estimation of regional evapotranspiration using remote sensing data in arid areas ayoub ahmed ...

346 Pages·2009·10.51 MB·English

by  Ayoub Almhab

ESTIMATION OF REGIONAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION USING REMOTE
SENSING DATA IN ARID AREAS

AYOUB AHMED ABDULLAH ALMHAB

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS / UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT PAPER AND COPYRIGHT

A uthor’s full name : AYOUB AHMED ABDULLAH ALMHAB

Date of birth : 24 DESEMBER 1972

Title : ESTIMATION OF REGIONAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

USING REMOTE SENSING DATA IN ARID AREAS

Academic Session : 2008 / 2009

I declare that this thesis is classified as :

CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official

Secret Act 1972)*

RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organization where research was done)*

√ OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis to be published as online open

access (full text)

I acknowledged that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia reserves the right as follows :

1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

2. The Library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has the right to make copies for the

purpose of research only.

3. The Library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange.

Certified by :

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR

01542085 PROF. IBRAHIM BUSU

(NEW IC NO. /PASSPORT NO.) NAME OF SUPERVISOR

Date : 15 January 2009 15 January 2009

NOTES : * If the thesis is CONFIDENTAL or RESTRICTED, please attach with the letter from
the organization with period and reasons for confidentiality or restriction.
“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my

opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the

award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Remote Sensing) ”

Signature : ....................................................
Name of Supervisor I : IBRAHIM BIN BUSU

Date : ....................................................

ESTIMATION OF REGIONAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION USING REMOTE
SENSING DATA IN ARID AREAS

AYOUB AHMED ABDULLAH ALMHAB

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (Remote Sensing)

Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

JANUARY 2009
ii

I declare that this thesis entitled “Estimation of Regional Evapotranspiration using
Remote Sensing data in Arid Areas “is the result of my own research except as cited
in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not
concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature : ………………………..
Name : Ayoub Ahmed Almhab
Date : 15/01/2009
iii

This work is dedicated to my father and family members
who are always giving me encouragement
and support

I also wish to dedicate this thesis to all Yemeni farmers, who have
struggled all their lives for a better future.
iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I should thank the Allah Almighty, without His blessings it would not
have been possible for me to do this study. I wish to extend my gratitude the Islamic
Development Bank (IDB), for granting me the financial support to enable me to pursue
this study. Special thanks to Assoc. Prof Dr Ibrahim Busu, who besides being my
supervisor, tirelessly worked hard to ensure that I managed to complete study. His
commitment all through my studies was overwhelming. I would also like to pay my
kind regards to Prof.Arthur P. Cracknell for his excellent guidance; advice and
correction during review this thesis. I would like to thank the Head of the Department
of Remote Sensing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for providing me the use of the
laboratory facilities, also thanks to all staff of the Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory,
UTM for their cooperation. I would like to extend my thanks to the following
organizations in Yemen:
• Faculty of Agriculture (FA), Sana’a University (SUY),
• General Directory of Irrigation (GDI), Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
(MAI).
• National Water Resources Authority (NWRA), Ministry of Water and
Environment (MWE),
• Agriculture Research Authority (AREA), MAI, and
• Sana’a Basin Project (SBPM), MWE.
Special thanks to Eng. Yahya Almahbashy (NWRA), Eng. Mohammed Abdollah Al-
eryani (MAI) and Dr Abdullah Yaya (FA- SUY).
Last but not least I will never forget to thank my immediate family members especially
my father who understood the need for me to be away for studies, my wife and my
children, Mohamed, Salah, Eman, Ehsan, Hisham for her patience and encouragements
and all friends and colleagues.
v

ABSTRACT

Evapotranspiration (ET) constitutes a large portion of the hydrologic cycle and
considered as the important parameter in the water budget in the arid areas.
Measurement of the water vapour cycle of the land surface is crucial in improving the
management of the limited fresh water resources. This study investigates the
possibilities of generating a new algorithm for estimating ET in the arid mountainous
areas. The modified SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land) was
developed based on original SEBAL algorithm produced by Bastiaanssen in 1995. A
new modified SEBAL is developed to compute ET in three areas. Operational
modified SEBAL model estimates ET of mountain areas of Sana’a basin in Yemen
using Remote Sensing data from various sensors and appropriate meteorological
data. Validation of ET calculated by modified SEBAL model at a local scale was
performed by comparing it with several ET estimated using other methods.
Generated in this study are, almost all of the model parameters which covers: surface
albedo estimation, estimated Leaf area index (LAI) by remote sensing data analyses,
effect of elevation on surface temperature, ground heat flux estimation, impact of
surface roughness, the estimated of sensible heat flux, windspeed and surface
temperature relation and the correction of near surface air temperature difference (dT)
in modified SEBAL. The fusion of ET derived from Landsat images and ET derived
from NOAA-AVHRR images was also done. Application of modified SEBAL at a
regional scale was performed using Landsat TM and NOAA-AVHRR imagery for the
Sana’a basin, Yemen. The results indicated that modified SEBAL performed well for
predicting daily and monthly ET for mountainous agricultural areas. Some results
were obtained for volcanic areas, basalt areas, desert areas and also arid coastal areas,
using prediction of surface parameters. Regional decision support system for ET was
done in order to select the best or most suitable ET method, finally the proposed
model for regional water balance shows good result for monthly data.