Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration
Investigating the trends of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is fundamental importance for water resource management in agriculture, climate variability analysis, and other hydroclimate-related projects. Moreover, it would be useful for understanding the sensitivity of such trends to basic meteoro...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/3/470 |
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| author | Tagele Mossie Aschale David J. Peres Aurora Gullotta Guido Sciuto Antonino Cancelliere |
| author_facet | Tagele Mossie Aschale David J. Peres Aurora Gullotta Guido Sciuto Antonino Cancelliere |
| author_sort | Tagele Mossie Aschale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Investigating the trends of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is fundamental importance for water resource management in agriculture, climate variability analysis, and other hydroclimate-related projects. Moreover, it would be useful for understanding the sensitivity of such trends to basic meteorological variables, as the modifications of these variables due to climate change are more easily predictable. This study aims to analyze ETo trends and sensitivity in relation to different explanatory meteorological factors. The study used a 17 year-long dataset of meteorological variables from a station located in Piazza Armerina, Sicily, a region characterized by a Mediterranean climate. First, the FAO-Penman-Monteith method was applied for estimation of ETo. Next, the Mann-Kendall test with serial autocorrelation removal by Trend-free pre-whitening (TFPW) was applied to analyze ETo trends and the basic meteorological variables on which they depend. Sen’s slope was also used to examine the magnitude of the trend of monthly ETo and its related meteorological variables. According to the obtained results, ETo only showed a downward trend of 0.790 mm per year in November, while no trend is shown in other months or on seasonal and annual time scales. Solar radiation (November and Autumn) and rainfall (Autumn) showed a downward trend. The other meteorological variables (minimum temperature, maximum temperature, mean temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity) showed an upward trend both at monthly and seasonally scale in the study area. The highest and lowest sensitivity coefficients of ETo in the study area are obtained for specific humidity and wind speed, respectively. Specific humidity and wind speed give the highest (44.59%) and lowest (0.9%) contribution to ETo trends in the study area. These results contribute to understanding the potential and possible future footprint of climate change on evapotranspiration in the study area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:19:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-722e298350ff48f8a3ddb3d6df2c4fc0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:19:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-722e298350ff48f8a3ddb3d6df2c4fc02023-11-16T18:23:06ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-01-0115347010.3390/w15030470Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference EvapotranspirationTagele Mossie Aschale0David J. Peres1Aurora Gullotta2Guido Sciuto3Antonino Cancelliere4Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Via A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Via A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Via A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, ItalyAmbiens Srl, Via Roma, 44, 94019 Valguarnera Caropepe, ItalyDepartment of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Via A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, ItalyInvestigating the trends of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is fundamental importance for water resource management in agriculture, climate variability analysis, and other hydroclimate-related projects. Moreover, it would be useful for understanding the sensitivity of such trends to basic meteorological variables, as the modifications of these variables due to climate change are more easily predictable. This study aims to analyze ETo trends and sensitivity in relation to different explanatory meteorological factors. The study used a 17 year-long dataset of meteorological variables from a station located in Piazza Armerina, Sicily, a region characterized by a Mediterranean climate. First, the FAO-Penman-Monteith method was applied for estimation of ETo. Next, the Mann-Kendall test with serial autocorrelation removal by Trend-free pre-whitening (TFPW) was applied to analyze ETo trends and the basic meteorological variables on which they depend. Sen’s slope was also used to examine the magnitude of the trend of monthly ETo and its related meteorological variables. According to the obtained results, ETo only showed a downward trend of 0.790 mm per year in November, while no trend is shown in other months or on seasonal and annual time scales. Solar radiation (November and Autumn) and rainfall (Autumn) showed a downward trend. The other meteorological variables (minimum temperature, maximum temperature, mean temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity) showed an upward trend both at monthly and seasonally scale in the study area. The highest and lowest sensitivity coefficients of ETo in the study area are obtained for specific humidity and wind speed, respectively. Specific humidity and wind speed give the highest (44.59%) and lowest (0.9%) contribution to ETo trends in the study area. These results contribute to understanding the potential and possible future footprint of climate change on evapotranspiration in the study area.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/3/470climate changereference evapotranspirationMann-Kendall testsensitivity analysiscontribution rate |
| spellingShingle | Tagele Mossie Aschale David J. Peres Aurora Gullotta Guido Sciuto Antonino Cancelliere Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration Water climate change reference evapotranspiration Mann-Kendall test sensitivity analysis contribution rate |
| title | Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration |
| title_full | Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration |
| title_fullStr | Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration |
| title_short | Trend Analysis and Identification of the Meteorological Factors Influencing Reference Evapotranspiration |
| title_sort | trend analysis and identification of the meteorological factors influencing reference evapotranspiration |
| topic | climate change reference evapotranspiration Mann-Kendall test sensitivity analysis contribution rate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/3/470 |
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