EVAPOTRANSPIRATION - Definition

Evapotranspiration - the processes by

which water in the liquid phase at or near
the earth or land surfaces becomes
atmospheric water vapour.
Evaporation from lakes and rivers
Evaporation from bare soil
Evaporation from vegetated surfaces
Transpiration from within the leaves of
the plants through the stomatal openings
Sublimation from ice and snow surfaces
Precipitation, ET and Runoff
On the global scale, about 62% of the
precipitation that falls on the continents is
evapotranspired.
Out of this, 97% is evapotranspiration from
land surface and 3% is evaporation from
open water surfaces.
Evapotranspiration (ET) exceeds runoff in
most of the river basins and all the
continents except Antartica.
Why is the Quantitative understanding of
ET practically important??
understanding and predicting climate
quantitative assessments of water resources over
long term; and the effects of changes in climate
and land use on water resources over long term
prediction of ecosystem response to climate
change
proper planning and operation of irrigation
systems
field estimation of water supply reservoirs
assessment of contribution to streamflow and
ground water recharge from a given storm
Evaporation - a diffusion process!
Process by which momentum, heat content, dissolved or suspended
matter are transferred from one position to another within the fluid.
Mathematical expression for the Ficks First law of diffusion
F
z
(X) = - D
x
. dC
x
/dz ..(1)
F
z
(X) is the rate of transfer of X in the direction z per unit
time (called the flux of X)
C
x
is the concentration of X
D
x
is called the diffusivity of X in the fluid
The minus sign indicates that X always moves from regions with
higher concentration to the regions where the concentration is lower.
Latent Heat + Sensible Heat
Water vapour is transferred between the surface and the
air wherever there is difference in vapour pressure
between the surface and the overlying air.
A transfer of latent heat always accompanies the vapour
transfer.
A second mode of heat transfer (non-radiant) occurs as
sensible heat, i.e., the heat energy that can be directly
sensed via measurement of temperature.
Sensible heat transfer occurs wherever there is a
temperature difference between the surface and the air.
Mass-Transfer Approach of estimating ET-
Diffusion of water-vapour in air
Daltons Law:
E (e
s
* - e
a
).(2)
If e
s
* > e
a
, evaporation occurs
If e
s
* < e
a
, condensation occurs.
e
s
* = e
a
, neither evaporation nor condensation occurs.
Even when e
a
= e
a
*, evaporation will occur as long as
e
s
* > e
a
* ( fog or mist may be formed, due to
condensation of the evaporating air on the overlying air).
Max. value of vapour pressure that is thermodynamically
stable, is known as the saturation vapour pressure, e*.
Dew-point Temperature
Dew-point temperature is given as:
T
d
= [ln(e) + 0.4926]/[0.0708 0.00421ln(e)]
T
d
is in
o
C and e is in kPa.
Vapour Pressure, Absolute Humidity
e* (kPa) is a function of T(deg C).
e* = 0.611 exp(17.3T/(T+237.3)).(3)
Under most natural conditions, e* represents the max.amount
of water vapour that the atmosphere can hold at temp T.
e = R
v
.T
a
.
v
(partial pressure of water vapour) [FL
-2
]
e/
v
= P/(0.622
a
) (since R
a
/R
v
= 0.622)

v
is the vapour density (absolute humidity); T
a
is in K; R
v
= 0.463
From the ideal gas law,
e/
v
= T
a
/2.17(4)
Herein, e is in kPa;
v
is in kg/m
3
Specific Humidity, q =
v
/
a
= 0.622e/P.(5)
Latent-Heat Transfer
LE =
v
.E (6)
where : LE: rate of latent-heat transfer [ET
-1
]

v
: Latent heat of vaporization [EM
-1
]
E : rate of evaporation or condensation [MT
-1
]
LE = (
v
+
f
) E (7)

