EVAPOTRANSPIRATION - Definition

Evapotranspiration - the processes by

which water in the liquid phase at or near
the earth or land surfaces becomes
atmospheric water vapour.
Evaporation from lakes and rivers
Evaporation from bare soil
Evaporation from vegetated surfaces
Transpiration from within the leaves of
the plants through the stomatal openings
Sublimation from ice and snow surfaces
 Precipitation, ET and Runoff

• On the global scale, about 62% of the

precipitation that falls on the continents is
evapotranspired.
• Out of this, 97% is evapotranspiration from
land surface and 3% is evaporation from
open water surfaces.
• Evapotranspiration (ET) exceeds runoff in
most of the river basins and all the
continents except Antartica.
 Why is the Quantitative understanding of
ET practically important??
• understanding and predicting climate
• quantitative assessments of water resources over
long term; and the effects of changes in climate
and land use on water resources over long term
• prediction of ecosystem response to climate
change
• proper planning and operation of irrigation
systems
• field estimation of water supply reservoirs
• assessment of contribution to streamflow and
ground water recharge from a given storm
 Evaporation - a diffusion process!
• Process by which momentum, heat content, dissolved or suspended
matter are transferred from one position to another within the fluid.

Mathematical expression for the Fick’s First law of diffusion

Fz(X) = - Dx . dCx/dz ……………………..(1)

Fz(X) is the rate of transfer of X in the direction z per unit

time (called the flux of X)

Cx is the concentration of X

Dx is called the diffusivity of X in the fluid

• The minus sign indicates that X always moves from regions with
higher concentration to the regions where the concentration is lower.
 Latent Heat + Sensible Heat
• Water vapour is transferred between the surface and the
air wherever there is difference in vapour pressure
between the surface and the overlying air.

• A transfer of latent heat always accompanies the vapour

transfer.

• A second mode of heat transfer (non-radiant) occurs as

sensible heat, i.e., the heat energy that can be directly
sensed via measurement of temperature.

• Sensible heat transfer occurs wherever there is a

temperature difference between the surface and the air.
 Mass-Transfer Approach of estimating ET-
Diffusion of water-vapour in air
Dalton’s Law:

• E α (es* - ea)…………………………………….(2)

• If es* > ea, evaporation occurs

• If es* < ea, condensation occurs.
• es* = ea, neither evaporation nor condensation occurs.
• Even when ea = ea*, evaporation will occur as long as
es* > ea* ( fog or mist may be formed, due to
condensation of the evaporating air on the overlying air).
• Max. value of vapour pressure that is thermodynamically
stable, is known as the saturation vapour pressure, e*.
 Dew-point Temperature

Dew-point temperature is given as:

Td = [ln(e) + 0.4926]/[0.0708 – 0.00421ln(e)]

Td is in oC and e is in kPa.
 Vapour Pressure, Absolute Humidity

• e* (kPa) is a function of T(deg C).

• e* = 0.611 exp(17.3T/(T+237.3))……….(3)
• Under most natural conditions, e* represents the max.amount
of water vapour that the atmosphere can hold at temp T.

e = Rv.Ta.ρv (partial pressure of water vapour) [FL-2]

e/ ρv = P/(0.622 ρa) (since Ra/Rv = 0.622)
ρv is the vapour density (absolute humidity); Ta is in K; Rv = 0.463
From the ideal gas law,
e/ ρv = Ta/2.17…………………………………(4)
Herein, e is in kPa; ρv is in kg/m3
Specific Humidity, q = ρv/ρa = 0.622e/P……….(5)
 Latent-Heat Transfer

LE = λv.E (6)
where : LE: rate of latent-heat transfer [ET-1]
λv : Latent heat of vaporization [EM-1]
E : rate of evaporation or condensation [MT-1]
LE = (λv + λf) E (7)
λf : latent heat of fusion

If E is expressed in [LT-1], then,

LE = ρw λv E (8)
LE = ρw (λv + λf) E (9)
where LE is in [EL-2T-1]
 Momentum transfer

• Velocity always increases with height, since frictional

drag slows air movement near the ground.
• (dva/dz) is always positive.
• Thus, Fz(M) is always negative, reflecting the fact that
the momentum is being transferred downward through
turbulent eddies from higher velocity regions to lower
velocity regions.
• Fz(M) has the dimensions of force per unit area (FL-2)
and physically represents the horizontal shear stress due
to differences of wind velocity at adjacent levels.
 Evaporation

Evaporation is a diffusive process that follows Fick’s first law, which can be

written in finite-difference form as

E = KE.va.(es* -ea)……………………………………………….(1)

where, E : L/T

KE : LT2/M

es* and ea : ML-1T-2

KE = (0.622 ρa/(P. ρw)).{ k2/[ln((zm-zd)/z0)]2}

= (0.622 ρa/(P. ρw)).{ 1/(6.25[ln((zm-zd)/z0)]2}....................(2)

Vapour Pressure Relations:
• The vapour pressure of an evaporating surface is equal to
the saturation vapour pressure at the surface temperature,
es*. Hence,
es = es* (3)
es* = 0.611 exp(17.3 Ts/(Ts + 237.3)) (4)
ea = wa ea* (5)
where ea* is the saturation vapour pressure at the air
temperature, wa is the relative humidity.
∆ = slope of the relation between saturation vapour and temperature
(increases exponentially with temperature).
∆≡ de*/dT= ((2508.3/(T+237.3)2).exp(17.3Ts/(Ts+ 237.3)) (6)
Latent-Heat Exchange

LE = ρw. λv .E = ρw. λv .KE.va.(es* - ea)…………………………..(7)

The latent heat of vaporization decreases as the temperature of the

evaporating surface increases.

