Comparison of SEBAL Algorithm and Meteorological Data Results in Estimating Daily Evaporation from Free Water Surface (Case Study of Soleimanshah Dam)

Accurate estimation of dam lake evaporation is of great importance in reservoir water management. This factor has led to the installation of meteorological stations in most dams. At the meteorological station, the rate of evaporation from the lake surface is measured using an evaporation pan. Remote sensing methods are cost effective and can be generalized to the whole area. In this study, the daily evaporation rate from the surface of Suleiman Shah Lake was calculated using a combination of SEBAL algorithm and meteorological data and using five Landsat 8 satellite images. The obtained results were compared with the evaporation rate obtained from different methods. The results showed that among the combined methods, Penman Kimberly 1996 method, among other methods, Blanche-Kridel method had the highest agreement and Hafner method had the least agreement with the measured data indicated with R2, RMSE and MAE equal to 0.96, 2.78 and 5.66, respectively. The results of this study can be used to estimate evaporation in other regions with similar climates.