Fu et al. (2026) Assessments of eight ET products based on long-term multi-source water balance elements in 133 catchments across China

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-27
• Authors: Xinhong Fu, Changming Li, Hanbo Yang
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135928

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University
• School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology

Short Summary

This study evaluates eight evapotranspiration (ET) products using a multi-source input water balance method in 133 catchments across China during 1980-2016, finding that all products overestimate monthly and annual ET.

Objective

• Assess the performance of eight ET products in representing regional ET trends and their accuracy in capturing long-term ET changes in China.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Catchment scale (133 catchments across China)
• Temporal Scale: 1980-2016

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Multi-source input water balance method, Collocation-Analyzed Multi-source Ensembled Land Evapotranspiration (CAMELE), ECMWF Reanalysis v5-Land (ERA5L), Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM), MODIS Global Evapotranspiration Product (MOD16), FLUXCOM, and Penman-Monteith-Leuning Evapotranspiration Version 2 (PMLV2)
• Data sources: Satellite data, observation data from 32 flux stations in China

Main Results

• All ET products overestimate monthly and annual ET; GLEAM and PMLV2 generally exhibit better performance; regional accuracy varies, with higher accuracy in northern China and larger uncertainties in southern China.

Contributions

• This study advances the understanding of land surface ET datasets and provides guidance for selecting regionally appropriate ET products across China.

Funding

• No specific funding information is provided in the paper.

Citation

@article{Fu2026Assessments,
  author = {Fu, Xinhong and Li, Changming and Yang, Hanbo},
  title = {Assessments of eight ET products based on long-term multi-source water balance elements in 133 catchments across China},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135928},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135928}
}