CE-405 – HYDROLOGY
have more heat storage capacity than shallow water
Reviewer
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Lecture 5: Evaporation
Abstraction from Precipitation
 All abstractions from precipitation are those due
to evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, surface
detention and storage.
 Evaporation from water bodies and soil masses
together with transpiration from vegetation is
termed as evapotranspiration.
Evaporation Process and Factors
 Evaporation is the process in which a liquid
change to the gaseous state at the free surface,
below the boiling point through the transfer of
heat energy.
 The rate of evaporation is dependent on:
a) The vapor pressures at the water surface and
air above
b) Air and water temperatures
c) Wind speed
d) Atmospheric pressure
e) Quality of water
f) Size of the water body
Vapor Pressure – Rate of evaporation is
proportional to the difference between the saturation
vapor pressure (SVP) at the water temperature, (ew)
and the actual vapor pressure in the air (ea)
John Dalton’s law of Evaporation
EL = C (ew - ea)
Where:
EL = rate of evaporation (mm/day)
C = constant
ew = in mmHg
ea = in mmHg
Evaporation continues till ew = ea, if ew > ea
condensation takes place.
Temperature – The rate of evaporation increases
with an increase in the water temperature
Wind – Wind helps to remove the evaporated water
vapor from the zone of evaporation,
thereby creating greater scope for evaporation.
Atmospheric Pressure – Other factors remaining
the same, a decrease in atmospheric pressure (as in
high altitudes areas) increases the evaporation rate.
Soluble Salts – When a solute is dissolved in water,
the vapor pressure of the solution is less than that of
pure water and hence it causes reduction in the rate
of evaporation. Under identical conditions
evaporation from sea water is about 2-3% less than
that from fresh water.
Heat Storage in water bodies – Deep water bodies
bodies. The effect of heat storage is to change the
seasonal evaporation rates and the annual
evaporation remains more or less unaltered.
Evaporimeters
 Estimation of evaporation is of importance in
many hydrologic problems associated with
planning and operation of reservoirs and
irrigation systems.
 The amount of water evaporated from a water
surface is estimated by the following methods:
a) Using evaporimeter data
b) Empirical evaporation equations
c) Analytical methods
Types of Evaporimeters
Evaporimeters are 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. 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.
2. ISI Standard 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
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, Most of the available empirical equations for
expensive to install, extra care is needed to keep estimating lake evaporation are a Dalton type
the surrounding area free from tall grass, dust, equation of the general form:
etc. EL = Κf(u) (ew − ea)
Where:
4. US Geological Survey Floating Pan EL = lake evaporation mm/day
 A square pan of 900mm sides and ew = saturated vapor pressure at the water surface
450mm deep. temperature in mmHg
 Supported by drum floats in the ea = actual vapor pressure of over-lying air at a
middle of a raft of size 4.25m x specified height in mmHg
4.87m, it is set afloat in a lake with f(u) = wind speed correction function
a view to simulate the Κ = coefficient
characteristics of a large body of
water Meyer’s Formula (1915)
 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 Where:
reduce surging in the pan due to wave action EL = lake evaporation
 Disadvantages – High cost of installation and ew = saturated vapor pressure at the water surface
maintenance, difficulty in making temperature in mmHg
measurements. ea = actual vapor pressure of over-lying air at a
specified height in mmHg
Pan Coefficient Cp u9 = monthly mean wind velocity in km/h at about
Evaporation Pan are not exactly models of large 9m above ground
reservoirs and the following drawbacks: KM = 0.36 – large deep water and 0.50 – small,
a) They differ in the heat – storing capacity and shallow waters
heat transfer from the sides and bottom.
b) The height of the rim in an evaporation pan Rowher’s Formula (1931)
affects the wind action over the surface.
c) The heat – transfer characteristics of the pan Where:
material is different from that of the reservoir. EL = lake evaporation
ew = saturated vapor pressure at the water surface
Thus, a coefficient in introduced as temperature in mmHg
Lake Evaporation = Cp × pan evaporation ea = actual vapor pressure of over-lying air at a
Where: Cp = pan coefficient specified height in mmHg
pa = mean barometric reading in mmHg
u0 =mean wind velocity in km/h at ground level,
which can be taken to the velocity at 0.6 m height
above ground

Evaporation Station
 Arid zones – one station every 30,000 km2
 Humid temperate climates – one station for
every 50,000 km2, and
 Cold regions – one station for every 100,000
km2

