GWC

 2:  Evapora-on  

CTB3300WCx:  Introduc2on  to  Water  and  Climate  

Prof.dr.ir.  Hubert  H.G.  Savenije  
Importance  of  Evapora-on  

§  Generally  the  largest  outgoing  flux  

§  Par;cularly  in  dry  climates  
§  Is  o?en  seen  as  a  ‘loss’  (Sudd)  
§  But  is  an  important  supplier  of    
 con;nental  precipita;on  
 (moisture  recycling)  
Types  of  Evapora-on  

§  Direct  evapora;on  (physical  process)  

§  Open  water  evapora;on  Eo
§  Soil  evapora;on Es
§  Intercep;on  evapora;on  Ei
§  Sublima;on  of  snow  or  ice  Esnow
§  Transpira;on  ET  (bio-­‐physical  process)  
§  Total  evapora;on  E = Eo+Es+Ei+Esnow+ET
Evapora-on  or  ‘evapotranspira-on’  

Avoid  to  use  the  term  ‘Evapotranspira3on’  

 
§  ‘Evapotranspira;on’  is  opaque  jargon  for  bulk  
 evapora-on,  masking  that  we  do  not  know  its  
 composi;on  
à  Use  (total)  evapora2on  instead  
 
 
Poten-al  Evapora-on  

Poten3al  evapora3on,  Ep    

§  Would  occur  if  there  is  no  shortage  of  water,  
§  Or  other  factors  that  may  limit  transpira;on  (temperature,  
solar  radia2on,  humidity).  
 
Actual  evapora-on,  E  
§  occurs  if  these  stress  factors  are  accounted  for
Average  (annual)  evapora-on  

Q is  the  mean  annual  runoff  [mm/a]  

E = P −Q P is  the  mean  annual  precipita;on  [mm/a]  
E is  the  mean  annual  evapora;on  [mm/a]  

E Q
= 1− = 1− C R
P P
Actual  evapora-on  

E ≤ Ep Energy  constraint  

E≤P Moisture  constraint  

Budyko  Curve  

E ⎛ ⎛ Ep ⎞ ⎞
= ⎜ 1− exp ⎜ − ⎟ ⎟ = 1− C R
P ⎝ ⎝ P ⎠⎠

§  If  P → 0, E = P
§  If  P → ∞, E = Ep Budyko  (1920-­‐2001)  
 1,00  

0,90  

0,80  
Congo  

0,70   Yangtze  

Yellow  River  
0,60  
Brahmaputra/Ganges  
E/P  

0,50   Lena  

Parana  
0,40  
Amazon  
0,30   Mississippi  

Mackenzie  
0,20  
Danube  
0,10   Volga  

0,00  
0,00   0,50   1,00   1,50   2,00   2,50   3,00   3,50   4,00   4,50   5,00  

Epot/P      =    Aridity  index  

Meteorological  factors  affec-ng  evapora-on  

§  Energy  balance  

§  Radia;on  
§  Humidity  
§  Aerodynamic  resistance  
 Radia-on  Balance  
RA  
RN = (1 − r )RC − RB
RN : Net short wave radiation [W/m2]
RC : Incoming short wave radiation
RB : Outgoing long wave radiation RB  
RC   rRC  
r : Albedo or whiteness

Surface   Albedo  (r)  

Open  water   0.06  
Grass   0.24   Short  wave    Long  wave  
Bare  soil   0.10  –  0.30  
Fresh  snow   0.90  
Radiometer  
Sunshine  Recorder  

§  RC  can  be  determined  empirically  by  the  

 theore;cal  sun  hours  and  n/N  
§  n/N  is  the  ra;o  of  recorded  sun  hours  to  the  
 theore;cal  (poten;al)  sun  hours  
 
Netherlands   RC = (0.20 + 0.48 n/N)RA
Average   RC = (0.25 + 0.50 n/N)RA
New  Delhi   RC = (0.31 + 0.60 n/N)RA
Singapore   RC = (0.21 + 0.48 n/N)RA
Maximum  amount  
of  sun  hours  per  day  
N    

Short  wave  radia3on  

expressed  in  terms  of  
evapora3on    
RA/λ in  kg m-2day-1
 
Outgoing  Long  wave  radia-on  

§ RB  is  calculated  through  an  empirical  equa;on  

le?   middle   right  

Humidity   ⎛ 19.9t a ⎞
es = 0.61exp ⎜
⎝ 273 + t a ⎟⎠

d es 5430es
s= =
dt ( 273 + t a )2

ea (t a ) = es (t w ) − γ (t a − t w )
Psychrometer  

ea (t a ) = es (t w ) − γ (t a − t w )
ea (t)
h=
es (t)
ta is the dry bulb temperature
tw is the wet bulb temperature
es(tw) is the saturation pressure at the wet bulb temperature
γ is the psychrometer constant (0.066 kPa/oC
h is the relative humidity
Energy  balance  

ΔS E
Δt
}
= RN − H − A − ρλ E [Wm-­‐2]    
Assume:    
ΔS/Δt=0, A=0
On  daily  basis  !!  

