Chapter Three - Evaporation

Definition and Types of Evaporation Factors Affecting Evaporation Evaporation Measurement Methods of Estimating Evaporation

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Definition and Types of Evaporation

Evaporation is the phase change of liquid water into a vapor (gas). It is an important means of transferring energy between the surface and the air above. The energy used to evaporate water is called "latent energy".

Latent energy is "locked up" in the water molecule when water undergoes the phase change from a liquid to a 1/18/2013 2 gas.

Evaporation occurs when a molecules of water moves quickly enough to break away from other water molecules at the water-air interface. This is a significant process in the hydrologic cycle because it supplies the atmosphere with water moisture for the subsequent rainfall events.

In order for the water molecules to break away, the latent heat of evaporation (540 calories per gram of water at 1000C) is required.
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 Evaporation

can be from Water evaporation -open water bodies streams, lakes, seas, oceans -Soil surface Transpiration - Plant leaves. Water evaporation can be from the soil as well as open water bodies to the atmosphere.

It is significant over large bodies of water.

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Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves. The amount of water used for plant growth is negligible compared to the water that is transpired. Transpiration occurs not because the plant is breathing, but because of the difference in vapour pressure inside the leaf and in the air outside.

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Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration is the process by which water is discharged to the atmosphere as a result of evaporation from the soil and open water bodies and transpiration by plants. Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is the rate at which evapotranspiration would occur from a large area uniformly covered by vegetation with unlimited access to soil water.

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PET cannot exceed free water evaporation under similar climate. Actual Evapotranspiration (AET) is the amount of water actually delivered to the air from evaporation and transpiration.

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Factors Affecting Evaporation

Evaporation from open water surface is a function of:

Solar radiation; Temperature;

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Humidity;
Wind; Water body depth; Size and shape of water surface, and Water quality.
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Solar radiation provides energy that can be stored as heat in the water. This latent heat is transformed to kinetic energy as water molecules evaporate. Wind can remove the more humid air above the water surface and replace it with dry air that enhances the rate of evaporation.
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Shallow lakes warm up more quickly and follow seasonal temperature trends more closely than do larger lakes. high evaporation rates during warmer months and

lower evaporation rates during the cooler period.

Deep lakes with large volumes generally lay behind atmospheric temperature trends and have sufficient water volume to release the stored energy in cooler months.
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Evaporation from a free water surface will decrease proportionally to increasing salinity. Evaporation from soils is a function of: Soil moisture content Water table depths Soil characteristics Soil colour Vegetative cover

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As the moisture content of the soil decreases, the evaporation rate will decrease. dry soil on top acts as a barrier to prevent evaporation of water at greater depth.

Maximum evaporation rates will occur when the water table is at the ground surface.
Materials with a darker colour absorb more solar radiation than lighter-coloured materials.

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Vegetative cover tends to decrease the amount of evaporation compared to that of a bare soil.

For open bodies of water, evaporation can be 100%. For soils it varies from a high 100% when the soil is highly saturated to essentially zero at stages of very low moisture content.

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 Factors that determine transpiration rates include:

Solar radiation Air temperature Relative humidity Wind and air turbulence Vegetation Soil moisture content Storage capacity Capillary tension Soil permeability Depth to the water table
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The solar radiation to plant leaves controls the opening of the stomata and controls transpiration.

As the relative humidity of the air surrounding the plant rises the transpiration rate falls. It is easier for water to evaporate into dryer air than into more saturated air.

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The availability of moisture in the soil zone will control the amount of transpiration that can occur.

The depth of the root zone for different plants is a very important controlling factor for transpiration.

