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Evaporation
Chapter Three
Evaporation
3.1. Definition
Evaporation is the process in which water changed from liquid state in to vapour through
the transfer of heat energy. The process of evaporation of water is one of the basic
components of the hydrologic cycle and consists that phase in which precipitation
reaching earth's surface is returned to the atmosphere in the form of vapour.
3.2. The Process of Evaporation
Adding heat to water causes the molecules to become increasingly energized and to move
rapidly, the result being an increase in distance between liquid molecules and an
associated weakening of the forces between them.
At high temperatures, therefore, more of the molecules near the water surface will tend to
fly off into the lower layers of the overlying air. This motion of molecules (aqueous
vapour) through the water surface produces a pressure and is called vapour pressure.
The net escape of water molecules from the liquid state to the gaseous state constitutes
evaporation.
Evaporation is a cooling process in that, the latent heat of vaporization (at 585 cal/g of
evaporated water) must be provided by the water body. At the same time, of course,
water vapour molecules in these lower air layers are also in continual motion, and some
of these will fall back in the water as the aqueous vapour get condensed. Thus
evaporation from and condensation into the water surface are continuous processes.
When the number of molecules that leave water body as vapour is equal to the number
the number that falls back after condensation a saturation condition is said to reach.
It indicates a state of equilibrium between the pressure exerted by the escaping
molecules and the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere.
In short, the evaporation is a function of the difference between vapour pressure of the
body of water and vapour pressure of the air above.
3.3. Factors affecting evaporation
The rate of evaporation is influenced by numerous factors
Since relative humidity increases as the air temperature falls, even though the water
vapour content of the air remains constant, it is easy to see why, if other conditions
remain constant, a decrease in temperature will result in a decrease in the rate of
evaporation.
Temperature
Other factors remaining same, the rate of evaporation increases with an increase in the
water temperature. Thus, in cold weather, evaporation may be smaller than in warm
weather simply because the overlying air is able to hold only a small amount of water
vapour below saturation level.
Regarding air temperature, although there is a general increase in the evaporation rate
with increasing temperature, a high correlation between evaporation rate and air
temperature does not exist.
Thus for the same mean monthly temperature it is possible to have evaporation
to different degrees in a lake in different months.
Wind
Wind aids in removing the evaporated water vapour from the zone of evaporation and
consequently creates greater scope for evaporation.
Firstly incoming fresh air removes the molecules of water vapour and makes space
for other vapour molecules. Obviously the faster the rates of incoming fresh air faster
the removal of vapour molecules. But once the wind velocity is sufficient to remove
all rising vapour molecules extra increase in wind velocity has no effect.
Secondly, if the incoming wind is hot, it provides extra heat energy to accelerate the
process of evaporation. On the contrary if incoming fresh air is cool it reduces
evaporation rate.
Atmospheric pressure
At higher altitudes there is decrease in atmospheric pressure.
Such situation increases the rate of escaping water molecule from free water surface as
the air above has lower molecules to prevent entry of other molecules.
Nature of evaporating surface
Every surface that receives rainfall is a potential evaporation surface. The evaporation
from any surface will be limited to the quantity of water required to saturate the surface.
For example, rate of evaporation from saturated soil surface is approximately the same as
that from the adjacent free water surface at the same temperature. But as the soil begins
to dry, evaporation decreases eventually it almost stops since there is no possibility of
water reaching on its own up to the surface from great depth.
Depth of the water body
The effect of water depth upon the rate of evaporation may be quite considerable. The
seasonal temperature regime of a shallow water body, e.g., a small lake, will normally
approximate closely to the seasonal air temperature regime, so that
- Maximum water temperatures are reached in the mid- to late summer months
- Minimum water temperature in the mid- to late winter months.
This means that maximum rate of evaporation from shallow water body will be
experienced during the summer, and minimum rate during the winter.
Large deep lakes, however, not only have a much higher capacity for heat storage than
small water bodies.