f
: latent heat of fusion
If E is expressed in [LT
-1
], then,
LE =
w

v
E (8)
LE =
w
(
v
+
f
) E (9)
where LE is in [EL
-2
T
-1
]
Momentum transfer
Velocity always increases with height, since frictional
drag slows air movement near the ground.
(dv
a
/dz) is always positive.
Thus, F
z
(M) is always negative, reflecting the fact that
the momentum is being transferred downward through
turbulent eddies from higher velocity regions to lower
velocity regions.
F
z
(M) has the dimensions of force per unit area (FL
-2
)
and physically represents the horizontal shear stress due
to differences of wind velocity at adjacent levels.
Evaporation
Evaporation is a diffusive process that follows Ficks first law, which can be
written in finite-difference form as
E = K
E
.v
a
.(e
s
*
-e
a
).(1)
where, E : L/T
K
E
: LT
2
/M
e
s
*
and e
a
: ML
-1
T
-2
K
E
= (0.622
a
/(P.
w
)).{ k
2
/[ln((z
m
-z
d
)/z
0
)]
2
}
= (0.622
a
/(P.
w
)).{ 1/(6.25[ln((z
m
-z
d
)/z
0
)]
2
}....................(2)
Vapour Pressure Relations:
The vapour pressure of an evaporating surface is equal to
the saturation vapour pressure at the surface temperature,
e
s
*. Hence,
e
s
= e
s
* (3)
e
s
* = 0.611 exp(17.3 T
s
/(T
s
+ 237.3)) (4)
e
a
= w
a
e
a
* (5)
where e
a
* is the saturation vapour pressure at the air
temperature, w
a
is the relative humidity.
= slope of the relation between saturation vapour and temperature
(increases exponentially with temperature).
de*/dT= ((2508.3/(T+237.3)
2
).exp(17.3T
s
/(T
s
+ 237.3)) (6)
Latent-Heat Exchange
LE =
w
.
v
.E =
w
.
v
.K
E
.v
a
.(e
s
*
- e
a
)..(7)
The latent heat of vaporization decreases as the temperature of the
evaporating surface increases.

