Estimation of Evapotranspiration Using Different Climate Models: A Case Study in Semi-arid Region-Libya

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) has a critical role in agricultural activity, water management and hydraulic engineering. Estimation of Evapotranspiration in arid and semi-arid regions, in particular, Libya is a very crucial issue. This paper aim to evaluate ET using three climate models (FAO-Penman-Monteith (P&M), Hargreaves-Samani and Penman). The daily and monthly meteorological data were collected from the year 2004 and 2005 from the study area. The measured meteorological variables include daily observations of air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. The statistical analysis was undertaken to verify the accuracy of the studied models. The results of the Hargreaves-Samani and Penman models are compared with FAO-Penman-Monteith model. Based on the model testing the statistical analysis show that the Penman model gave a better estimation than Hargreaves-Samani model.