HYDRO 2: HYDROLOGY

LECTURE 3:
EVAPORATION
TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOME:

By the end of this lecture, the student must be

able to:

1. Define what is evaporation and transpiration;

2. Enumerate the factors that affect the rate of
evaporation; and
3. Apply the different models to measure the rate of
evaporation.
Evaporation – process by which liquid water passes
directly (transformation) to the vapor phase
Factors Influencing Evaporation
• Energy supply for vaporization (latent
heat) Rn Net radiation

– Solar radiation
• Transport of vapor away from u
evaporative surface Air Flow

– Wind velocity over surface E Evaporation

– Specific humidity gradient above surface

• Vegetated surfaces
– Supply of moisture to the surface
– Evapotranspiration (ET)
• Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) – moisture
supply is not limited
 Transpiration - process by which liquid water
passes from liquid to vapor through plant
metabolism

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
the combined loss of water vapor from the
surface of plants (transpiration) and the
evaporation of moisture from soil.

Sublimation - process by which water passes

directly from the solid phase to the vapor
phase
Evaporimeter
USWB Class A Evaporation Pan

• National Weather Service Class A type

• Installed on a wooden platform in a grassy
location
• Filled with water to within 2.5 inches of the
top
• Evaporation rate is measured by manual
readings or with an analog output
evaporation gauge

Source: Chow et al. (1988)

Evaporimeter
ISI Standard Pan

• Specified by IS:5973 and known as the modified

Class A Pan
• A pan of diameter 1220mm and depth 255mm
• The pan is made of copper sheet 0.9mm thick,
tinned inside and painted white outside
• The pan is placed on a square wooden platform of
width 1225mm and height 100mm above ground
level to allow free air circulation below the pan
• A fixed point gauge indicates the level of water
Source: Subramanya
(2008)
Evaporimeter
Colorado Sunken Pan
• 920mm square pan made of unpainted GI
sheet, 460mm deep, and buried into the
ground within 100mm of the top
• Main advantage of this pan – its
aerodynamic and radiation characteristics
are similar to that of a lake
• Disadvantages – difficult to detect leaks,
expensive to install, extra care is needed to
keep the surrounding area free from tall
grass, dust etc
Source: Subramanya
(2008)
 Evaporimeter
USGS Floating Pan
• A square pan of 900mm sides and 450mm deep
• Supported by drum floats in the middle of a raft
of size 4.25m x 4.87m, it is set afloat in a lake with a
view to simulate the characteristics of a large
body of water
• Water level in the pan is maintained at the
same level as that in the lake, leaving a rim of
75mm
• Diagonal baffles are provided in the pan to
reduce surging in the pan due to wave action
• Disadvantages – High cost of installation and
maintenance, difficulty in making measurements
ESTIMATING EVAPORATION
Energy Balance Method
𝐧 𝐬
This method is widely used for 𝐯 𝐰
estimating the amount of
evaporation from a large
body of water such as lakes, where: E = evaporation rate
reservoirs etc. lv = latent heat of vaporization
𝟔
𝐯
ρw = density of water
Rn = net radiation
Hs = sensible heat flux
G = ground heat flux
When Hs and G are both zero, then
𝐧
𝐫
𝐯 𝐰
 Wind as a Factor in
Evaporation
• Wind has a major effect on evaporation, E
– Wind removes vapor-laden air by convection
– This Keeps boundary layer thin
– Maintains a high rate of water transfer from liquid
to vapor phase
– Wind is also turbulent
• Convective diffusion is several orders of
magnitude larger than molecular diffusion
EXAMPLE
Calculate by the energy method the evaporation rate
from an open water surface, if the net radiation is 200
W/sqm and the air temperature is 25 ºC, assuming no
sensible heat or ground heat flux.
𝐧
𝐫
𝐯 𝐰

SOLUTION
The latent heat of vaporization at 25 ºC
𝟔
𝐯

lv= 2.501x10^6 – 2370(25) = 2441750 J/kg x x

 Aerodynamic Method
𝒂 𝒂𝒔 𝒂

𝟐
𝟐
𝟐
𝟎

where: Ea = evaporation rate (mm/day)

eas = vapor pressure at the surface
ea = ambient vapor pressure in the air
B = vapor transfer coefficient (mm/day-Pa)
u2 = wind velocity (m/s) measured at height 𝒂𝒔
z2 (cm)
z0 = roughness height (0.01 – 0.06 cm) of the
water surface 𝒂 𝒉 𝒂𝒔

where: T = air temperature in °C

Rh = e a/eas = relative humidity (0 ≤ Rh ≤ 1)
EXAMPLE
Calculate the evaporation rate from open water surface by
the aerodynamic method with air temperature 25ºC, the
𝒂 𝒂𝒔 𝒂
relative humidity 40 %, air pressure 101.3 kPa, and wind speed
3 m/s, all measured at height 2m above the water surface.
Assume a roughness height zo = 0.03 cm.
at 25ºC, es = 3167 Pa and
SOLUTION ea = Rh eas = 0.4 * 3167 = 1267 Pa
The vapor transfer coefficient B is calculated using k
= 0.4, ρa = 1.19 kg/m^3 for air at 25ºC, and density of 4.54 x 10^ -11 X (3167 – 1267 Pa)
.
water 997 kg/m^3,
8.626 x 10^-8 m/s x
7.45 mm/day

𝑘𝑔 𝑚
0.622 𝑥 (0.4) 𝑥 1.19 𝑐𝑢. 𝑚 𝑥 (3 𝑠 )
𝐵=
𝑘𝑔 2𝑚
101.3 𝑥10 𝑃𝑎 𝑥 997 𝑐𝑢. 𝑚 𝑥 [ln 0.0003𝑚 ]^2

4.54 x 10^ -11 .

Combined Method
𝒓 𝒂

where: Er = vapor transport term

Ea = aerodynamic term
γ = psychometric constant (approx. 66.8 Pa/°C)
Δ = gradient of the saturated vapor pressure curve at
Tα
Δ = deas/dT

𝒂𝒔
𝟐
𝜶
PRACTICE PROBLEM
Use the combination method to calculate the
evaporation rate from an open
surface subject to net radiation of 200
W/m^2, air temperature 25 ºC, relative 𝒓 𝒂
humidity40%, and wind speed 3 m/s, all
recorded at height 2m, and atmospheric
pressure 101.3 kPa.
Er = 7.10 mm/day
Ea = 7.45 mm/day
eas = 3167 Pa for Temp of 25ºC
E = 7.19 mm/day
Priestley – Taylor Evaporation Equation
 Priestley & Taylor (1972) discovered that the
aerodynamic term equation is approximately
30 percent of the energy term, hence

𝒓
 Lysimeters
 A special watertight tank containing a block of soil
and set in a field of growing plants.
Evapotranspiration is estimated in terms of the
amount of water required to maintain constant
moisture conditions within the tank measured
either volumetrically or gravimetrically through an
arrangement made in the lysimeter.
 Field Plots
• Evapotranspiration = [precipitation + irrigation
input – runoff – increase in soil storage
groundwater loss]
Doorenbos & Pruitt (1977)

in which B is in mm/day-Pa and u is the 24-hour

wind run in kilometers per day at height 2m
Potential evapotranspiration, Et

where: Etr = reference crop

evapotranspiration
kc = crop coefficient (0.2 ≤ kc 1.3)
ks = soil coefficient (0 ≤ ks ≤ 1)