A point-scale gap filling of the flux-tower data using the artificial neural network

In this study, we estimated missing evapotranspiration (ET) data at a eddy-covariance flux tower in the Cheongmicheon farmland site using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The ANN showed excellent performance in numerical analysis and is expanding in various fields. To evaluate the performance the ANN-based gap-filling, ET was calculated using the existing gap-filling methods of Mean Diagnostic Variation (MDV) and Food and Aggregation Organization Penman-Monteith (FAO-PM). Then ET was evaluated by time series method and statistical analysis (coefficient of determination, index of agreement (IOA), root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). For the validation of each gap-filling model, we used 30 minutes of data in 2015. Of the 121 missing values, the ANN method showed the best performance by supplementing 70, 53 and 84 missing values, respectively, in the order of MDV, FAO-PM, and ANN methods. Analysis of the coefficient of determination (MDV, FAO-PM, and ANN methods followed by 0.673, 0.784, and 0.841, respectively.) and the IOA (The MDV, FAO-PM, and ANN methods followed by 0.899, 0.890, and 0.951 respectively.) indicated that, all three methods were highly correlated and considered to be fully utilized, and among them, ANN models showed the highest performance and suitability. Based on this study, it could be used more appropriately in the study of gap-filling method of flux tower data using machine learning method.