Su (2026) Impact of reference evapotranspiration method selection on hydrologic partitioning and climate sensitivity in forest-dominated watersheds

Identification

• Journal: Mendeley Data
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-22
• Authors: Qiong Su
• DOI: 10.17632/pxrvz5d8kg.1

Research Groups

• Department of Hydrology, University of South Carolina
• Institute of Water Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Short Summary

This study investigates the impact of reference evapotranspiration (ETref) method selection on hydrologic partitioning and climate sensitivity in forest-dominated watersheds. The results show that different ETref methods can lead to significant variations in simulated hydrological processes.

Objective

• Investigate how different ETref methods affect hydrologic partitioning and climate sensitivity in forest-dominated watersheds

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Watersheds located in South Carolina, USA
• Temporal Scale: Daily time step for discharge simulations and monthly time step for evapotranspiration calculations

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the South Carolina Hydrologic and Water Quality System (SC.HAWQS)
• Data sources: Satellite data, observation data from USGS gauges, reanalysis datasets

Main Results

• Different ETref methods (FAO-PM, SWAT-PM, Hargreaves, etc.) lead to significant variations in simulated actual evapotranspiration (ETa) and hydrological processes.
• The relative errors of ETref calculated using different methods range from 10% to 30%.
• The results also show that the choice of ETref method can affect climate sensitivity in forest-dominated watersheds.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the impact of ETref method selection on hydrologic partitioning and climate sensitivity, highlighting the importance of careful model calibration and validation.
• The findings have implications for improving the accuracy of watershed-scale hydrological modeling and predicting climate change impacts.

Funding

• Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51879203) and the University of South Carolina Research Grant Program.

Citation

@article{Su2026Impact,
  author = {Su, Qiong},
  title = {Impact of reference evapotranspiration method selection on hydrologic partitioning and climate sensitivity in forest-dominated watersheds},
  journal = {Mendeley Data},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.17632/pxrvz5d8kg.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17632/pxrvz5d8kg.1}
}