v
(MJ/kg) = 2.50 2.36*10
-3
T ..........................(8)
where T is in
o
C
Sensible Heat Exchange:
H = K
H
.v
a
.(T
s
-T
a
)..(9)
Where K
H
=
a
.c
a
.(1/6.25 [ln((z
m
-z
d
)/z
0
)]
2
).................(10)
Here k=0.4; c
a
= heat capaciy of air = 1*10
-3
MJ/kg/K
Just like K
E
, K
H
also can be adjusted to account for the non-neutral
stability conditions.
Ratio of Sensible heat exchange to latent heat exchange is known as Bowen
Ratio, B.
B = H/LE...........................................(11)
= (T
s
-T
a
)/(e
s
-e
a
)
where = c
a
. P/0.622
v
.....................................................................(12)
which is known as psychrometric constant.
Using typical values of c
a
= 1.00*10-3 MJ/kg/K, P = 101.3 kPa,
v
= 2.47 MJ/kg,
= 0.066 kPa/K
It is to be noted that is not actually a constant and it varies with pressure (which
is a function of elevation and time) and latent heat (varies slightly with
temperature)
Bowen Ratio
Energy Balance Method
The general energy balance for an evapotranspiring body during a time period
t can be written as:
E = K + L - G - H + A
w
- (Q/T)..(1)
E: Evaporation
K: Net short-wave radiation input
L: Net long-wave radiation input
G: Net output through conduction to the ground
H: Net output of sensible heat exchange
A
w
: Net output associated with inflows and outflows of water ( water-advected
energy)
AQ : the change in the amount of heat stored in the body per unit area between
beginning and end of At.
The water-atmosphere heat exchange is said to be in approximate local
equilibrium, when there is no significant horizontal transport of energy by
air movement to or from the area above the region. If such an equilibrium
does not exist, horizontal airflows supply air-advected energy to the air
overlying the region to maintain the energy balance.
Dividing (1) by the latent heat of vaporization (
v
) and the density of water
(
w
),
E = (K + L G H + A
w
- Q/T) / (
w
.
v
).(2)
Measurement of all these energy fluxes ( inputs and outputs) and the
change in the energy stored in the water body during the time interval (At)
considered. Now, the sensible heat loss rate H is given by:
H = B*L
E
= B*
w
.
v
*E..(3)
where B is the Bowen ratio.
Substituting for H in eq.(2) from eq.(3),
E = [ K + L G H + A
w
- (Q/T)] / [
w
.
v
.(1 + B)]..(4)
Radiation components can be estimated by using regional climatic data.
Practical Considerations:
eliminate some of the terms in the energy-balance
equation, if they are not significant
use regional climatic data to estimate the radiation
components.
A modified energy-balance radiation is to be obtained,
based on the above.
Short-wave Radiation:
K = K
in
(1-) (5)
: albedo (reflectivity)
K
in
: Incoming solar radiation
K: Net incoming short-wave (or solar) radiation
Incoming and reflected solar radiation can be measured using
pyranometers.
But, this may be available only at a few scattered locations.
More commonly, K
in
is estimated from the clear-sky solar radiation
(K
cs
), using the empirical relation:
K
in
= [0.355 + 0.68*(1-C)] * K
cs
..(6)
Herein, C is the fraction of sky covered by cloud.
Albedo is expressed as a function of K
in
:
= 0.127 exp ( -0.0258 K
in
)(7)
Long-wave Radiation:
Net long wave radiation input
L = L
at
(1-c
w
)*L
at
L
w
= (c
w
*L
at
L
w
)(8)
L
at
and L
w
are usually calculated from relations based on the Stefan-
Boltzman equation.
c
w
is the emissivity of the water surface. (1- c
w
) is the long-wave
reflectivity of the water surface.
L
at
is the incoming atmospheric long wave radiation flux
L
w
is the radiation flux emitted by the water surface.
where
at
is the emissivity of the atmosphere, is the Stefan-Boltzman
constant ( = 4.90*10
-9
MJ m
-2
day
-1
K
-1
).
Temperatures are expressed in
o
C.
Long-wave radiation (contd...)
c
w
= 0.97 (from Table)
c
at
is largely a function of humidity and cloud cover and can be estimated
through empirical relations such as:
where e
a
is in kPa, T
a
is in
o
C, C is cloud cover fraction.
Conduction to Ground:
The heat exchange by conduction between lake and the underlying
sediments is negligible.
Heat storage in lakes significantly influences the timing of evaporation
in deep lakes. The annual peak evaporation may be out of phase with
the annual peaks of air temperatures, water temperature and humidity.
Bowen Ratio: The use of the Bowen ratio in the energy-balance
method, eliminates the need of wind data (which will be required if
sensible-heat exchange were to be separately evaluated). However,
data for surface temperature, air temperature and relative humidity are
needed. So, the same considerations for time averaging apply as in the
mass-transfer approach.
Applicability of the Energy-Balance Method:
Same kind of measurement related difficulties as in case of water-balance
method.
When applied to periods greater than 7 days, maximum accuracy results,
provided all the terms in the energy-budget equation are evaluated
accurately. Especially, change in energy storage may not be evaluated
accurately, if applied for periods less than one week.
Just as in case of mass-transfer methods, measurement of water-surface
temperatures poses problems.
The terms A
w
and are small especially with longer time periods and
hence neglected often.
Q
t
A
A
Penman (or Combination) Approach:
Penman(1948) combined the mass-transfer and the energy-balance
approaches to arrive at an evaporation equation that did not require
surface-temperature data.
Derivation of the Penman Combination Equation:
Neglecting ground-heat conduction, water-advected energy and change in
energy storage,
..............(1)
.
, . .( )..........(2)
w v
H a s a
K L H
E
We know H K v T T

+
=
=
Sensible Heat
* *
.........(3)

A =

s a
s a
e e
T T
( ) (3) (2) : Substituting for T T from into gives
s a
* *
. .( )
..........(4)

