ENSC 101 Lab 1: CIMIS station and the Hydrologic

Cycle
Introduction
In todays lab we will be visiting a California Irrigation Management
Information System (CIMIS) station located in UCRs agricultural operations.
CIMIS is a program in the Office of Water Use Efficiency (OWUE), California

Department of Water Resources (DWR) that manages a network of over 120

automated weather stations in the state of California. CIMIS was developed in 1982
by the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California,
Davis to assist California's irrigators manage their water resources efficiently.
Efficient use of water resources benefits Californians by saving water, energy, and
money (State of CA, 2009).
The station that we will be viewing today is similar to the one pictured below (figure
1). The 120 stations located throughout California are all connected through a
network of computers and satellites. The information gathered is then distributed to
all members of the network in order to help with agricultural operations such as
when a farmer should water and how much.
Figure 1-1: Stations like the
one on the left measure current
weather conditions such as:
wind speed, wind direction,
solar output, soil and air
temperature, humidity, and
precipitation.

Precipitation can be defined as the condensation of water vapor to a state of

liquid or solid that falls from the atmosphere to the surface of Earth. This
process is extremely important because it brings fresh water to the land.
Precipitation in California is commonly formed through orographic lift. In this
process a cloud formed from ocean water evaporation is pushed inland from
the ocean breeze. This cloud eventually encounters a mountain that causes
the cloud to rise. As it rises it also cools causing the water vapor to condense
forming rain and if cold enough, snow. Precipitation can also form when
excess evaporation causes a large flux of water vapor into the clouds and as
water molecules aggregate they become too big to remain suspended in the
air and gravity brings them to the surface. These are only two of the many
ways that precipitation forms.

Methods
I. Measuring Precipitation
Precipitation can be measured by a variety of different equipment. Figure 2
below is a very basic rain gauge that simply collects rain from a known area
and is measured in mL. Figure 3 below is more advanced and can collect
rainfall data continuously, unlike the standard gauge which fills up. As water
falls into the funnel it collects in the bucket below, which is on an axis with
an identical bucket on the other side. Once the bucket fills to capacity it tips
over and the other bucket then begins to fill. The tipping bucket is hooked up
to a data logger that counts the number of tips. The number of tips can be
multiplied by the volume in the bucket and divided by the area of the funnel
to come up with the amount of rainfall in volume per unit area. Figure 4
below is one of the most sophisticated gauges. It uses lasers to count the
number and size of all rain drops that fall in its path. This data is recorded in
real time and gives us the total amount of rainfall as well as instantaneous
rainfall.

Figure 1-2: Standard

rain gauge

Figure 1-3: Tipping

bucket

Figure 1-4: Optical rain

gauge (ORG)

Snowfall is also measured by a variety of different methods including direct

depth with a ruler or more complexly with a snow pillow, as seen below in
figure 5.

Figure 1-5: Snow

pillow

When measuring snowfall it is important to look at the snow water

equivalent. As you may have observed in your own experiences, snow is
much less dense than water. And because snow is a very important source of
fresh water we would like to know how much liquid water we will get from a
certain amount of snow, the snow water equivalent (SWE). This can be easily
measured using a snow core. A core of known weight and volume is taken
from the snow and the SWE is calculated.
Precipitation varies in time and also geographically. Along with the amount of
precipitation, we can also measure the intensity of a storm event. This tells
us how much rain fell in a limited amount of time. Figure 6 below shows the
spatial variability of rain in California. Typically areas in the higher latitudes
and higher altitudes experience more rainfall.
Figure 1-6: Average annual
spatial distribution of rain in
California.

Along with the amount of rainfall reported in a calendar year we also report
rainfall in a water year. The water year starts in October and goes through
the following September. Now that we have an understanding of how water
gets to the surface of the Earth, lets take a look at how it can leave.
Evaporation is an important factor that must be accounted for in any water
budget analysis of a basin or any water resources development plan. In arid
regions, consideration of the evaporative losses from reservoirs, streams,
and canals often determines the success of water supply projects. The
quality of surface waters, particularly standing-water bodies such as lakes, is
3

