SEBAL Expert Training

Presented by
The University of Idaho and
The Idaho Department of Water Resources

Aug. 19-23, 2002

Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID
 The Trainers

Richard G. Allen,
University of Idaho,
Kimberly Research Station
rallen@kimberly.uidaho.edu

Wim M. Bastiaanssen
WaterWatch,
Wageningen, The Netherlands
w.bastiaanssen@waterwatch.nl

Ralf Waters
 SEBAL

 Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land

 Developed by
– Dr. Wim Bastiaanssen, International Institute for
Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences, The Netherlands
 applied in a wide range of international
settings
 brought to the U.S. by Univ. Idaho in 2000 in
cooperation with Idaho Department of Water
Resources and NASA/Raytheon
 Why Satellites?
 Typical method for ET:
– weather data are gathered from fixed points --
assumed to extrapolate over large areas
– “crop coefficients” assume “well-watered” situation
(impacts of stress are difficult to quantify)

 Satellite imagery:
– energy balance is applied at each “pixel” to map spatial
variation
– areas where water shortage reduces ET are identified
– little or no ground data are required
– valid for natural vegetation
 Definition of Remote Sensing:

The art and science of acquiring information using a

non-contact device
 SEBAL

 UI/IDWR Modifications
– digital elevation models for radiation balances in
mountains
(using slope / aspect / sun angle)

– ET at known points tied to alfalfa reference using

weather data from Agrimet

– testing with lysimeter (ET) data

 from Bear River basin (during 2000)

 from USDA-ARS at Kimberly (during 2001)

 How SEBAL Works

SEBAL keys off:

– reflectance of light energy
– vegetation indices
– surface temperature
– relative variation in surface temperature
– general wind speed (from ground station)
 Satellite Compatibility

 SEBAL needs both short wave and thermal

bands

 SEBAL can use images from:

– NASA-Landsat (30 m, each 8 or 16 days)
- since 1982
– NOAA-AVHRR (advanced very high resolution
radiometer) (1 km, daily) - since 1980’s
– NASA-MODIS (moderate resolution imaging
spectroradiometer) (500 m, daily) - since 1999
– NASA-ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal
Emission and Reflection Radiometer) (15 m, 8
days) - since 1999
 Image Processing

ERDAS Imagine used to process Landsat images

• SEBAL equations programmed and edited in

Model Maker function
• 20 functions / steps run per image
 What
Vi
s
i
bl
e
Landsat
Ne
ar
I
nf
r
ar
ed
Sees
Land Surface

0
0
.
40
.
60
.
8 1
.
2 1
.
6 2
.
02.
4Wavelength in Microns

B
a
n
d
:
12
34 57

V
ar
iousamou
nt
s
o
fr
efle
ct
ion

Landsat Band 6 is the long-wave “thermal” band and is used for surface temperature
 What We Can See With SEBAL
Evapotranspiration at time of overpass

Oakley Fan, Idaho, July 7, 1989

 Uses of ET Maps

 Extension / Verification of Pumping or

Diversion Records
 Recharge to the Snake Plain Aquifer
 Feedback to Producers regarding crop
health and impacts of irrigation uniformity
and adequacy
 Why Use SEBAL?

 ET via Satellite using SEBAL can provide

dependable (i.e. accurate) information
 ET can be determined remotely
 ET can be determined over large spatial
scales
 ET can be aggregated over space and time
 Future Applications

 ET from natural systems

– wetlands
– rangeland
– forests/mountains
 use scintillometers and eddy correlation to improve
elevation-impacted algorithms in SEBAL
– hazardous waste sites
 ET from cities
– changes in ET as land use changes
Reflected
Net Radiation = radiation in – radiation out
 Energy Balance for ET

ET is calculated as a “residual” of the energy

balance

Rn H ET

Basic Truth: ET = R n - G - H
Evaporation
consumes The energy balance
Energy includes all major
sources (Rn) and
consumers (ET, G, H)
G of energy
 Surface Radiation Balance

Shortwave Longwave
Radiation Radiation

RL (1-eo)RL

RS aRS (Incident (reflected

RL
longwave) longwave)
(Reflected shortwave)
(emitted
(Incident
longwave)
shortwave)

Vegetation Surface

Net Surface Radiation = Gains – Losses

Rn = (1-a)RS + RL - RL - (1-eo)RL
 Preparing the Image

 A layered spectral band image is created

from the geo-rectified disk using ERDAS
Imagine software.