=
A
H a s a
K v e e
H
Also the slope of the SVP vs temperature curve at the air temperature
can be approximated as:
Penman Combination Equation
*
*
, . . . .... (5)
. ........(6)
After simplification using equations (5), (4), (1), (6), we get
.( ) . . . . . .(1 )
.........(7)
. .( )
( . ) ( . )
(
H w v E
a a a
E w v a a a
w v
But K K
e w e
K L K v e w
E
Net radiation Mass transfer

=
=
A + +
=
A+
A +
=
A ) +
Terms in the Penman Combination Equation
In the Penman combination equation (eq.(24)) for free
water evaporation,
The weighting coefficients for the net radiation energy
and the mass transfer are and , respectively.
is the slope of the SVP vs. temperature curve at the air
temperature
is the psychrometric constant, which depends on
atmospheric pressure.
To summarize:
The combination approach of Penman was
developed to estimate free-water evaporation.
This requires data on: net short wave radiation;
net long wave radiation; wind speed; air
temperature; relative humidity.
The Penman combination method has become the
standard hydrological method for estimating free-water
evaporation, since
it has a strong theoretical foundation
requires meteorological data that are widely
available (or can be reasonably estimated)
gives satisfactory results
eliminates water surface temperature.
Classification of Types of Evapotranspiration
ET type Type of
Surface
Availability of
water to
surface
Stored
Energy Use
(Q)
Water-advected
Energy Use (Aw)
Free-water
Evaporation
Open water Unlimited None None
Lake
evaporation
Open water Unlimited May be
involved
May be involved
Bare-soil
evaporation
Bare soil Limited to
Unlimited
Negligible None
Transpiration Leaf or leaf
canopy
Limited Negligible None
Interception
loss
Leaf or
leaf canopy
Unlimited Negligible None
Potential ET Reference
crop
Limited to air,
Unlimited to
plants
None None
Actual ET Land Area Varies in space
and time
Negligible None
Free-water evaporation:
Evaporation that would occur from open water surface in the
absence of advection and changes in heat storage. Thus, it depends
only on climatic conditions.
Lake Evaporation:
In an actual water body (such as lake), the free-water evaporation is
adjusted to include the effects of advection and heat storage effects.
Pan Evaporation:
Direct approach to estimate free-water evaporation, exposing a
cylindrical pan of liquid water to the atmosphere and to solve the
water-balance equation for a convenient time period t (one day),
Here, W is the precipitation during t. ,
1
and
2
are the storages at the
beginning and the end of t, respectively.
) 29 ....( ]......... [
1 2
= W E
Precipitation is measured in an adjacent non-recording
rain gage. The storage volumes are estimated by
measuring the water level in a small stilling well in the
pan with a high-precision hook gage.
The water surface is maintained a few centimeters below
the pan rim by adding measured amounts of water as
necessary.
For special studies on lake evaporation, pans are kept in
the centre of a floating platform with dimensions large
enough to ensure stability and prevent water splashing
in.
Pan Coefficient:
An evaporation pan has far less heat-storage capacity;
lacks surface or ground-water inputs or outputs;
sides of the pan are exposed to air and sun. This results
in elevating the warm-season average temperature and
vapour pressure of the water surface of a pan compared
to that of a nearby lake.
The ratio of the lake evaporation to the pan evaporation
is called pan coefficient.
Kohler et al.(1955) developed an empirical equation that
accounts for the energy exchange through the sides of
the pan and thereby adjust daily pan evaporation to daily
free-water evaporation:
Proportion of energy exchanged through the sides of
the pan that that is used for evaporation and is estimated
as:
If annual evaporation values are of concern, then, the
inputs and the outputs of energy through the sides of a
pan are negligible (over a year) and hence adjustments
using equations (30) and (31) are not necessary. Year-
to-year evaporation estimates do not show considerable
variability. Free-water evaporation estimated by the
combination method closely approximates pan
evaporation on annual basis.
pan
o
) 31 ( .......... 0135 . 0 ) 8 . 17 )( 10 * 5 . 3 ( . 0117 . 0 34 . 0
36 . 0 3 7
pan span span pan
v T T + + + =