Deep water body releases slowly the stored heat during the autumn and winter months
which means that a supply of heat energy in excess of that received directly from the sun
is available for evaporation at that time of the year.
75
50
25
0
J A S O N D J F M A M J J
pressure of the overlying air, it will be apparent that the highest rates of evaporation from
deep water bodies should occur during the winter.
900
0.408 Rn G V2 es ea
6. T 273
ET0
1 0.34V2
where
C in (1) = adjustment factor which depends on the min relative humidity, sunshine hours
and daytime wind estimates
C in (2) = Adjustment factor which depends on mean humidity and daytime wind
condition
C in (3) = Adjustment factor to compensate for the effect of day and night weather
conditions
T = Mean daily temperature in oC over the month considered
P = Mean daily percentage of total annual day time hours obtained from the
relevant Table for a given month and latitude
Rs = Solar radiation in equivalent evaporation mm/d
W in (2) = the temperature and altitude dependant weighing factor (Table 3.7)
W in (3) = Temperature related weighing factor for the effect of radiation on PET (Tab.
3.8)
(1-w) = a temperature and elevation related weighing factor for the effect of wind and
humidity on PET
Rn = Net radiation in equivalent evaporation mm/d
f (u) = Wind related function
(es - ea) = Difference between the saturated and actual vapour pressure, in mbar
Ra = Extraterrestrial radiation in mm/d
TD = Difference in max and min mean temperature in oC
Epan = Pan evaporation in mm/d and presents the mean daily value of the period
considered
kp = Pan coefficient
Rn in (6) = Net radiation at crop surface (MJ/ m2day)
G = Soil heat flux (MJ/ m2day)
V2 = Wind speed measured at 2m height (m/s)
(es - ea) = Vapour pressure deficit (kPa)
= Slope of vapour pressure curve (kPa oC-1)
= Psychometric constant (kPa oC-1)
900 = a conversion factor
Blaney-Criddle Method
Blaney and Criddle (1962) proposed an empirical relation which is used largely by
irrigation engineers to calculate crop water requirement of various crops. Estimation of
potential evapotranspiration (consumptive use) is carried out by correlating it with
sunshine temperature. Sunshine at a place is dependent on latitude of the place and varies
with month of the year.
Table 3.3: Monthly day time percentage hours (P) to be used by Blaney-Criddle
Formukla
Lat. Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
o
N
0 8.50 7.66 8.49 8.21 8.50 8.22 8.50 8.49 8.21 8.50 8.22 8.50
10 8.13 7.47 8.45 8.37 8.81 8.60 8.86 8.71 8.25 8.34 7.91 8.10
15 7.94 7.36 8.43 8.44 8.98 8.80 9.05 8.83 8.28 8.26 7.75 7.88
20 7.74 7.25 8.41 8.52 9.15 9.00 9.25 8.96 8.30 8.18 7.58 7.66
25 7.53 7.14 8.39 8.61 9.33 9.23 9.45 9.09 8.32 8.09 7.40 7.42
30 7.30 7.03 8.38 8.72 9.53 9.49 9.67 9.22 8.33 7.99 7.19 7.15
35 7.05 6.88 8.35 8.83 9.76 9.77 9.93 9.37 8.36 7.87 6.97 6.86
40 6.76 6.72 8.33 8.95 10.02 10.08 10.22 9.54 8.39 7.75 6.72 6.52
42 6.63 6.65 8.31 9.00 10.14 10.22 10.35 9.62 8.40 7.69 6.62 6.37
44 6.49 6.58 8.30 9.06 10.26 10.38 10.49 9.70 8.41 7.63 6.49 6.21
46 6.34 6.50 8.29 9.12 10.39 10.54 10.64 9.79 8.42 7.57 6.36 6.04
48 6.17 6.41 8.27 9.18 10.53 10.71 10.80 9.89 8.44 7.51 6.23 5.86
50 5.98 6.30 8.24 9.24 10.68 10.91 10.99 10.00 8.46 7.45 6.100 5.65
Table 3.3 gives the values of percentages of monthly daytime for use in Blaney-Criddle
equation. PET for a crop during its growing season is given by
PET K .F (3.13)
where F (0.0457Tm 0.8128) P (3.14)
Here K is the monthly crop coefficient to be determined from experimental data, F the
monthly consumptive use factor, PET the potential evapotranspiration in cm, Tm the mean
monthly temperature in 0C, P is the monthly percentage of hours of bright sunshine in the
year.