 A subset image is created if a smaller area

is to be studied.
Layering – Landsat 7

Band 6 (low & high)

Bands 1-5,7
Layering – Landsat 5

Bands 1-7 in
order
Final Layering Order – Landsat 5
Creating a Subset Image
Creating a Subset Image
Obtaining Header File Information

Get the following from the header file:

– Overpass date and time

– Latitude and Longitude of image center
– Sun elevation angle (b) at overpass time
– Gain and bias ofr each and (Landsat 7 only)
 Method A

Applicable for these satellites and formats:

– Landsat 5 if original image in NLAPS format

– Landsat 7 ETM+ if original image is NLAPS or
FAST
Locating the Header File for Landsat
7ETM+
Locating the Header File for Landsat 5TM
Acquiring Header File Information (Landsat
5 - Method A)

GWT
Header File for Landsat 7 (bands 1-5,7)

Biases Gains
Header File for Landsat 7 (band 6)

Biases Gains
Low gain

High gain
Header File for Landsat 7
(latitude and sun elevation)
Acquiring Header File Information
(Method B)

DOY

GWT
Example of Weather Data
Reference ET Definition File of REF-ET Software
Ref-ET Weather Station Data
Ref-ET Output and Equations
Reference ET Results
Calculating the Wind Speed for the Time of
the Image
 t image ( local time ) 1 
t1  int    Flag period  t  Flag DST
 t 2 
t 2  t1  t

For August 22, 2000: image time is 17:57 GMT

Apply the correction:
timage (Local Time) = 17:57 – 7:00 = 10:57 am
Δt = 1
t1 = int  10+57/60 + ½ - 0  (1) + 1 = 12 hours
1
t 2  12  1  13 hours
 Estimate Wind Speed at 10:57 am

Interpolate between the value for 12:00 (1.4

m/s) and the value for 13:00 (1.9 m/s)

• U = 1.4+(1.9-1.4)[(10+57/60) – (10+1/2)] =
1.63 m/s

• To estimate ETr for 10:57 AM:

Interpolate between the values for 12:00 (.59)
and for 13:00 (.72)

• ETr = .59+(.72-.59) [(10+57/60) – (10+1/2)]

= 0.65 mm/hr
 Surface Radiation Balance
Shortwave Longwave
Radiation Radiation

RS RL (1-eo)RL RL

(Incident (Incident (reflected (emitted
shortwave) aRS longwave) longwave) longwave)
(Reflected shortwave)

Vegetation Surface

Net Surface Radiation = Gains – Losses

Rn = (1-a)RS + RL - RL - (1-eo)RL
 Flow Chart – Net Surface Radiation
Rn = (1-a)RS↓ + RL↓ - RL↑ - (1-e0)RL↓

a RS↓ RL↑ RL↓

model_04 calculator model_09 calculator

atoa TS
model_03 eo model_08

model_06

rl NDVI Tbb
model_02 SAVI model_07
LAI
model_05

Ll
model_01
Radiance Equation for Landsat 5

 LMAX  LMIN 
Ll     DN  LMIN
 255 
Radiance Equation for Landsat 7

Ll = (Gain × DN) + Bias

Model 01 – Radiance for Landsat 7c
 Model 01 – Radiance for Landsat 5

Enter values from Table 6.1 in Appendix 6

Writing the Model for Radiance

 LMAX  LMIN 
Ll     DN  LMIN
 255 
 Reflectivity Equation
  Ll
rl 
ESUNl  cos  d r
 2 
d r  1  0.033 cos DOY 
 365 

