdal site, the analysis shows that difficulties in accurately identifying endmembers are influenced by the size of the AOI. For homogeneous areas, the model struggles to capture the full range of heat fluxes, leading to poor regression relationships. Conversely, applying a shapefile that covers the entire Landsat imagery led to a more uniform distribution of latent heat flux, especially in winter/spring (when the climatic demand is low), which reduced the model’s ability to capture spatial variability. The AOI, which includes a mix of agricultural areas, bare soil, water bodies, and small towns, and whose boundary is relatively close to the measurement station, yielded the best results. It achieved R2 values of 0.95 for H and 0.88 for LE, with RMSE values of 51.24 and 52.41 W/m2 for H and LE, respectively. At the regional scale, the larger AOI size produced the lowest results with greater dispersion at the rainfed wheat site, with RMSE values of 104.99 and 93.30 W/m2 for H and LE, respectively. In contrast, segmenting the region into optimal size of AOI produced more accurate results, achieving R2 values of 0.96 for H and 0.92 for LE, with corresponding RMSE values of 56.9 and 35.88 W/m2, respectively. These findings emphasize the critical role of AOI size and endmember identification in improving SEBAL model accuracy and enhancing ET estimation for the sustainable management of water resources at both local and regional levels.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156984322500161XSemi-aridERA5Landsat imagesEddy covarianceOlive orchard
spellingShingle Hamza Barguache
Jamal Ezzahar
Jamal Elfarkh
Said Khabba
Salah Er-Raki
Valerie Le Dantec
Mohamed Hakim Kharrou
Ghizlane Aouade
Abdelghani Chehbouni
Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)
International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation
Semi-arid
ERA5
Landsat images
Eddy covariance
Olive orchard
title Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)
title_full Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)
title_fullStr Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)
title_full_unstemmed Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)
title_short Analyzing the impact of area of interest (AOI) size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration (ET) estimation through a contextual model (SEBAL)
title_sort analyzing the impact of area of interest aoi size and endmember selection on evapotranspiration et estimation through a contextual model sebal
topic Semi-arid
ERA5
Landsat images
Eddy covariance
Olive orchard
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156984322500161X
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