Prepared by:

Labusnog, Marlowe L.
By the end of this lecture, the student must be
able to:
 define what is evaporation and transpiration;
 enumerate the factors that affect the rate of
evaporation; and
 apply the different models to measure the
rate of evaporation.
 the process of transformation of water from its liquid or
solid state into water vapor (gaseous state), where it is
combined with the atmosphere.

 Two main factors that affects the evaporation from an

open water surface:
1. Supply of energy to provide the latent heat of
vaporization
2. The ability to transport the vapor away from the
evaporative surface.
TRANSPIRATION
 the process by which water leaves the body of a living
plant and reaches the atmosphere as water vapour.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 the combined loss of water vapor from the surface of
plants (transpiration) and the evaporation of moisture
from soil.
Source: Mays (2011)
Source: Chow et al. (1988)
where: E = evaporation rate
lv = latent heat of vaporization

ρw = density of water
Rn = net radiation
Hs = sensible heat flux
G = ground heat flux
When Hs and G are both zero, then
Source: Chow et al. (1988)
Source: Chow et al. (1988)
For a particular location the average net radiation is
185 W/m2, air temperature is 28.5°C, relative humidity
is 55 percent, and wind speed is 2.7m/s at a height of
2m. Determine the open water evaporation rate in
mm/day using the energy balance method. Ans. Er =
6.6mm/day
Source: Chow et al. (1988)
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 z2
(cm)
z0 = roughness height (0.01 – 0.06 cm) of the
water surface
where:T = air temperature in °C
Rh = e a/eas = relative humidity (0 ≤ Rh ≤ 1)
Solve the previous example using the aerodynamic
method (Energy Balance Method example), by using a
roughness height z0 = 0.03cm. Ans. Ea = 6.31 mm/day
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
Source: Chow et al. (1988)
 Priestley – Taylor Evaporation Equation
 Priestley & Taylor (1972) discovered that the
aerodynamic term equation is approximately 30
percent of the energy term, hence
From the first example (Energy Balance Method),
determine the evaporation rate using the Combined
Method, and the Priestley – Taylor method. Ans. E =
6.54 mm/day; E = 6.62 mm/day.
EVAPORIMETERS
 Water – containing pans which are exposed to the
atmosphere and the loss of water by evaporation
measured in them at regular intervals.
 Meteorological data, such as humidity, wind
movement, air and water temperatures and
precipitation are also noted along with evaporation
measurement.
1. EVAPORIMETERS/PAN EVAPORATION
- The oldest method of measuring evaporation. It
combines or integrates the effects of several climate
elements: temperature, humidity, rainfall, drought
dispersion, solar radiation and wind.
- Pan evaporation measurements enable farmer and
ranchers to understand how much water crops will
need.
(1) USWB Class A Evaporation Pan
• A pan of diameter 1210mm and depth 255mm
• Depth of water is maintained between 18 and 20cm
• The pan is made of unpainted GI sheet
• The pan is placed on a wooden platform of height
15cm above ground level to allow free air circulation
below the pan
• Evaporation is measured by measuring the depth of
water in a stilling well with a hook gauge
Source: Subramanya (2008)
Source: Subramanya (2008)
(2) 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
• Water is added to or removed from the pan to maintain
the water level at a fixed mark using a calibrated
cylindrical measure
•The top of the pan is covered with a hexagonal wire net
of GI to protect water in the pan from birds
• Presence of the wire mesh makes the temperature of
water more uniform during the day and night
• Evaporation from this pan is about 14% lower as
compared to that from an unscreened pan
Source: Subramanya (2008)
(3) 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)
(4) 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
 Evaporation pans are not exact models of large
reservoirs and have the following principal drawbacks:
1. They differ in the heat – storing capacity and heat
transfer from the sides and bottom. The sunken pan and
floating pan aim to reduce this deficiency. As a result of
this factor the evaporation from a pan depends to a
certain extent on its size. While a pan of 3m diameter is
known to give a value which is about the same as from a
neighboring large lake, a pan size 10 m diameter
indicates about 20% excess evaporation than that of the
3 m diameter pan.
Minimum network of evaporimeter:
1. Arid zones – One station for every 30,000 sq. km.
2. Humid temperate climates – one station for every
50,000 sq. km., and
3. Cold regions – one station for every 100,000 sq. km.
 Dalton – type equation

where: = lake evaporation in mm/day

= saturated vapor pressure at the water -
surface temp. in mm of Hg
= actual vapor pressure of overlying air at a
specified height in mm of Hg
= vapor pressure at some fixed level above the
water surface, the product of relative humidity
times saturation vapor pressure at Ta of the air.
= wind – speed correction function
= coefficient
Source: Bedient, et al. (2013)
 Meyer’s Formula (1915)
𝟗
𝑳 𝑴 𝒘 𝒂

where 𝐿 = lake evaporation in mm/day

𝑤 = saturated vapour pressure at the water –
surface temp. in mm of Hg
𝑎 = actual vapour pressure of overlying air at
a specified height in mm of Hg
9 = monthly mean wind velocity in km/h at
about 9m above ground
𝑀 = coefficient accounting for various other
factors with a value of 0.36 for large deep waters
and 0.50 for small, shallow waters
 Rohwer’s Formula (1931)

𝑳 𝒂 𝟎 𝒘 𝒂

where: = mean barometric reading in mm of

mercury
= mean wind velocity in km/h at ground
level, which can be taken to be the velocity at
0.6 m height above ground.
 The lower part of the atmosphere, up to a height of
about 500 m above the ground level, the wind velocity
can be assumed to follow the 1/7 power law as

where: = wind velocity at a height h above the

ground
C = constant
This equation can be used to determine the velocity at
any desired level if is known.
• A reservoir with a surface area of 250 hectares had
the following average values of climate parameters
during a week: Water temperature = 20°C, Relative
humidity = 40%, Wind velocity at 1.0m above ground
surface = 16km/h. Estimate the average daily
evaporation from the lake by using Meyer’s formula.
• An ISI Standard evaporation pan at the site indicated a
pan coefficient of 0.80m on the basis of calibration
against controlled water budgeting method. If this pan
indicated an evaporation of 72mm in the week under
question, (i) estimate the accuracy if Meyer’s method
relative to the pan evaporation measurements. (ii)
Also, estimate the volume of water evaporated from
the lake in that week.
TRANSPIRATION
 the process by which water leaves the body of a living
plant and reaches the atmosphere as water vapour.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (Consumptive Use)

 the combined loss of water vapor from the surface of
plants (transpiration) and the evaporation of moisture
from soil.
 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)
Source: Chow et al. (1988)
Bedient, et al. (2013). Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis.
Pearson Education Limited. England.
Chow, et al.(1988). Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill Book
Co. Singapore.
Mays, L.W. (2011). Water Resources Engineering. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. USA.
Subramanya, K. (2008). Engineering Hydrology. Tata
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. India.