A typical hydro-meteorological station contains the

following:
a) ordinary rain gauge; recording rain gauge
b) Stevenson box with maximum and minimum
thermometer and dry and wet bulb
thermometers
c) wind anemometers; wind direction indicator In using the empirical equations, the saturated vapor
d) sunshine recorder pressure at a given temperature (ew) is found from a
e) thermohydrograph table of ew vs temperature in C, such as Table 3.3.
f) pan evaporimeter Often, the wind-velocity data would be available at
an elevation other than that needed in the particular
Empirical Evaporation Equations equation. However, it is known that in the lower
part of the atmosphere, up to the height of 500 m
above the ground level, the wind velocity can be
assumed to follow the 1/7 power law as
Uh = Ch1/7
Where: Uh = wind velocity at a height h above the
ground and C = constant.
This equation can be used to determine the velocity
at any desired level if Uh is known.
Analytical Methods of Evaporation
a) Water – budget method
b) Energy – balance method
c) Mass – transfer method
Water – budget method – simplest but the least
reliable. If the unit of time is kept very large,
estimates of evaporation will be more accurate.
P + Vis+ Vig = Vos + Vog + EL + ∆S + TL
Where:
P = daily precipitation
Vis = daily surface inflow into the lake
Vig = daily groundwater inflow
Vos = daily surface outflow from the lake
Vog = daily seepage outflow
EL = daily lake evaporation
∆S = increase in lake storage in a day
TL = daily transpiration loss
Energy – Budget Method – is application of law of
conservation of energy. The energy available for
evaporation is determined by considering the
incoming energy, outgoing energy and energy
stored in the water body over a known time interval.
Hn = Ha + He + Hg + Hs + Hi
Where:
Hn = net heat energy received by the water surface
= Hc(1 – r) – Hb
Hc(1 – r) – Hb = incoming solar radiation into a
surface of reflectionm coefficient (albedo) r
Hb =back radiation (long wave) from water body
Ha = sensible heat transfer from water surface to air
He = heat energy used up in evaporation
= ρLEL where ρ = density of water, L = latent
heat of evaporation and EL = evaporation in mm
Hg = heat flux into ground
Hs = heat stored in water body
Hi = neat heat conducted out of the system by water
flow
Ha can be estimated as:
Where:
Pa = atmospheric pressure in mmHg.
Tw = temperature of water surface in Celsius
Ta = temperature of air in Celcius
EL can be evaluated as:
Reservoir evaporation and methods for its
reduction
The water volume lost due to evaporation from a
reservoir in a month is calculated as:
VE = AEpmCp
Where:
VE = volume of water lost in evaporation in a month
(m3)
A = average reservoir area during the month (m2)
Epm = pan evaporation loss in meters in a month (m)
= EL in mm/day x No. of days in the month x10-3
Cp = relevant pan coefficient
Methods to reduce evaporation losses
1. Reduction of surface area – as the area increases
the rate if evaporation also increases
2. Mechanical covers – permanent roods over the
reservoir, temporary roods and floating roof
such as rafts and light – weight floating particles
3. Chemical films – application of cetyl alcohol
(hexadecanol) and stearyl alcohol (octadecanol)
Sample Problem 1
A class A pan was set up adjacent to a lake. The
depth of water in the pan at the beginning of a
certain week was 195mm. In that week there was a
rainfall of 45 mm and 15 mm of water was removed
from the pan to keep the water level within the
specified depth range. If the depth of the water in
the pan at the end of the week was 190mm calculate
the pan evaporation. Using a suitable pan
coefficient estimate the lake evaporation in that
week.
Given:
Class A Pan, Cp = 0.7
Initial Depth = 195 mm
P = 45 mm
Removed Water = 15 mm
Final Depth = 190 mm
Find: Lake Evaporation
Solution :
Pan Evaporation = 195 mm + 45 mm - 15 mm – 190
mm
= 35 mm
Lake Evaporation = Cp x Pan Evaporation
= 0.7 x 35 mm
= 24.5 mm / week
Sample Problem 2
A canal is 80 km long and has an average surface
width of 15 m. If the evaporation measured in a
class A pan is 0.5 cm/day, what is the volume of
water evaporated in a month?
Given: use formula VE = AEpmCp =
L = 80 km = 80,000 meters
W = 15 m
EL = 0.5 cm/day = 0.005 m/day
Cp = 0.7 ( Class A pan)
VE = AEpmCp
= (LW)(EL*30 days)(Cp)
= (80,000 m)(15 m)(0.005 m/day * 30 days)(0.7)
=126,000 m3 =8.228571429= 8.23 mm/day
Sample Problem 3 8.97 is from Meyers, 8.23 is from evaporimeter
A reservoir with a surface area of 250 hectares had
the following average values of climate parameters
during a week: Water Temperature = 20oC, Relative
Humidity = 40%, Wind Velocity at 1.0 m above
ground surface = 16 km/h. Estimate the average = 144,025 m3
daily evaporation from the lake by using Meyer’s
Formula.
Given:
SA = 250 ha = 2.5 x106 m2
Water Temp. = 20oC
Relative Humidity = 40%
U1 = 16 km/h
Km = 0.36
Find: Average Daily Evaporation
Solution :

ew = 17.54 mmHg
ea = 17.54 mmHg x 0.4 = 7.016 mmHg
Uh = Ch1/7

U9 = (16 km/h x 91/7) / 11/7

= 21. 89980971 km/h = 21.90 km/h

EL = 8.974341 = 8.97 mm/day

Sample Problem 3
3.2 An ISI Standard evaporation pan at the site
indicated a pan coefficient of 0.80 on the basis of
calibration against controlled water budgeting
method. If this pan indicated an evaporation of 72
mm 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
in the lake in that week.
Given:
ISI standard pan , Cp = 0.80
Pan Evaporation = 72 mm/week
Meyers Answer : 8.97 mm/day
Solution :