Xu et al. (2026) Quantifying evaporation depth from on-farm storages using water-level observations

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-24
• Authors: Jia Xu, Andrew William Western, Dongryeol Ryu, Michael Scobie
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110721

Research Groups

• Department of Infrastructure Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne
• One Basin Cooperative Research Centre, Australia
• School of Science, Engineering and Digital Technologies, University of Southern Queensland

Short Summary

This study evaluates the performance of nine evaporation models on small on-farm storages in Australia using water-level-derived evaporation as a benchmark. The results show that ensemble approaches generally outperform individual models.

Objective

• To assess the performance of commonly used evaporation models at the scale of individual storages (<100 ha) using water-level-derived evaporation as a benchmark.
• To evaluate whether ensemble estimates can improve estimation robustness and accuracy compared to individual model outputs.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Small on-farm storages in Australia, primarily located within the northern Murray-Darling Basin (MDB).
• Temporal Scale: 2020-2025, with some storages having longer monitoring periods.

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • Penman-type models (Epenman48, Epenman56, EpenmanPML, EValJD, EMcJ, Efao56)
  • Aerodynamic mass-transfer models (EdaltonMcJ, Emasstransfer)
  • Remote-sensing-based hybrid methods (EAquaSEBS)
  • Ensemble mean and ensemble median estimates
• Data sources:
  • Water-level records from thirteen monitored storages
  • Meteorological forcing data from the Bureau of Meteorology Atmospheric high-resolution Regional Reanalysis for Australia (BARRA-C2)
  • Remotely sensed data from Sentinel-2 imagery

Main Results

• The ensemble mean and ensemble median estimates generally outperform individual models, with correlations ranging from 0.64 to 0.69.
• Most models show moderate to strong agreement with observed evaporation, but there are marked differences in magnitude and variability across models.
• The E_AquaSEBS model exhibits weaker performance compared to other models.

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of commonly used evaporation models on small on-farm storages in Australia.
• The results highlight the importance of ensemble approaches for improving estimation robustness and accuracy.
• The study contributes to the development of more accurate and reliable methods for estimating evaporative losses from on-farm storages.

Funding

• This research was supported by the One Basin Cooperative Research Centre, Australia.

Citation

@article{Xu2026Quantifying,
  author = {Xu, Jia and Western, Andrew William and Ryu, Dongryeol and Scobie, Michael},
  title = {Quantifying evaporation depth from on-farm storages using water-level observations},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110721},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110721}
}