HYDROLOGY & WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT LAB

CE3541

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPTT. CUST

EXPERIMENT#1
Estimation of Evaporation by using Standard evaporation
pan and Colorado Sunken pan

BYENGR. MEHRAN SUHDEER

Email: mehran.sudheer@cust.edu.pk

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 1

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

INTRODUCTION
Evaporation
Water loss due to vaporization is called Evaporation.

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•
OR
• Evaporation is the process by which water is converted from its
liquid form to its vapor form and thus transferred from land and
water masses to the atmosphere.
• It is measured in depth units.

FIGURE 1: WATER EVAPORATION

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 2

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

INTRODUCTION
Evaporation in Hydrology

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FIGURE 2: EVAPORATION IN HYDROLODY

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 3

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

INTRODUCTION
Evaporation in Hydrology
• Evaporation is the primary pathway that water moves from the

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liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor.
• Studies have shown that the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide
nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via
evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent being contributed by
plant transpiration.

FIGURE 3: EVAPORATION FROM LAKE FIGURE 4: EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 4

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

Factors affecting Evaporation

TABLE 1: FACTORS AFFECTING RATE OF EVAPORATION

Factors Affect

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Surface Area Temperature

Increase in temperature = Increase in rate of evaporation

Warmer liquid – Greater number of molecules at the surface
layer are energetic enough to escape.

Larger surface area of water body = Greater rate of evaporation

The larger the exposed surface area, the more water particles
can escape from the water surface.

Rate of evaporation decreases with increasing humidity and

Humidity

increases with lower humidity.

Example: Wet clothes do not dry easily when air is damp and
skin feels dry in air conditioned room.

Higher the wind = Higher the rate of evaporation

Wind

Example: Drying your hair with hair dryer, the moving hot air
from the hair dryer quickly removes moisture from your hair.

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 5

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

Estimation of Evaporation
• Direct measurement using pans;
i. Standard Evaporation Pan

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ii.Colorado Sunken Pan
• Indirect measurement or theoretical methods;
i. Water Budget Method
ii. Energy Budget Method
iii.Mass Transfer Method

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 6

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

1. Standard Evaporation Pan

• In the United States, the National Weather
Service has standardized its measurements
on the Class A evaporation pan, a cylinder

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with a diameter of 47.5 in. (120.7 cm) that
has a depth of 10 in. (25 cm).
• The pan rests on a carefully leveled,
wooden base which is 15 cm above ground
level and is often enclosed by a chain link
FIGURE 5-1: SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
fence to prevent animals drinking from it.
• It is filled with water to 5 cm below the
rim, and the water level should not be
allowed to drop to more than 7.5 cm below
the rim.
• Evaporation is measured daily as the depth
of water (in in./mm) evaporates from the
pan.
• At the end of 24 hours, the amount of
water to refill the pan to exactly previously FIGURE 5-2:
recorded level from its top is measured. SATNDARD EVAPORATION PAN

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 7

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

1. Standard Evaporation Pan

• The water should be regularly renewed, at least weekly, to eliminate
extreme turbidity.
• The pan, if galvanized, is painted annually with aluminium paint.

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• Screens over the pan are not a standard requirement and should
preferably not be used.
• The site should preferably be having grass, 20 by 20 m, open on all sides to
permit free circulation of the air.
• It is preferable that stations be located in the Centre or on the leeward
side of large cropped fields.
• Pan readings are taken daily in the early morning at the same time that
precipitation is measured.
• Measurements are made in a stilling well that is situated in the pan near
one edge.
• The stilling well is a metal cylinder of about 10 cm in diameter and some
20 cm deep with a small hole at the bottom.

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 8

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

2. Colorado Sunken Pan

• The Colorado sunken pan is 92 cm (3 ft.)
square and 46 cm (18 in) deep, made of 3
mm thick iron, placed in the ground with

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the rim 5 cm (2 in) above the soil level.
• Also, the dimensions 1 m square and 0.5 m
deep are frequently used.
• The water level is maintained at or slightly
below ground level, i.e., 5-7.5 cm below
FIGURE 6-1: SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM-1
the rim.
• Measurements are taken similarly to those
for the standard pan.
• Siting and environment requirements are
also similar to those of Class A pan.
• Sunken Colorado pans are sometimes
preferred in crop water requirements
studies, as these pans give a better direct
estimation of the reference FIGURE 6-2:
evapotranspiration than standard pan. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM-2

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 9

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

Procedure
Measuring Principle
An evaporation pan provides a measurement of the combined effect of temperature,

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humidity, windspeed and sunshine on the reference crop evapotranspiration ETo. The
principle of the evaporation pan is the following:
• The pan is installed in the field.
• The pan is filled with a known quantity of water (the surface area of the pan is
known and the water depth is measured).
• The water is allowed to evaporate during a certain period of time (usually 24
hours). For example, each morning at 7 o’clock a measurement is taken. The
rainfall, if any, is measured simultaneously.
• After 24 hours, the remaining quantity of water (i.e. water depth) is measured.
• The amount of evaporation per time unit (the difference between the two
measured water depths) is calculated; this is the pan evaporation: E pan (in mm/24
hours).
• The E pan is multiplied by a pan coefficient, K pan, to obtain the ETo.