For August 22, 2000:

Sun elevation angle () = 51.560,
 = (90 - ) = 38.440
DOY = 235, dr = 0.980
Model_02 - Reflectivity
From Table 6.3
Writing the Model for Reflectivity

  Ll
rl 
ESUNl  cos  d r
Solar Radiation and Reflectance
Satellite Sensor

Sun

Reflectance
at air

Top of Atmosphere

Solar Radiation Reflectance at Land Surface

Air

Land Surface
Albedo for the Top of Atmosphere

atoa = Σ (wl × rl)

ESUNl
wl 
 ESUNl
Model_03 - Albedo for the Top of Atmosphere

From Table 6.4

 Surface Albedo Equation

a toa  a path _ radiance

a 
 sw 2

apath_radiance ~ 0.03

sw = 0.75 + 2 × 10-5 × z

For Kimberly: z = 1195 meters,

sw = 0.774
Model_04 - Surface Albedo
Surface Albedo Map

Albedo: White is high (0.6)

Dark blue is low (.02)
Surface Albedo for Bare Fields

Two dark bare fields showing a

very low albedo.
Typical Surface Albedo Valuse
Fresh snow 0.80 – 0.85
Old snow and ice 0.30 – 0.70
Black soil 0.08 – 0.14
Clay 0.16 – 0.23
White-yellow sand 0.34 – 0.40
Gray-white sand 0.18 – 0.23
Grass or pasture 0.15 – 0.25
Corn field 0.14 – 0.22
Rice field 0.17 – 0.22
Coniferous forest 0.10 – 0.15
Deciduous forest 0.15 – 0.20
Water 0.025 – 0.348
(depending on solar elevation angle)
Incoming solar Radiation (Rs )

Rs↓ = Gsc × cos  × dr × sw

Gsc solar constant (1367 W/m2)
dr inverse squared relative Earth-Sun distance
sw one-way transmissivity
For August 22, 2000: Rs = 812.2 W/m2
 Vegetation Indices

NDVI = (r4  r3) / (r4  r3)

SAVI = (1 + L) (r4  r3) / L + r4  r3

For Southern Idaho: L = 0.1

SAVIID = 1.1(r4  r3) / 0.1  r4  r3

 0.69  SAVI ID 
ln  
LAI    0.59 
0.91

We set LAI  6.0

Model_05 – NDVI, SAVI, LAI
NDVI Image

Dark green – high NDVI

Yellow green – low NDVI

LAI Image

Dark green – high LAI

Yellow green – low LAI

 Surface Emissivity (eo)

 e0 = 1.009 + 0.047 × ln(NDVI)

 For snow; a > 0.47, eo = 0.999
 For water; NDVI < 0, eo = 0.999
 For desert; eo < 0.9, eo = 0.9
Model_06 – Surface Emissivity
Effective at Satellite Temperature

K2
Tbb 
 K1 
ln   1
 L6 

K1 and K2 are given in Table 1 of the manual.

Model_07 – Effective at Satellite
Temperature
 Surface Temperature

Tbb
Ts 
e 0.25
0

Systematic errors that largely self-cancel in SEBAL:

1) Atmospheric transmissivity losses are not accounted for.

2) Thermal radiation from the atmosphere is not accounted for.

Fortunately, in SEBAL, the use of a “floating” air-surface temperature function and

the anchoring of ET at well-watered and dry pixels usually eliminates the need
to applyatmospheric correction.
Model_08 – Surface Temperature
Surface Temperature Image

Red – hot (600C)

Blue – cold (200C)

Surface Temperature Image

White – cold

Dark red - hot

 Outgoing Longwave Radiation (RL)

RL↑ = eo σ T4

Where
ε= emissivity
T = absolute radiant temperature in degrees Kelvin
 = Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67  10-8 W / (m2 – K4)
Model_09 – Outgoing Longwave Radiation
Outgoing Longwave Radiation
Image and Histogram
 Selection of “Anchor Pixels”

• The SEBAL process utilizes two “anchor”

pixels to fix boundary conditions for the
energy balance.