o
Transpiration
Transpiration is the evaporation of water from the
vascular system of plants into the atmosphere. This
process involves:
absorption of soil water by plant roots;
translocation in liquid form through the vascular system
of roots, stem and branches to the leaves;
translocation from the leaves to the walls of the stomatal
cavities;
the water vapour in in these cavities then moves into the
ambient air through stomata (openings on the leaf
surface).
Air in stomatal cavities is saturated at the temperature of the
leaf and water moves from the cavities into the air due to
vapour pressure difference, similar to open-water evaporation.
However, the difference lies in that plants exert some
physiological control over the size of the stomatal openings
and enable the movement of vapour.
Transpiration is a physical process, and not a metabolic one.
The integrity of the transpiration stream is maintained from the
soil to the stomata on the leaves of the branches of great
heights of very tall trees. The great cohesive strength of water
due to its intermolecular hydrogen bonding is the cause for
maintaining this stream.
The term in double braces in eq.(2) represents the efficiency of the
turbulent eddies in the lower atmosphere in transporting water
vapour from the surface to the ambient air. This is viewed as
atmospheric conductance for water vapour, C
at
.
If is assumed to be 2m above the top of the vegetation,
combining equations (4), (5) and (6), a relation between
atmospheric conductance and wind speed can be generated for
various values of (10cm 2m), depending on the type of land
cover.
Evaporation from open- water surface is a one step process in
which water molecules pass from the water surface to the
atmosphere. This can be viewed analogous to electric
current(water vapour) moving in response to a voltage
(vapour-pressure difference) across a resistance( inverse of the
atmospheric conductance).
Leaf Conductance
Transpiration is a two-step process in which
Water molecules pass from the stomatal cavity to the leaf
surface and
Water molecules pass from the leaf surface into the
atmosphere.
Considering the same electric-circuit analogy as before, the
same driving force operates across two resistances(inverse
conductances) linked in series (leaf and atmospheric).
Leaf conductance is estimated by the number of stomata
per unit area and the size of the stomatal openings. The
stomatal densities range between 10,000 and 100,000 per
cm2 of leaf surface.
The size of the stomatal openings in plants are controlled
by the response of the guard cells. These cells respond
to:
light intensity;
ambient CO2 concentration;
leaf-air vapour pressure difference;
leaf temperature and
leaf water content.
Stewart (1988) developed and tested a model for estimating hourly
evapotranspiration that incorporates factors (i), (iii), (iv) and (v)
mentioned above. Herein the effect of ambient CO
2
concentration
was not considered since it does not vary much with time. Also,
soil-water deficit was used as a surrogate for leaf water content.
Stewarts model has the general form:
Canopy Conductance
Vegetated surface like grass, crop or forest canopy can be
thought of as a large number of leaf conductances in
parallel.
From the analogy with the electrical circuits, the total
conductance of a number of conductance in parallel, equals
the sum of the individual conductances.
Thus, a uniformly vegetated surface can be represented as
a single big leaf whose total conductance to water vapour
is proportional to the sum of the conductances of many
individual leaves.
The Penman Monteith Model
The penman (combination) model for evaporation from a
free water surface can be written in terms of atmospheric
conductance as:
Monteith(1965) showed that the Penman equation can be
modified to represent the ET rate from a vegetated surface
by incorporating canopy conductance in eq.(10).
) 10 ......( ..........
) .( .
) 1 .( . . . ) .(
*


+ A
+ + A
=
v w
a a at a a
w e C c L K
E
) 11 ......( ..........
) / 1 .( .( .
) 1 .( . . . ) .(
*
can at v w
a a at a a
C C
w e C c L K
ET
+ + A
+ + A
=


Penman-Monteith Equation.
Most widely used approach to estimating ET from
cropped/vegetated land surfaces. The assumptions of no
water-advected energy, and no heat-storage effects are
usually reasonable for vegetated surfaces unlike for natural
water bodies).
Has been successfully tested in many environments