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 10

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

Observation & Calculation

The pan evaporation is multiplied by a pan coefficient to obtain the
reference crop evapotranspiration.

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ETо = K pan × E pan

ETо = Reference crop evapotranspiration

K pan = Pan coefficient
E pan = Pan evaporation
TABLE 2: EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS

Water depth before Water depth after Evaporation ETо

Sr. No Evaporation Evaporation [K pan × E pan]
(mm) (mm) (mm/24hrs) (mm/24hrs)
1

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 11

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

Determination of K Pan
• When using the evaporation pan to estimate the ETo, in fact, a comparison
is made between the evaporation from the water surface in the pan and

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the evapotranspiration of the standard grass.
• Of course, the water in the pan and the grass do not react in exactly the
same way to the climate. Therefore, a special coefficient is used (K pan)
to relate one to the other.
• The pan coefficient, K pan, depends on:
i.The type of pan used.
ii.The pan environment: if the pan is placed in a fallow or cropped area.
iii.The climate: the humidity and wind speed.
• For evaporation pan, the K pan varies between 0.35 and 0.85.
• Average K pan = 0.70.
• If the pan factor is not known the average value can be used.

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 12

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Determination of K Pan
If more accuracy is required, the pan factors can be taken from the table
below;

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TABLE 3:
Pan Coefficients (Kp) for Standard pan for different pan siting and environment and
different levels of mean relative humidity and wind speed

Case A CASE B
Class A Pan
Pan is placed in short green cropped area Pan is placed in dry fallow area
Low Medium High Low Medium High
RH mean (%) RH mean (%)
<40 40-70 > 70 <40 40-70 > 70
Wind speed Windward side Windward side
(m/s) distance of green distance of green
crop crop
(m) (m)
1 .55 .65 .75 1 .70 .8 .85
Light 10 .65 .75 .85 10 .60 .7 .80
<2 100 .70 .80 .85 100 .55 .65 .75
1000 .75 .85 .85 1000 .50 .60 .70
1 .50 .60 .65 1 .65 .75 .80
Moderate 10 .60 .70 .75 10 .55 .65 .70
2-5 100 .65 .75 .80 100 .50 .60 .65
1000 .70 .80 .80 1000 .45 .55 .60
1 .45 .50 .60 1 .60 .65 .70
Strong 10 .55 .60 .65 10 .50 .55 .65
5-8 100 .60 .65 .70 100 .45 .50 .60
1000 .65 .70 .75 1000 .40 .45 .55
1 .40 .45 .50 1 .50 .60 .65
Very Strong 10 .45 .55 .60 10 .45 .50 .55
8 100 .50 .60 .65 100 .40 .45 .50
1000 .55 .60 .65 1000 .35 .40 .45

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 13

 EXPERIMENT#1 (CE3541)

Determination of K Pan
TABLE 4:
Pan Coefficients (Kp) for Colorado sunken pan for different pan siting and environment
and different levels of mean relative humidity and wind speed

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Case A CASE B
Class A Pan
Pan is placed in short green cropped area Pan is placed in dry fallow area

Low Medium High Low Medium High

RH mean (%) RH mean (%)
<40 40-70 > 70 <40 40-70 > 70
Wind speed Windward side Windward side
(m/s) distance of green distance of green
crop crop
(m) (m)
1 .75 .75 .80 1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Light 10 1.0 1.0 1.0 10 .85 .85 .85
<2 ≥100 1.1 1.1 1.1 100 .75 .75 .80
1000 .70 .70 .75
1 .65 .70 .70 1 .95 .95 .95
Moderate 10 .85 .85 .90 10 .75 .75 .75
2-5 ≥100 .95 .95 .95 100 .65 .65 .70
1000 .60 .60 .65
1 .55 .60 .65 1 .80 .80 .80
Strong 10 .75 .75 .75 10 .65 .65 .65
5-8 ≥100 .80 .80 .80 100 .55 .60 .65
1000 .50 .55 .60
1 .50 .55 .60 1 .70 .75 .75
Very Strong 10 .65 .70 .70 10 .55 .60 .65
8 ≥100 .70 .75 .75 100 .50 .55 .60
1000 .45 .50 .55

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 14

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THANK YOU

BY ENGR. MEHRAN SUDHEER 15