A global long-term daily reanalysis of reference evapotranspiration for drought and food-security monitoring

• Published in: Scientific data Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 746
• Main Authors: Hobbins, Mike, Jansma, Timen, Sarmiento, Daniel P, McNally, Amy, Magadzire, Tamuka, Jayanthi, Harikishan, Turner, Will, Hoell, Andrew, Husak, Greg, Senay, Gabriel, Boiko, Olena, Budde, Michael, Mogane, Pamella, Dewes, Candida F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 27.10.2023; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Atmosphere; Climate change; Data assimilation; Data Descriptor; Datasets; Drought; Evapotranspiration; Famine; Food; Geology; Land use planning; Science
• ISSN: 2052-4463; 2052-4463
• DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02648-4

Abstract NOAA has developed a global reference evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) reanalysis using the UN Food and Agriculture Organization formulation (FAO-56) of the Penman-Monteith equation forced by MERRA phase 2 (MERRA2) meteorological and radiative drivers. The NOAA ET 0 reanalysis is provided daily from January 1, 1980 to the near-present at a resolution of 0.5° latitude × 0.625° longitude. The reanalysis is verified against station data across southern Africa, a region presenting both significant challenges regarding hydroclimatic variability and observational quantity and quality and significant potential benefits to food-insecure populations. These data are generated from observations from the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) network. We further verified globally against spatially distributed ET 0 derived from two reanalyses–the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) and Princeton Global Forcing (PGF)–and these verifications produced similar results, yet demonstrated wide regional and seasonal differences. We also present cases that verify the operational applicability of the reanalysis in long-established drought, famine, crop- and pastoral-stress metrics, and in predictability assessments of drought forecasts.