( RN − H ) (1 − r ) RC − RB − H
E= = [m/d]  
ρλ ρλ
Penman  (1948)  

§  Open  water  evapora;on  based  on  the  energy  balance,  

§  but  making  use  of  empirical  rela;ons  
§  4  standard  meteorological  variables:  
§  air  temperature  
§  rela2ve  humidity  
§  wind  velocity  
§  net  radia2on  
 
 Penman  Formula  
⎛ sRN c p ρ a es − ea ⎞
⎜ + ⎟ 245 1
⎝ ρλ ρλ r ⎠ r = [d/ m]
Eo = a
[m/d]   a
( 0.54u2 + 0.5 ) 86400
s +γ
RN net radiation at the Earth surface [J day-1 m-2]
λ heat of evaporation (λ = 2.45 MJ/kg ) [J kg-1]
s slope of the saturation pressure curve [kPa K-1]
cp specific heat of air (1004 J kg-1 K-1) [J kg-1 K-1]
ρa density of air (1.205 kg/m3) [kg m-3]
ρ density of water (1000 kg/m3) [kg m-3]
ea actual vapour pressure of the air at 2 m elevation [kPa]
es saturation vapour pressure for the temp. at 2 m elevation [kPa]
γ psychrometer constant (γ = 0.066 kPa/oC) [kPa K-1]
ra aerodynamic resistance [day m-1]
Penman-­‐Monteith  
⎛ sRN c p ρ a es − ea ⎞
⎜ + ⎟
⎝ ρλ ρλ ra ⎠
Ea = [m/d]  
⎛ rc ⎞
s + γ ⎜1 + ⎟
⎝ ra ⎠
Crop  resistance  rc  

§  Provides  a  constraint  on  the  transpira;on  of  vegeta;on  

§  Depends  on  the  opening  of  stomata  in  leaves,  as  a  func;on  of:  
§  Soil  moisture  availability  
§  Rela2ve  humidity  
§  Sunlight  
§  Temperature  
 
Evapora-on  of  the  World  
Direct  measurement  of  evapora-on  
Q dS
§  Water  balance:   E = P− − [L/T]  
A dt
§  Evapora;on  pan  
§  Lysimeter  
§  Shallow  Lysimeter  
 
Pan  evapora-on  
Lysimeter  

Soil  
Pump  

Floater  
Soil  saturated  with  water  
Intercep-on  measurement  
Precipita3on  

Canopy  
intercep3on  

throughfall  

stemflow  
Forest  floor    
intercep3on  
Infiltra3on  
Shallow  Lysimeter  
Shallow  Lysimeter  

dSupper dSlower Q
+ = P− E−
dt dt A
The  evapora-on  tower  
 Further  reading  
Mohamed,  Y.  A.,  van  den  Hurk,  B.  J.  J.  M.,  Savenije,  H.  H.  G.,  and  Bas;aanssen,  W.  G.  M.,  2005.  
Hydroclimatology  of  the  Nile:  Results  from  a  regional  climate  model.  Hydrol.  and  Earth  Syst.  Sc.,  9:  
263-­‐27.  hjp://www.hydrol-­‐earth-­‐syst-­‐sci.net/9/263/2005/hess-­‐9-­‐263-­‐2005.html  
Wang-­‐Erlandsson,  L.,  R.  van  der  Ent,  L.  Gordon  and  H.H.G.  Savenije.  2014  Contras;ng  roles  of  
intercep;on  and  transpira;on  in  the  hydrological  cycle  –  Part  1:  Simple  Terrestrial  Evapora;on  to  
Atmosphere  Model,  Earth  Syst.  Dynam.  Discuss.,  5,  203-­‐279.  
hjp://www.earth-­‐syst-­‐dynam-­‐discuss.net/5/203/2014/esdd-­‐5-­‐203-­‐2014.html  
Gerrits,  A.M.J.,  H.H.G.  Savenije,  L.  Hoffmann  and  L.  Pfister,  2007.  New  technique  to  measure  forest  
floor  intercep;on  –  an  applica;on  in  a  beech  forest  in  Luxembourg,  Hydrol.  and  Earth  Syst.  Sc.,  11,  
695–701.hjp://www.hydrol-­‐earth-­‐syst-­‐sci.net/11/695/2007/hess-­‐11-­‐695-­‐2007.html  
Euser,  T.,  W.  M.  J.  Luxemburg,  C.  S.  Everson,  M.  G.  Mengistu,  A.  D.  Clulow,  and  W.  G.  M.  
Bas;aanssen,  2014.  A  new  method  to  measure  Bowen  ra;os  using  high-­‐resolu;on  ver;cal  dry  and  
wet  bulb  temperature  profiles,  Hydrol.  Earth  Syst.  Sci.,  18,  2021-­‐2032.    
hjp://www.hydrol-­‐earth-­‐syst-­‐sci.net/18/2021/2014/hess-­‐18-­‐2021-­‐2014.html  
 
GWC  2:  Evapora-on  

CTB3300WCx:  Introduc2on  to  Water  and  Climate  

Prof.dr.ir.  Hubert  H.G.  Savenije  
GWC  2:  Evapora-on  

CTB3300WCx:  Introduc2on  to  Water  and  Climate  

Prof.dr.ir.  Hubert  H.G.  Savenije  
Ques-ons  

1.  Why  is  actual  evapora2on  smaller  than  poten2al  

 evapora2on?  
2.  Why  is  average  annual  evapora2on  less  than  average  annual  
 precipita2on?  
3.  Is  evapora2on  also  less  than  precipita2on  on  a  daily  basis?