partially dependent upon evaporative losses, especially if the lake is situated

in a closed basin, its only losses being through evaporation, seepage through
the lake bed, or human diversions.
Transpiration is the process by which water is taken up by the
roots of plants and subsequently evaporated to the atmosphere
through openings in the cuticle of plant leaves. Water actually
vaporizes within the leaf and passes through the leaf stomata by
means of molecular diffusion. Transpiration accounts for 10-90%
of all evaporation over an area and is thus an important factor in
many hydrologic and agricultural problems. In practice, however,
it is extremely difficult to separate evaporation from
transpiration, although their combined effects can be determined
empirically or through field measurements. Hence, the two are
commonly lumped together into one term-evapotranspiration
(ET).
The primary factors affecting ET are as follows:
(1)
Temperature affects the atmospheric humidity and the
leaf temperature thereby determining the vapor pressure
deficit between the plant and the atmosphere. The vapor
pressure within the plant equals the saturation vapor pressure.
The vapor pressure deficit equals the difference between
saturated vapor pressure (at leaf temperature) and the
ambient air vapor pressure (determined by its humidity).
(2)
Solar radiation accounts for the solar energy
requirements of the photosynthetic processes of the plant. It
also affects leaf and soil temperature. Solar radiation depends
heavily on the latitude and the degree of cloudiness during
each season.
(3)Wind has a major influence on the atmospheric vapor pressure
by removing the vapor which has just transpired, thus
disrupting the boundary layer between the land/water surface
and the atmosphere.
(4)Different vegetation types have different water requirements
due to different types of photosynthesis, leaf structure, rooting
depths and other adaptations. In general, plants which evolved
in humid regions do not conserve water well which makes them
very dependent on irrigation when planted in the desert.
(5)At different stages of growth, a plant's water requirements
vary. In general, the growth stage requires more water than

any of the later stages.

(6)Plants can extract water only when the soil moisture is above a
certain level. Below this level, called the permanent wilting
point, the plants die or, if drought adapted, go dormant.

I. Quantifying Evaporative Processes

Evaporation from a water surface is the net rate of movement of
water vapor from the water to the atmosphere. Net rate is the
difference between the rates at which vapor enters the
atmosphere and vapor condenses into rain or dew. The air at the
water surface is assumed to be at the dame temperature as the
water. The vapor pressure in the ambient air above the water
depends on its temperature and humidity. A vapor pressure
gradient exists between the water surface and the ambient air
characterized by different partial pressures. Vapor moves from an
area of greater pressure to one of lesser pressure. Relative
humidity is a common measurement of the humidity of the
atmosphere. It is a percent ratio of the partial pressure of water
vapor in the atmosphere to the partial pressure if the atmosphere
was saturated as defined by the following equation:
RH

ea
100
es

(1-1)
Where e is vapor pressure in millibars (mb), kilopascals
(KPa) or inches of mercury and subscripts a and s
represent ambient and saturated air, respectively.
Another useful concept is that of dewpoint temperature. This is
the temperature at which the air would become saturated if its
temperature were reduced without changing its moisture content.
If one can measure air temperature and humidity, then saturated
vapor pressure, actual vapor pressure and dewpoint can be
accurately described using empirically determined equations:
To calculate the saturation vapor pressure (es) in millibars, from
air temperature in degrees C, use the following equation:
T 17.27

T 237.3

es 6.11 2.718

(1-2)

Note: 2.718 ~ e. To calculate actual vapor pressure, e, in

millibars, use the saturation vapor pressure and the
relative humidity (expressed as a percentage) in the
following formula.
ea

RH es
100

(1-3)

To obtain the dewpoint temperature, in degrees C, from air

temperature and relative humidity use the following equation:
100 RH
Td T (
)
5

(1-4)
CIMIS uses a modified version of the Penman-Monteith equation to
estimate ET from alfalfa grass:

ETo

Rn G

1 C d U 2

37
U 2 e s ea
Ta 273.16
1 C d U 2
(1-5)

Where
ETo = grass reference evapotranspiration (mm h-1)
= slope of saturation vapor pressure curve (kPa C-1) at mean air
temperature (T)
Rn = net radiation (MJ m-2 h-1)
G = soil heat flux density (MJ m-2 h-1)
Gamma () = psychrometric constant ( kPaC-1)
Ta = mean hourly air temperature (C)
U2 = mean hourly wind speed at 2 meters (m s-1)
es = saturation vapor pressure (kPa) at the mean hourly air
temperature (T) in C
ea = actual vapor pressure (kPa) at the mean hourly air temperature
(T) in C
Lamda () = latent heat of vaporization in (MJ kg-1)
Cd = bulk surface resistance and aerodynamic resistance
Note: The results from this equation only apply to alfalfa
grass and you must use a crop coefficient (Kc) to estimate ET
from specific crop types in order to plan irrigation schedules.

Runoff is the final aspect of the hydrologic cycle. This occurs by

three mechanisms.
Overland flow surface runoff that occurs when the rate of
precipitation exceeds the infiltration rate of H 2O into soil.

Subsurface storm flow (interflow) water that infiltrates soil but

encounters barrier that results in lateral subsurface flow.
Groundwater flow (base flow) occurs when water table
intersects stream channels of a basin.

Questions:
1. Using the data from ilearn, calculate the total annual
precipitation as well as the average daily precipitation for the
UCR CIMIS station.
2. Using this same data and equations 1-2 and 1-3, calculate the
saturated and actual vapor pressure in millibars and
kilopascals for July 18th and August 15th. Make sure to check
your units and use average temperature and RH.
3. Now calculate the total annual evapotranspiration as well as
the average daily evapotranspiration in mm.
4. Looking at the year 2015 as a whole, what can you say about
Southern Californias water situation? I.e. How often does ET
exceed PPT and how does this affect agriculture and life
(plants, animals, humans).