• “Cold” pixel: a wet, well-irrigated crop

surface with full cover Ts  Tair

• “Hot” pixel: a dry, bare agricultural field

ET  0
Incoming Longwave Radiation (RL)

• RL↓ = ea × σ × Ta4
ea = atmospheric emissivity
= 0.85 × (-ln tsw).09 for southern Idaho

Ta  Tcold at the “cold” pixel

• RL↓ = 0.85 × (-ln sw).09 × σ × Tcold4

• For August 22, 2000:

sw = 0.774, Tcold = 292.5 K, RL↓ = 311.0 W/m2
Net Surface Radiation Flux (Rn)

Rn = (1-a)RS↓ + RL↓ - RL↑ - (1-eo)RL↓

Model_10 – Net Surface Radiation
Net Surface Radiation Image and
Histogram

Light – high Rn

Dark – low Rn
Surface Energy Budget Equation
Rn = G + H + lET

lET = Rn – G – H
 Soil Heat Flux (G)

 G/Rn = Ts/a (0.0038a  0.0074a2)(1 - .98NDVI4)

 G = G/Rn  Rn
 Flag for clear, deep water and snow:
 If NDVI < 0; assume clear water, G/Rn = 0.5
 If Ts < 4 oC and a > 0.45; assume snow, G/Rn = 0.5
Model_11 – G/Rn and G
G/Rn Image and Histogram
Soil Heat Flux Image and Histogram

Light – high G

Dark – low G
G/Rn for Various Surfaces

Surface Type G/Rn

Deep, Clear Water 0.5
Snow 0.5
Desert 0.2 – 0.4
Agriculture 0.05 – 0.15
Bare soil 0.2 – 0.4
Full cover alfalfa 0.04
Clipped Grass 0.1
Rock 0.2 – 0.6
These values represent daytime conditions
 Sensible Heat Flux (H)
H = (r × cp × dT) / rah

dT = the near surface temperature difference (K).

rah = the aerodynamic resistance to heat transport (s/m).

 z2  z2
ln  
 z1  dT rah H
rah 
u*  k
z1
 Friction Velocity (u*)
kux
u* 
 zx 
ln  
 z om 
ux is wind speed (m/s) at height zx above ground.
zom is the momentum roughness length (m).
zom can be calculated in many ways:
– For agricultural areas: zom = 0.12  height of vegetation (h)
– From a land-use map
– As a function of NDVI and surface albedo
 Zero Plane Displacement (d) and
Momentum Roughness Length (zom)
The wind speed goes to zero at the height (d + zom).
Calculations for the Weather Station
For August 22, 2000:

zx = 2.0 m, ux = 1.63 m/s,

h = 0.3 m, zom = 0.120.3 = .036 m
u* = 0.166 m/s

 200 
ln  
u 200  u*  z om 
k

u200 = 3.49 m/s

Iterative Process to Compute H
 Friction Velocity (u*) for Each Pixel
ku200
u* 
 200 
ln  
 z om 

u200 is assumed to be constant for all pixels

zom for each pixel is found from a land-use map

For agricultural fields, zom = 0.12h
For our area, h = 0.15LAI
zom = 0.018 × LAI
Model_12 – Roughness Length

Water; zom = 0.0005 m

Manmade structures; zom = 0.1 m
Forests; zom = 0.5 m
Grassland; zom = 0.02 m
Desert with vegetation; zom = 0.1 m
Snow; zom = 0.005 m

For agricultural fields: Zom = 0.018 LAI

Setting the Size of the Land-use Map

Insert coordinates from LAI image

Aerodynamic Resistance to Heat Transport
(rah) for Each Pixel
 z2 
ln  
rah   z1 
u * k
 z1 height above zero-plane displacement height (d)
of crop canopy
 z1  0.1 m
 z2 below height of surface boundary layer
 z2  2.0 m
 Model_13 – Friction Velocity and
Aerodynamic Resistance to Heat Transport
Near Surface Temperature Difference (dT)

