Abstraction

o is the term used to describe the amount of rainfall

that doesn't turn into runoff. There are numerous
processes that intercept rainfall. Some rainfall never
even reaches the ground, instead being intercepted by
leaves on trees. Some rainfall is evaporated back into
the atmosphere. Of the rainfall that reaches the
ground, some is infiltrated and some just ponds with
no outlet.
Interception
o A portion of the rainfall is intercepted by plant
foliage, buildings, and other objects. This water is not
available for runoff.

The segment of the gross precipitation input which

wets and adheres to aboveground objects until it is
returned to the atmosphere through evaporation.

Interception storage is a consequence of absorption of

precipitation by surface cover, including plants in the
watershed.

Intercepted precipitation may follow three possible routes:

1. Retained by the vegetation as surface storage and returned
to the atmosphere by evaporation (INTERCEPTION LOSS)
2. Drip off the plant leaves to join the ground surface or the
surface flow (THROUGHFALL)
3. Rainwater may run along the leaves and branches down the
stem to ground surface (STEMFLOW)

*Interception loss is solely due to evaporation and does not

include transpiration, throughfall or stemflow

Most interception loss develops during the initial storm period

and the rate of interception rapidly approaches zero thereafter.
Potential storm interception losses:

Depression storage loss

o Depression storage is a consequence of depressions in
the watershed topography; water is stored in these
and eventually infiltrates or evaporates.

Depression storage depends on a vast number of factors:

(i) type of soil,
(ii) the condition of the surface reflecting the amount
and nature of depression,
(iii) the slope of the catchment
(iv) the antecedent precipitation. as a measure of the
soil moisture.

Evaporation
 o process by which liquid water passes directly
(transformation) to the vapor phase.

Factors influencing evaporation

o Energy supply for vaporization (latent heat)
- Solar radiation
o Transport of vapor away from evaporative surface
- Wind velocity over surface
-Specific humidity gradient above surface

o Vegetated surfaces
-Supply of moisture to the surface
- Evapotranspiration (ET)
->Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) - moisture
supply is not limited

Transpiration
o process by which liquid water passes from liquid to
vapor through plant metabolism.

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

Sublimation
o process by which water passes directly from the solid
phase to the vapor phase

o National Weather Service Class A type.

o Installed on a wooden platform in a grassy location
o Filled with water to within 2.5 inches of the top
o Evaporation rate is measured by manual readings or
with an analog output evaporation gauge
ISI Standard Pan
o Specified by IS:5973 and known as the modified Class A
Pan
o A pan of diameter 1220mm and depth 255mm
o The pan is made of copper sheet 0.9mm thick, tinned
inside and painted white outside
o 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
o A fixed-point gauge indicates the level of water

Colorado Sunken Pan

o 920mm square pan made
of unpainted GI sheet,
460mm deep, and buried
into the ground within 100mm of the top
o Main advantage of this pan - its aerodynamic and
radiation characteristics are similar to that of a lake
o Disadvantages - difficult to detect leaks. expensive to
install, extra care is needed
to keep the surrounding area
free from tall grass, dust etc
USGS Floating Pan
o A square pan of 900mm sides and 450mm deep
o 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
o Water level in the pan is maintained at the same level as
that in the lake, leaving a rim of 75mm
o Diagonal baffles are provided in the pan to reduce surging
in the pan due to wave action
o Disadvantages - High cost of installation and
maintenance, difficulty in making measurements
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
Measurement of Evapotranspiration
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]