MODULE 2

Evaporation

Lecturer: Engr. Jezreel Canapi

Chapter Outline
• Evaporation Processes
• Measurement of Evaporation
Objectives
1. Explain the basic principles of evaporation and the processes
involved in determining total evaporation, including open water
evaporation, transpiration, soil evaporation, interception
evaporation, and all related terms.
2. Describe common methods for measuring evaporation, such as
lysimeters, and pan evaporation.
EVAPORATION
EVAPORATION is the process by which liquid water changes into
water vapor or gas due to an increase in temperature or decrease
in pressure, typically occurring at the surface of the liquid. It is a
key component of the water cycle and is influenced by factors
such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and the surface area
of the liquid.
EVAPORATION
▪ Evaporation involves significant energy transfer to the
atmosphere in the form of latent heat, while condensation
releases sensible heat.
▪ It is commonly estimated by solving the water balance, though
these estimates carry a degree of uncertainty.
▪ Evaporation plays a crucial role in the water balance, with
approximately 75% of continental precipitation evaporating
globally, and 60% to 85% in Europe.
EVAPORATION
▪ Estimating evaporation across an entire catchment area,
including its spatial and temporal variability, is one of the most
challenging tasks.
▪ Accurate estimates are essential for water balance studies,
water resource management, agriculture, forestry, and
ecological research.
▪ Evaporation is highly sensitive to global changes, such as
climate change, deforestation, urbanization, and shifts in
atmospheric CO2 levels.
EVAPORATION
All values are in mm per time step.
▪ EO: Open-water evaporation
▪ ES: Evaporation from soil
▪ EI: Interception evaporation
▪ ET: Transpiration
▪ Eₜₒₜₐₗ: Total evaporation
Etotal = EO + ES + EI + ET
EVAPORATION PROCESSES
1. Open-Water Evaporation (EO)
▪ Open-water evaporation occurs from open water surfaces such
as lakes, rivers, vegetation surfaces (interception), and soil.
EVAPORATION PROCESSES
2. Transpiration (ET)
▪ Transpiration involves the movement of water from roots to the
stem, leaves, and finally through the stomata into the
atmosphere.
▪ Transpiration is the process by which water vapor escapes from
living plants and enters the atmosphere, primarily through leaf
stomata.
▪ Measuring transpiration is difficult and is often combined with
total evaporation, referred to as "evapotranspiration."
▪ "Total evaporation" is the preferred term over
"evapotranspiration."
EVAPORATION PROCESSES
2. Transpiration (ET)
▪ Transpiration varies significantly across different plant species.
▪ The density and geometry of stomata and the canopy play a key
role in transpiration rates.
▪ Stomatal mechanics are bio-chemically regulated.
▪ Environmental factors influencing transpiration include solar
irradiance, air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, soil
moisture, and atmospheric CO2 levels.
EVAPORATION PROCESSES
3. Soil Evaporation (ES)
▪ Soil evaporation is the process of water
turning into vapor and leaving the soil
due to heat.
▪ When saturated, it behaves like water,
influenced by solar energy and the
vapor pressure of the air, typically
occurring for 1 to 3 days.
EVAPORATION FORMATION PROCESSES
3. Soil Evaporation (ES)
▪ The duration of this process depends on
weather, soil conditions, and soil
characteristics.
▪ When the surface is not saturated,
evaporation occurs within the soil
profile, and air in soil pores also plays a
role.
EVAPORATION FORMATION PROCESSES
4. Interception Evaporation (EI)
▪ Interception is the process by which precipitation falls on
vegetative surfaces and is stored there. The initial process that
affect precipitation before ponding and infiltration include
interception.
▪ Interception evaporation efers to the process where water that
is intercepted by vegetation or other surfaces, such as leaves or
branches, evaporates directly into the atmosphere without
reaching the ground. This water is typically from rainfall or
dew.
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
▪ Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined process of evaporation
and transpiration.
▪ POTENTIAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (PET) refers to the
theoretical rate of ET assuming unlimited water supply,
influenced by surface albedo (the percentage of energy
reflected), meteorological factors, and vegetation type.
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
▪ ACTUAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (AET) is the true rate of ET,
which is critical for water management, and depends on plant,
soil, soil water properties, and water availability.
▪ In practice, PET is often estimated for a specific land use and
adjusted with a crop coefficient (k).
▪ Consumptive use refers to the actual seasonal water
consumption, primarily used in irrigation contexts.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
a. Gross Rainfall (R) is the total rainfall measured above the canopy or in
open areas.
b. Direct Throughfall (Rd) refers to the portion of rainfall that passes
through the canopy without being detained, often called "free
throughfall."
c. Canopy Throughfall (Rc) is the portion of rainfall that contacts the
canopy before reaching the ground and can have a different chemical
composition than Rd.
d. Stemflow (Rs) is the water that reaches the ground by running down
the trunks and stems of plants, which may also have a different
chemical composition than Rd.
e. Net Throughfall (Rt) is the rainfall that reaches the ground surface
directly through canopy spaces, by canopy drip, and stemflow.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
f. Canopy Interception Loss (Ec) is the water that evaporates from the
canopy.
g. Litter Interception Loss (El) refers to water that evaporates from
debris and litter, typically ranging from 0.02 to 0.05 times the total
rainfall (R) in forests.
h. Total Interception Loss (E) is the combined evaporation from both the
canopy and litter.
CANOPY CHARACTERISTICS
a. Storage Capacity (S) is the depth of water that can be held on a plant
surface, typically ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 mm, higher for conifers (up
to 8 mm) or solid precipitation (up to >25 mm).
b. Direct Throughfall Coefficient (p) is the proportion of rainfall that
passes through the canopy without being detained, expressed as Rd =
R * p.
c. Drainage Coefficient (b) represents the rate at which water drains
from the canopy, following an exponential curve relative to canopy
saturation, eventually reaching a maximum equal to the storage
capacity (S).
MEASUREMENT OF
EVAPORATION
MEASURING Etotal
▪ Water Balance – Measure precipitation and streamflow (ignoring dS/dt)
E=P–R
▪ Examples: If precipitation in a catchment is 1000 mm/a and water
yield is 600 mm/a, then E is 400 mm/a, ignoring storage changes.
EVAPORATION PAN
▪ Measure the daily rate of water drop in a tank; estimate E = kₚ × Eₚₐₙ
(determining the pan coefficient kₚ is difficult).
EVAPORATION
PAN
EVAPORATION PAN
▪ Case A (kpan = 0.75) ▪ Case B (kpan = 0.60)