Example: Use Blaney-Criddle method to calculate consumptive use (PET) for rice crop grown
from January to March (Dalua Rabi crop) in Orissa at latitude 22 0 N from the following data
taken from a nearby observatory. Find the net irrigation demand for rice using the given rainfall
during crop period.
Month January February March
Mean temperature 0C 12 16 24
Rainfall (mm) 8 20 16
Solution
Mean monthly sunshine hours for latitude of 22 0N for the months of January, February
and March are obtained form Table and tabulated below.
where H is the heat budget of an area with crops which is the net radiation in mm of
evaporable water per day, ET the daily evaporation from free water surface in mm/day,
is a constant ( called psychometric constant whose value is 0.49 mmHg/ 0C or 0.66 mb/0C,
the slope of the saturated vapour pressure vs.temperatu re curve at mean air
temperature given in Table 3.2, Ea is the drying power of air which includes wind
velocity and saturation deficit and is estimated form the relation
E a 0.002187 (160 u 2 ) (es ea )
(3.16)
where u2 is the mean wind speed in km/day measured 2 m above the ground, es is
saturation vapour pressure at mean air temperature in mm Hg (given in Table 3.2 ), e a is
actual vapour pressure in the air in mm of mercury and H is the daily net radiation in mm
of evaporable water and is estimated from the energy budget theories using the relation
H H a (1 r ) (0.29 cos 0.55n / N ) Ta4 (0.56 0.092 ea ) (0.10 0.9n / N )
(3.17)
Equation (3.18) is known as (1/7)th power law. Knowing all other data from the table and
measuring n, ea u2, at the place, PET can easily be calculated from the relation given by
Penman. This method is finding its increasing application for crop water estimation by
various countries.
Table 3.4: Mean daily maximum duration of bright sunshine hour N for different month
and latitudes (Doorenbos & Pruitt, 1977)
N Lat Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
S Lat July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June
50 8.5 10.1 11.8 13.6 15.4 16.3 15.9 14.5 12.7 10.8 9.1 8.1
48 8.8 10.2 11.8 13.8 15.2 16.0 15.6 14.3 12.6 10.9 9.3 8.3
46 9.1 10.4 11.9 13.5 14.9 15.7 15.4 14.2 12.6 10.9 9.5 8.7
44 9.3 10.5 11.9 13.4 14.7 15.4 15.2 14.0 12.6 11.0 9.7 8.9
42 9.4 10.6 11.9 13.4 14.6 15.2 14.9 13.9 12.9 11.1 9.8 9.1
40 9.6 10.7 11.9 13.3 14.4 15.0 14.7 13.7 12.5 11.2 10.0 9.3
35 10.1 11.0 11.9 13.1 14.0 14.5 14.3 13.5 12.4 11.3 10.3 9.8
30 10.4 11.1 12.0 12.9 13.6 14.0 13.9 13.2 12.4 11.5 10.6 10.2
25 10.7 11.3 12.0 12.7 13.3 13.7 13.5 13.0 12.3 11.6 10.9 10.6
20 10.0 11.5 12.0 12.6 13.1 13.3 13.2 12.8 12.3 11.7 11.2 10.9
15 11.3 11.6 12.0 12.5 12.8 13.0 12.9 12.6 12.2 11.8 11.4 11.2
10 11.6 11.8 12.0 12.3 12.6 12.7 12.6 12.4 12.1 11.8 11.6 11.5
5 11.8 11.9 12.0 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.1 12.0 11.9 11.8
0 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1
