| Abstract: | Potential evapotranspiration(E_(PET)) is usually calculated by empirical methods from surface meteorological variables,such as temperature, radiation and wind speed. The in-situ measured pan evaporation ET_(pan) can also be used as a proxy for E_(PET). In this study, E_(PET) values computed from ten models are compared with observed ET_(pan) data in ten Chinese river basins for the period 1961-2013. The daily observed meteorological variables at 2267 stations are used as the input to those models, and a ranking scheme is applied to rank the statistical quantities(ratio of standard deviations, correlation coefficient, and ratio of trends) between ET_(pan) and modeled E_(PET) in different river basins. There are large deviations between the modeled E_(PET) and the ET_(pan) in both the magnitude and the annual trend at most stations. In eight of the basins(except for Southeast and Southwest China), ET_(pan) shows decreasing trends with magnitudes ranging between-0.01 mm d~(-1) yr~(-1) and-0.03 mm d~(-1) yr~(-1), while the decreasing trends in modeled E_(PET) are less than-0.01 mm d~(-1) yr~(-1). Inter comparisons among different models in different river basins suggest that PET_(Ham1) is the best model in the Pearl River basin, PET_(Ham2) outperforms other models in the Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Yellow River basins, and PET_(FAO) is the best model for the remaining basins. Sensitivity analyses reveal that wind speed and sunshine duration are two important factors for decreasing E_(PET) in most basins except in Southeast and Southwest China. The increasing E_(PET) trend in Southeast China is mainly attributed to the reduced relative humidity. |