Source: FAO (medium wind speed; medium humidity; fetch = 100 m)

EVAPORATION PAN
Epan = P – (hfinal – hinitial)/(tfinal – tinitial)
Where:
Epan – pan evaporation
P – rainfall intensity
hfinal – final water level in the evaporation pan
hinitial – initial water level in the evaporation pan
tfinal – final time at which the water level in the evaporation pan was
measured
tinitial – initial time at which the water level in the evaporation pan was
measured
LYSIMETERS
Buried tanks with growing
plants; measure precipitation in,
drainage out, and/or weigh
tank.
LYSIMETERS
▪ Excellent measurement of real E, especially when using a weighted
lysimeter.
▪ However:
a. It is a point measurement, making regionalization to the
catchment scale difficult.
b. The soil column is often disturbed and not fully natural.
c. High experimental effort is required; weighted lysimeters (the
most useful type) are particularly costly.
LYSIMETERS

E = P + I - R – D - ΔS
Where:
▪ E = Evaporation
▪ P = Precipitation (water falling onto the lysimeter)
▪ I = Irrigation (additional water supplied to the lysimeter)
▪ R = Runoff (water that flows off the lysimeter surface)
▪ D = Drainage/Percolation (water that moves downward through the soil
and exits the lysimeter)
▪ ΔS = Change in soil water content (change in volumetric water content)
END OF MODULE 2.
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