Table 3.5: Mean Monthly Solar Radiation Incident on Earth's Outer Space (Extra
Terrestrial Radiation) in mm of Evaporable Water per day
North Latitude in Degrees
Month 0o 100 200 300 400 500 60o 70o 800 90o
Jan. 14.5 12.8 10.8 8.5 6.0 3.6 1.3 - - -
Feb. 15.0 13.9 12.3 10.5 8.3 5.9 3.5 1.1 - -
Mar. 15.2 14.8 13.9 12.7 11.0 9.1 6.8 4.3 1.8 -
Apr. 14.7 15.2 15.2 14.8 13.9 12.7 11.1 9.1 7.8 7.9
May 13.9 15.0 15.7 16.0 15.9 15.4 14.6 13.6 14.6 14.9
Jun. 13.4 14.8 15.8 16.5 16.7 16.7 16.5 17.0 17.8 18.1
Jul. 13.5 14.8 15.7 16.2 16.3 16.1 15.7 15.8 16.5 16.8
Aug. 14.2 15.0 15.3 15.3 14.8 13.9 12.7 11.4 10.6 11.2
Sep. 14.9 14.9 14.4 13.5 12.2 10.5 8.5 6.8 4.0 2.6
Oct. 15.0 14.1 12.9 11.3 9.3 7.1 4.7 2.4 0.2 -
Nov. 14.6 13.1 11.2 9.1 6.7 4.3 1.9 0.1 - -
Dec. 14.3 12.4 10.3 7.9 5.5 3.0 0.9 - - -
Example: Using Penman’s formula calculates the consumptive use of rice for the month
of February. Take the following data
Wind velocity measured at 2 m height = 30 km/day
Elevation of the area = 220 m
Relative humidity for February = 50%
Latitude = 220N
Mean monthly temperature = 160C
Solution
From Table 3.2, for temperature of 160C, es = 13.67 mmHg
Slope of the saturated vapour pressure vs. temp. curve A = 0.86 mm per 0C
From Table 3.5, Ha = 11.94 mm of water per day for 22 0N latitude
From Table 3.4, N = 11.42 h for the latitude of 22 0N
Monthly percentage of day time hours = 7.20 h (from Table 3.3)
n 7.2
0.63
N 11 .42
where Rf is the reduction factor ( See Table 3.6), Tm the mean monthly temperature in 0C,
a is a constant which can be computed from the relation
a 0.4923 0.01792 Te 0.0000771 Te2 0.000000675 Te3
The above calculations are made for a month of 30 days and for each day 12 h of
evapotranspiration is considered. Since the two factors vary from 28 to 31 days and with
latitude, the values of 12 h a day is not constant, it can be multiplied with factors from
Table 3.6 depending on the month and latitude of the place.
Table 3.6: Reduction Factor Rf for PET to be used in Thornthwiate's equation
Month
Latitude J F M A M J J A S O N D
00N 1.04 0.94 1.04 1.01 1.04 1.01 1.04 1.04 1.01 1.04 1.01 1.04
100N 1.00 0.91 1.03 1.03 1.08 1.06 1.08 1.07 1.02 1.02 0.98 0.99
200N 0.95 0.90 1.03 1.05 1.13 1.11 1.14 1.11 1.02 1.00 0.93 0.94
300N 0.90 0.87 1.03 1.08 1.18 1.17 1.20 1.14 1.03 0.98 0.89 0.88
400N 0.84 0.83 1.03 1.11 1.24 1.25 1.27 1.18 1.04 0.96 0.83 0.81
500N 0.74 0.78 1.02 1.15 1.33 1.36 1.37 1.25 1.00 0.92 0.76 0.70
Example: Using Thornthwaite equation, calculate the consumptive use of paddy for the
month of February. Take data from Example above
Solution
Since PET is required to be calculated for February only, the following equation is used.
1.514 1.514
T 16
Te m 5.818
5 5
Proceeding in the same way, PET for other months can be calculated and added up. If a
crop is grown from 15th February then the value of PET is to be reduced by (13/28) to
arrive at the value for the month.
