HYDROLOGY 5

Evaporation & Transpiration

John Manuel B.Vergel

BS-CE, MS-CE
Evaporation & Transpiration
—  Evaporation - the process by which water is transferred
from land and water masses of the earth to the atmosphere.

§  Evaporation depends on:

1.  Solar radiation
2.  Differences in vapor pressure
3.  Temperature
4.  Wind
5.  Atmospheric pressure
6.  Quality of evaporating water
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Transpiration - the process by which water is evaporated
from the air spaces in the plant leeves.

§  Transpiration depends on:

1.  Solar radiation
2.  Vapor pressure gradients
3.  Temperature
4.  Wind
5.  Character of the plant
6.  Plant density
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Evapotranspiration - is
the combined effect of
evaporation and
traspiration.
 Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Determination of Evaporation:
1.  Use of Pan-Evaporated Data – the U.S. National Weather
Services uses the Standard Class A Land Pan. It is a metal
pan 4ft. (1.22 m) in diameter and 10 inches (25.4 cm)
deep.

Pan Coefficient = EL/EP

EL – Lake evaporation
EP – Pan evaporation
Pan coefficient of a Standard Class A Pan = 0.70
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Determination of Evaporation:
1.  Use of Pan-Evaporated Data
§  Examples: A standard class A pan w/ a coefficient of 0.70
has an initial depth of 19.12 cm and final depth of 18.20
cm after 24 hrs. If w/in that period there was a rain of 0.60
cm/hr. What is the total evaporation rate from the pan in
cm/hr. What is the total evaporation from a nearby lake in
m3 during the day if the lake area is 15.18 km2.
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Determination of Evaporation:
1.  Use of Pan-Evaporated Data
§  Solution:
Ø  consider rain intensity Ø  . Pan Coefficient = EL/EP
0.60 cm/hr (3hr) = 1.8 cm EL=0.70 (0.113cm/hr)
Ø  initial depth + rain depth
EL=0.0791 cm/hr
19.12cm + 1.8cm = 20.92 cm EL=1.904 cm/day
Ø  Evaporation rate
Ø  Total Evaporation:
Ep=(1/24)(20.92-18.20 cm) E=ELAL
Ep=0.113 cm/hr E = 1.904 cm/d (15.18
km2) (1/100cm)
(1000m2/km2)
E=289,027 m3/d
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Determination of Evaporation:
2.  Use of Heat Balance Equation

Rn= LE+H+G
Rn – Net radiation
L – Latent Heat
H = Sensible heat
G = Soil heat flux
E = Evaporation
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Determination of Evaporation:
2.  Use of Heat Balance Equation
§  Examples: Calculate by the energy balance method the
evaporation rate from an open water surface, if net
radiation is 200 W/m2 and the air temperature is 25°C,
assuming no sensible heat or ground heat flux.

§  Solution:
L@25°C=2500-2.36x25 = 2441KJ/kg
γ= 997 Kg/m3 E=200/(2441x103 x 997)
= 8.22x10-8 m/s
Rn= LE+H+G
E = 7.10 mm/day
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Determination of Evaporation:
3.  Water Balance Method– this method is book-keeping
procedure which estimates the balance between the inflow
and outflow of water. It can be expressed as:

E = ∆S + I + P – O – Og

Where: E = Evaporation
∆S = Difference in storage volume (S1-S2)
P = Precipitation
I = Inflow
O = Outflow
Og = Outflow from groundwater
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Pan Arrangement according to Exposure:
1.  Sunken Pan
- eliminates heat exchange between the and the atmosphere
- eliminates radiation on side walls
- collects more trash
- difficult to install, clean and repair
- leaks are not easily detected
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Pan Arrangement according to Exposure:
2.  Floating Pan
- Pan evaporation nearly approximates lake evaporation
- Splashing renders unreliable data
- Installation and operational expenses are excessive
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Pan Arrangelent according to Exposure:
3.  Surface Pan
- Economical, easy to install, operate and maintain
- There is heat exchange on side walls
 Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Priestly-Taylor Equation
- This equation is applicable to large areas where the surface
condition is uniform , no wind and saturated. The Priestly-
Taylor equation is expressed as:

E = Evaporation T ∆ γ
L = Latent Heat of vaporization of water (2.5x106 J/kg) (°C) (1/K x 10-6) (1/K x 10-6)
α = Priestly-Taylor coefficient =1.26 -40 12 386
∆,γ = refer to Table
-20 66.4 394
Rn, G = expressed in W/m2
0 274 402
20 905 410
40 2553 418
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Penman Method
- Penman method include approximations and use of
empirical equations. This require observing temperature,
radiation, specific humidity and measuring wind velocity at
2m height above ground. Penman method is expressed as:
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Bowen Ratio Method
- Bowen ratio method can obtain good results in a paddy
field or forest area. Bowen ratio is expressed as:

or

Such that: β = 1.0 in saturated conditions

Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Example:
§  We have 200 W/m2 of net radiation. Compare the result
among Presley, Penman, Bowen Ratio. Methods of an air
temperature of 20°C and G can be ignored. Use α=1.26
and assume saturated condition when using Bowen Ratio
method. Express evaporation in mm/day.

§  Given:
α=1.26 T=20°C
Rn=200W/m2 ∆=905x10-6/K
L=2.5x106 J/kg = 2.5x109W-S/m3 γ=410x10-6/K
Let: W-S=J & γH20=1000kg/m3
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Example:
§  Solution (Presley Taylor):

E=1.26 [905x10-6/(905x10-6+410x10-6)] (200 W/m2-0)

(1/2.5x109 W-S/m3)
= 6.9x10-8 m/s (1000mm/1m)(3600s/hr)(24hr/1d)
E=5.99 mm/d
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Example:
§  Solution (Penman Method):

E=(200 W/m2 / [1+(410x10-6/905x10-6)])

(1/2.5x109W-S/m3)
= 5.5x10-8 m/s (1000mm/1m)(3600s/hr)(24hr/1d)
E=4.76 mm/d
Evaporation and Transpiration
—  Example:
§  Solution (Bowen Ratio Method):
E=Rn/[(1+Bo)L]
= (200W/m2)
Bo=410x10-6 / (1 x 905x10-6) (1+0.453)(2.5x109W-S/m3)
= 0.453 = 5.5x10-8 m/s (3600s/hr)
(24hr/d) (1000mm/1m)
E=4.76 mm/d
since: H= Rn-LE-G;