Estimation of Evapotranspiration in the Yellow River Basin from 2002 to 2020 Based on GRACE and GRACE Follow-On Observations

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) plays an important role in the hydrological cycle of river basins. Studying ET in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is greatly significant for the scientific management of water resources. Here, we made full use of the advantages of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) gravity satellites for monitoring large-scale hydrological changes to calculate the terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) and terrestrial water flux in the YRB from May 2002 to June 2020. Furthermore, combined with terrestrial water flux, precipitation, and runoff data, ET in the YRB was calculated based on the water budget equation and then compared with other traditional ET products. The mutation of annual mean ET was identified by the Mann–Kendall trend test method, and the seasonal and interannual variations of ET were explored. ET was closely related to precipitation. Annual mean ET exhibited a sudden change in 2011, with an insignificant downward trend from 2003 to 2010, followed by an increasing trend from 2011 to 2019, particularly after 2016. Compared with the traditional ET monitoring methods and products, the ET estimated by GRACE/GRACE-FO observations provides a new way to effectively obtain continuous and reliable ET data in a wide range of river basins.

Spatiotemporal Variation Characteristics of Groundwater Storage and Its Driving Factors and Ecological Effects in Tibetan Plateau

“…Thus, the model selected in this study was the GLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 monthly 0.25 × 0.25-degree V2.1 [47,48]. It has been widely used worldwide and is a highly recognized data source [24,45,46,49]. The spatial resolution is 0.25 degrees and is consistent with GRACE.…”

Spatiotemporal Variation in Actual Evapotranspiration and the Influencing Factors in Ningxia from 2001 to 2020

“…Moreover, the ET process is complex, which is why monitoring the spatiotemporal variation in surface ET remains difficult. RS ET products are vital data sources for studying the spatiotemporal variation in ET on regional scales, such as GRACE [9,51], SSEBop [52,53], GLEAM [10,52], LSA-SAF [54,55], BESS [50,56], ETWatch [9,57], ETMonitor [9,58], etc. However, data sources vary in resolution and quality, and the assessments of ET variation are different.…”

Spatiotemporal Change in Evapotranspiration across the Indus River Basin Detected by Combining GRACE/GRACE-FO and Swarm Observations

“…GRACE/GRACE-FO satellites not only have the characteristics of all-weather and full coverage, but can also directly observe the time variable signals of terrestrial water with high precision [17,18]. Since Rodell first proposed the ET estimation method based on GRACE/GRACE-FO observations, GRACE/GRACE-FO data have been continuously used in regional ET studies, such as in the Yellow River basin [19], the Three Gorges Reservoir [20], the United States [21] and the Lake Chad basin [22]. However, the above studies did not take into account the discontinuity of observations caused by an 11-month data gap between GRACE/GRACE-FO missions.…”