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N.B. The universal factors that affect evapotranspiration are:

energy temperature

relative humidity
wind

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MEASUREMENT / ESTIMATION OF EVAPORATION

The direct measurement and/or estimation evaporation or evapotranspiration is not that easy.

of

The measurement / estimation of evaporation can be done: Using evaporimeters Using empirical equations By analytical methods

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Evaporimeters

Evaporimeters are pans containing water which are exposed to the atmosphere. Loss of water by evaporation from these pans are measured at regular intervals (daily). Meteorological data such as humidity, wind velocity, air and water temperatures, and precipitation are also measured and noted along with evaporation.
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Standard Pan?

WMO recommends the use of the Class A pan for the direct measurement of evaporation.

Class A pan is cylindrical metal with a diameter of 120.7 cm and a depth of 25 cm.

The pan rests on a carefully levelled, wooden base and is often enclosed by a chain link fence to prevent

animals drinking from it.

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Fig. American Class A Pan

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Evaporation is measured daily as the depth of water evaporates from the pan. The measurement day begins with the pan filled to exactly 5 cm from the pan top. At the end of 24 hours, the amount of water to refill the pan to exactly 5 cm from its top is measured. If precipitation occurs in the 24-hour period, it is taken into account in calculating the evaporation.
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Evaporation from a natural body of water is usually at lower rate because the body of water does not have metal sides that get hot with the sun. the Epan is multiplied by a pan coefficient, Kpan, to obtain the ETo.

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Formula: ETo = K pan Epan

For the Class A evaporation pan, the Kpan varies between 0.35 and 0.85. Average K pan = 0.70.

Pan evaporation data can be used to estimate evaporation from open water bodies, but transpiration and evaporation of intercepted rain on vegetation are unknown. 1/18/2013 24

Evapotranspiration cannot be measured directly.

There are three general approaches to estimate evapotranspiration indirectly. Catchment Water balance Hydrometeorological Equations Energy Balance

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1. 2.

Catchment Water balance(Discussed) Hydrometeorological Equations

The most general and widely used equation for estimating evapotranspiration is the Penman equation. It is widely regarded as one of the most accurate models, in terms of estimates.

The simpler Blaney- Criddle equation is also popular.

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The Blaney-Criddle Method

This method is straightforward and requires only data on mean daily temperatures. The Blaney-Criddle formula is: ETo = p(0.46Tmean + 8) where: ETo = reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day) Tmean = mean daily temperature ( C) p = mean daily percentage of annual daytime hours.

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If in a local meteorological station the daily minimum and maximum temperatures are measured, the mean daily temperature is calculated as follows:

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To be able to obtain the p value, it is essential to know the approximate latitude of the area: the number of degrees north or south of the equator.
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Table . MEAN DAILY PERCENTAGE (p) OF ANNUAL DAYTIME HOURS FOR DIFFERENT LATITUDES
Latitude: North South 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
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Jan July .15 .17 .19 .20 .22 .23 .24 .24 .25 .26 .26 .27 .27

Feb Aug .20 .21 .23 .23 .24 .25 .25 .26 .26 .26 .27 .27 .27

Mar Sept .26 .26 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27 .27

Apr Oct .32 .32 .31 .30 .30 .29 .29 .29 .28 .28 .28 .28 .27

May Nov .38 .36 .34 .34 .32 .31 .31 .30 .29 .29 .28 .28 .27

Jun Dec .41 .39 .36 .35 .34 .32 .32 .31 .30 .29 .29 .28 .27

July Jan .40 .38 .35 .34 .33 .32 .31 .31 .30 .29 .29 .28 .27

Aug Feb .34 .33 .32 .32 .31 .30 .30 .29 .29 .28 .28 .28 .27

Sept Mar .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .28 .27

Oct Apr .22 .23 .24 .24 .25 .25 .26 .26 .26 .27 .27 .27 .27

Nov May .17 .18 .20 .21 .22 .23 .24 .25 .25 .26 .26 .27 .27

Dec June .13 .16 .18 .20 .21 .22 .23 .24 .25 .25 .26 .27 .27
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3. Energy Balance
This method involves too many hydro meteorological factors (variables) with too much sophisticated instrumentation and hence it is a specialist approach.

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