Table 3.7: Values of weighing factor (1 - w) for the effect of wind and humidity on PET
at different temperature and altitudes
Temperature oC
Altitu 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38
0 0.57 0.54 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.34 0.32 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.23 0.22 0.20 0.18 0.17 0.16
500 0.56 0.52 0.49 0.46 0.43 0.45 0.38 0.35 0.33 0.30 0.28 0.26 0.24 0.22 0.21 0.19 0.18 0.16 0.15
1000 0.54 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.34 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.23 0.21 0.20 0.18 0.17 0.15 0.14
2000 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.34 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13
3000 0.48 0.45 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.34 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.12
4000 0.46 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.34 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.11
Table 3.8: Values of weighing factor W for the effect of radiation on PET at different temperature
and altitudes
Temperature oC
Altitude 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38
0 0.43 0.46 0.49 0.52 0.55 0.58 0.61 0.64 0.66 0.68 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.78 0.80 0.82 0.83 0.84
500 0.44 0.48 0.51 0.54 0.57 0.60 0.62 0.65 0.67 0.70 0.72 0.74 0.76 0.78 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.85
1000 0.46 0.49 0.52 0.55 0.58 0.61 0.64 0.66 0.69 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.79 0.80 0.82 0.83 0.85 0.86
2000 0.49 0.52 0.55 0.58 0.61 0.64 0.66 0.69 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.87
3000 0.52 0.55 0.58 0.61 0.64 0.66 0.69 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.87 0.88
4000 0.54 0.58 0.61 0.64 0.66 0.69 0.71 0.73 0.75 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.86 0.87 0.89 0.90
1 u2
Table 3.9: Values of wind function, f (u ) 0.27 for wind run at 2 m height in
100
km/day
Wind 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
(km/d)
- 0.30 0.32 0.35 0.38 0.41 0.43 0.46 0.49 0.51
100 0.54 0.57 0.59 0.62 0.65 0.67 0.70 0.73 0.76 0.78
200 0.81 0.84 0.86 0.89 0.92 0.94 0.97 1.00 1.03 1.05
300 1.081 1.11 1.13 1.16 1.19 1.21 1.24 1.27 1.30 1.32
400 1.35 1.38 1.40 1.43 1.46 1.39 1.51 1.54 1.57 1.59
500 1.62 1.65 1.67 1.70 1.73 1.76 1.78 1.81 1.84 1.80
600 1.89 1.92 1.94 1.97 2.00 2.02 2.05 2.08 2.11 2.15
700 2.16 2.19 2.21 2.24 2.27 2.29 2.32 2.35 2.38 2.40
800 2.43 2.46 2.48 2.51 2.54 2.56 2.59 2.62 2.65 2.65
900 2.70 - - - - - - - - -
122 cm
20 cm
25.4 cm
- lysimeter
- field experimental plot
- water balance method
Lysimeter method
Lysimeter can be defined as a device in which a volume of soil planted with vegetation is
located in a container to isolate it hydrologically from the surrounding soil. Mainly there
are two types of lysimeters.
- Non-weighing type and
- Weighing type
To get more accurate results as well as short period estimates, weighing type lysimeters
have been developed. The soil and crop conditions in the lysimeter should be close to the
natural conditions.
From the irrigation point of view, weighing lysimeters are set up to enable the operator to
measure the water balances:
- water added
- water retained by the soil and
- water lost through all sources (evaporation transpiration and deep percolation).
These measurements involve weighing which may be made with scales or by floating the
lysimeters in water on a suitable heavy liquid, in which case the change in liquid
displacement is computed against water loss from the tank.
The technique yields a measurement of total water loss and is useful as an indicator of
filed water loss, provided suitable precautions are taken. The tanks must be permanently
buried in the ground and surrounded by a large area of crop of the same height if the
readings are to bear relation to losses from the crop field.
Water is applied in measured amount to the lysimeter, as irrigation is applied to the
surrounding cropped area.
The overflow and deep percolation, if any, are measured.
the water received either from the reservoir or precipitation excluding the outflow,
constitutes the water used by the crop.