 To compute the sensible heat flux (H), define near surface

temperature difference (dT) for each pixel

dT = Ts – Ta

 Ta is unknown

 SEBAL assumes a linear relationship between Ts and dT:

dT = b + aTs
 How SEBAL is “Trained”

SEBAL is “trained” for an image by fixing dT at

the 2 “anchor” pixels:
– At the “cold” pixel: Hcold = Rn – G - lETcold
 where lETcold = 1.05 × lETr
 dTcold = Hcold × rah / (r × cp)

– At the “hot” pixel: Hhot = Rn – G - lEThot

 where lEThot = 0
 dThot = Hhot × rah / (r × cp)
 How SEBAL is “Trained”

Once Ts and dT are computed for the “anchor” pixels,

the relationship dT = b + aTs can be defined.
 Graph of dT vs Ts

Correlation coefficients a and b are computed

 Sensible Heat Flux (H)

 dT for each pixel is computed using: dT = b + aTs

 H = (r × cp × dT) / rah
Model_14 – Sensible Heat Flux
 Atmospheric Stability
The direction of force for an sudden movement of air

8oC 9oC 9oC 9oC 10 o C 9oC

100m

10 o C 10 o C 10 o C 10 o C 10 o C 10 o C

100m
12 o C 11 o C 11 o C 11 o C 10 o C 11 o C

U nstable N eutral S table

: Direction of Force

The tendency of air movement

U nstable N eutral S table

 Stability Correction for u*and rah
u 200 k
u* 
 200 
ln    m ( 200m )
 z0m 
 z2 
ln    h ( z2 )
rah   z1 
u*  k
• New values for dT are computed for the “anchor” pixels.
• New values for a and b are computed.
• A corrected value for H is computed.
• The stability correction is repeated until H stabilizes.
Instantaneous ET (ETinst)

lET
ETinst (mm / hr )  3600
l
lET (W/m2) = Rn – G – H
 Reference ET Fraction (ETrF)

ETinst
ETrF 
ETr

ETr is the reference ET calculated for the time of the image.

For August 22, 2000, ETr = 0.65 mm/hr

Model_25 – Instantaneous ET and ETrF
24-Hour Evapotranspiration (ET24)

ET24  ETrF  ETr _ 24

Seasonal Evapotranspiration (ETseasonal)

 Assume ETrF computed for time of image is

constant for entire period represented by image.

 Assume ET for entire area of interest changes in

proportion to change in ETr at weather station.
Seasonal Evapotranspiration (ETseasonal)
 Step 1: Decide the length of the season
 Step 2: Determine period represented by each satellite image
 Step 3: Compute the cumulative ETr for period represented by image.
 Step 4: Compute the cumulative ET for each period
n
ETperiod  ETr Fperiod  ETr24i
i 1
(n = length of period in days)

 Step 5: Compute the seasonal ET

ETseasonal =  ETperiod
 Validation of SEBAL
ET - July-Oct., mm Montpelier, 1985

500

400

300

200 Lysimeter SEBAL

388 mm 405 mm
100

0
Total

Lysimeter SEBAL
 Validation of SEBAL
ET - April-Sept., mm - Kimberly, 1989

Sugar Beets
800
700
600
500
Lysimeter SEBAL
400
718 mm 714 mm
300
200
100
0
Total

Lysimeter SEBAL
 Conclusions
 ET can be determined for a complete year
for large areas

 ET can be aggregated over space and time

 The Future
 ET maps will be used to assess Irrigation
Performance

 ET maps and associated products will be

used to assess crop productivity
Relative w ater supply
Overall consumed ratio
2 Relative soil w etness 1.4
1.8
1.2
1.6
Relative soil wetness (-)

1.4 1
Fraction (-)

1.2 0.8
1
0.6
0.8
0.6 0.4
0.4
0.2
0.2
0 0
Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul-
98 98 98 98 98 99 99 99 99 99 99 99
The key is to look
up !