Operational Actual Wetland Evapotranspiration Estimation for South Florida Using MODIS Imagery

142 Pages·2016·9.48 MB·English

Florida International University
FIU Digital Commons
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School
4-15-2014
Operational Actual Wetland Evapotranspiration
Estimation for South Florida Using MODIS
Imagery
Cristobal N. Ceron
Florida International University, [email protected]
DOI:10.25148/etd.FI14071129
Follow this and additional works at:https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd
Recommended Citation
Ceron, Cristobal N., "Operational Actual Wetland Evapotranspiration Estimation for South Florida Using MODIS Imagery" (2014).
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1454.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1454
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Miami, Florida

OPERATIONAL ACTUAL WETLAND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ESTIMATION
FOR SOUTH FLORIDA USING MODIS IMAGERY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
GEOSCIENCE
by
Cristobal Ceron

2014
To: Dean Kenneth G. Furton
College of Arts and Sciences

This thesis, written by Cristobal Ceron, and entitled OPERATIONAL ACTUAL
WETLAND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ESTIMATION FOR SOUTH FLORIDA
USING MODIS IMAGERY, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual
content, is referred to you for judgment.

We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved.

_______________________________________
Pete Markowitz

_______________________________________
Dean Whitman

_______________________________________
René Price, Co-Major Professor

_______________________________________
Assefa Melesse, Co-Major Professor

Date of Defense: April 15, 2014

The thesis of Cristobal Ceron is approved.

_______________________________________
Dean Kenneth G. Furton
College of Arts and Sciences

______________________________________
Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi
University Graduate School

Florida International University, 2014

ii
© Copyright 2014 by Cristobal Ceron
All rights reserved.

iii
DEDICATION
To my Mom, Sister, Brother, and Father. Love you guys.

iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Assefa Melesse for giving me the opportunity to explore
a new area of science and for his valuable advice and guidance. I would also like to thank
Dr. René Price and Dr. Dean Whitman for taking the time to be part of my committee and
for the support and advice they have provided. Also, thanks go out to Dr. Pete Markowitz
for his many years of help and support.
I would also like to include my lab mates Hari Kandel and Shimelis Behailu for
the many tips and tricks they shared which saved me days of work. Finally, I benefited
from the help and support of Priscilla Pamela, Luis Lebolo, Vashti Sawtell, and Seth
Manthey. Thank you guys for being so smart.

v
ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS
OPERATIONAL ACTUAL WETLAND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ESTIMATION
FOR SOUTH FLORIDA USING MODIS IMAGERY
by
Cristobal Ceron
Florida International University, 2014
Miami, Florida
Professor Assefa Melesse, Major Professor
The purpose of this study is to validate the ability of the Simplified Surface Energy
Balance (SSEB) approach and the Simple Method to provide AET estimates for wetland
recovery efforts. The study utilizes the MODIS sensor aboard NASA's Terra satellite and
SFWMD solar radiation data to derive AET values for South Florida. The SSEB/Simple-
Method approach provided mixed results with good agreement with control values during
dry season (r (59) = 0.700, p < 0.0005) and poor agreement during wet season (r (46)
ave ave ave
= 0.137, p = 0.304). Further refinement is needed to make this method viable for yearly
ave
estimates due to the poor performance during wet season months. This approach can prove
useful for short term wetland recovery assessment projects that occur during the dry season
and/or long term projects that compare AET rates from a site from dry season to dry season.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 
1.1. Motivation and Background ..................................................................................... 2 
1.2. Study Area: South Florida ........................................................................................ 3 
1.3. Evapotranspiration as an Indicator of Wetland Recovery. ....................................... 6 
1.4. Measuring ET. .......................................................................................................... 8 
1.5. The Simple Method and the Simplified Surface Energy Balance Equation. .......... 11 
1.6. Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Goals. ......................................................... 14 
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................17 
2.1. Wetlands Dynamics and Hydrology ....................................................................... 18 
2.2. ET Calculation Methods ......................................................................................... 20 
2.3. Abtew’s Simple Model and the SSEB .................................................................... 22 
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................24 
3.1. Evapotranspiration Fraction (Etf) Calculation. ...................................................... 25 
3.2. Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) Calculation. ................................................... 30 
3.3. Actual Evapotranspiration (AET) Calculation and Validation ............................... 35 
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ...................................................................................................41 
4.1. PET Calculation Results. ........................................................................................ 42 
4.2. Etf Calculation Results. .......................................................................................... 47 
4.3. AET Calculation Results ........................................................................................ 49 
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION .............................................................................................70 
5.1. Summary of Results, Hypothesis, and Goals. ........................................................ 71 
5.2. Comparison to Previous Studies and Challenges Experienced. ............................. 75 
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................80 
6.1. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 81 
6.2. Recommendations .................................................................................................. 82 
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................87 

APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................95 

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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
Table 3.1. MOD11A2 Image Layer Information. LP DAAC, https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/p
roducts/modis_products_table/mod11a2....... ....................................................................27

Table 3.2. Geographical Projection Information ...............................................................28

Table 3.3. ArcMap 10 Tools List .......................................................................................32

Table 3.4. Weather Station Information ............................................................................34

Table 3.5. AET Control Sites .............................................................................................39

Table 4.1. Dates of missing solar radiation data.. ..............................................................45

Table 4.2. Means and Standard Deviations of Etf for Control Sites. .................................49

Table 4.3: Statistical Comparison between Model AET and Control AET for Full
Data………………………………………………………………………………………56

Table 4.4. Normality Test Results for Full Dataset. Data is considered normally
distributed when p > 0.05. .................................................................................................56

Table 4.5. Rank Test Results for Full Dataset. The rank test performed consisted of
subtracting the control AET values from the model AET values (i.e. AETm – AETc). .....57

Table 4.6. Results of Correlation Tests between Full Data Control AET and Model
AET ....................................................................................................................................57

Table 4.7. Statistical Comparison between Control and Model AET for Dry Data. .........59

Table 4.8. Normality Test Results for Dry Season Data. Data is considered normally
distributed when p > 0.05. .................................................................................................62

Table 4.9. Rank Test Results for Dry Season Data. The rank test performed consisted
of subtracting the control AET values from the model AET values
(i.e. AETm – AETc). ..........................................................................................................62

Table 4.10. Results of Correlation Tests between Dry Season Control AET and Model
AET. ...................................................................................................................................63

Table 4.11. Statistical Comparison between Control and Model AET for Wet Data. .......64

Table 4.12. Normality Test Results for Wet Season Data. Data is considered normally
distributed when p > 0.05. .................................................................................................67

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Table 4.13. Rank Test Results for Wet Season Dataset. The rank test performed
consisted of subtracting the control AET values from the model AET values
(AETm – AETc) ..................................................................................................................67

Table 4.14. Results of Correlation Tests between Wet Season Control AET and Model
AET ...................................................................................................................................67

Table 4.15. Rank Test Results for Wet Season Dataset. The rank test performed
consisted of subtracting the PET values from the model AET values (PET – AETc). ......68

Table 4.16. Results of Correlation Tests between Wet Season Control AET and Model
PET.Data ...........................................................................................................................68

Table 5.1. Mean Control and Experimental AET values for five control sites. ................77

Table B.1. Control AET Full Data Set Statistics. Values are given in mm .......................98

Table B.2. Modeled AET Full Data Statistics. Values are given in mm ...........................99

Table B.3. Modeled PET Full Data Statistics. Values are given in mm ..........................100

Table B.4. Control AET Dry Season Data Set Statistics. Values given in mm ...............101

Table B.5. Modeled AET Dry Season Data Statistics. Values given in mm ...................102

Table B.6. Modeled PET Dry Season Data Statistics. Values are given in mm ..............103

Table B.7. Control AET Wet Season Data Set Statistics. Values given in mm ..............104

Table B.8. Modeled AET Wet Season Data Statistics. Values given in mm ..................105

Table B.9. Modeled PET Wet Season Data Statistics. Values are given in mm .............106
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