λv (MJ/kg) = 2.50 – 2.36*10-3 T ..........................(8)

where T is in oC
Sensible Heat Exchange:

H = KH.va.(Ts-Ta)…………………………..(9)

Where KH = ρa.ca.(1/6.25 [ln((zm-zd)/z0)]2).................(10)

Here k=0.4; ca = heat capaciy of air = 1*10-3 MJ/kg/K

Just like KE, KH also can be adjusted to account for the non-neutral
stability conditions.
 Bowen Ratio
Ratio of Sensible heat exchange to latent heat exchange is known as Bowen

Ratio, B.

B = H/LE...........................................(11)

= γ (Ts-Ta )/(es-ea)

where γ = ca. P/0.622 λ v.....................................................................(12)

which is known as ”psychrometric constant”.

Using typical values of ca = 1.00*10-3 MJ/kg/K, P = 101.3 kPa, λ v = 2.47 MJ/kg,

γ = 0.066 kPa/K

It is to be noted that γ is not actually a constant and it varies with pressure (which
is a function of elevation and time) and latent heat (varies slightly with
temperature)
 Energy Balance Method
The general energy balance for an evapotranspiring body during a time period
Δt can be written as:
E = K + L - G - H + Aw- (ΔQ/ΔT)…………..(1)
E: Evaporation
K: Net short-wave radiation input
L: Net long-wave radiation input
G: Net output through conduction to the ground
H: Net output of sensible heat exchange
Aw : Net output associated with inflows and outflows of water ( water-advected
energy)
Q : the change in the amount of heat stored in the body per unit area between
beginning and end of t.
The water-atmosphere heat exchange is said to be in approximate local

equilibrium, when there is no significant horizontal transport of energy by

air movement to or from the area above the region. If such an equilibrium

does not exist, horizontal airflows supply air-advected energy to the air

overlying the region to maintain the energy balance.

Dividing (1) by the latent heat of vaporization (v) and the density of water

(w),

E = (K + L – G – H + Aw - ∆Q/∆T) / (ρw.λv)…………………….(2)
Measurement of all these energy fluxes ( inputs and outputs) and the

change in the energy stored in the water body during the time interval (t)

considered. Now, the sensible heat loss rate H is given by:

H = B*LE = B* ρw.λv*E……………………………..(3)

where B is the Bowen ratio.

Substituting for H in eq.(2) from eq.(3),

E = [ K + L – G – H + Aw - (∆Q/∆T)] / [ρw.λv.(1 + B)]………..(4)

Radiation components can be estimated by using regional climatic data.

Practical Considerations:
• eliminate some of the terms in the energy-balance
equation, if they are not significant
• use regional climatic data to estimate the radiation
components.

A modified energy-balance radiation is to be obtained,

based on the above.
 Short-wave Radiation:

K = Kin (1-α) (5)

α : albedo (reflectivity)

Kin : Incoming solar radiation

K: Net incoming short-wave (or solar) radiation

• Incoming and reflected solar radiation can be measured using

pyranometers.
• But, this may be available only at a few scattered locations.
More commonly, Kin is estimated from the clear-sky solar radiation
(Kcs), using the empirical relation:

Kin = [0.355 + 0.68*(1-C)] * Kcs ………………………..(6)

Herein, C is the fraction of sky covered by cloud.

Albedo α is expressed as a function of Kin:

α = 0.127 exp ( -0.0258 Kin)……………………………(7)

Long-wave Radiation:

Net long – wave radiation input

L = Lat – (1-w)*Lat – Lw = (w*Lat – Lw)……………(8)

Lat and Lw are usually calculated from relations based on the Stefan-
Boltzman equation.
w is the emissivity of the water surface. (1- w) is the long-wave
reflectivity of the water surface.
Lat is the incoming atmospheric long wave radiation flux
Lw is the radiation flux emitted by the water surface.

where εat is the emissivity of the atmosphere, σ is the Stefan-Boltzman

constant (σ = 4.90*10-9 MJ m-2 day-1 K-1).

Temperatures are expressed in oC.

Long-wave radiation (contd...)

w = 0.97 (from Table)

at is largely a function of humidity and cloud cover and can be estimated

through empirical relations such as:

where ea is in kPa, Ta is in oC, C is cloud –cover fraction.

Conduction to Ground:

The heat exchange by conduction between lake and the underlying

sediments is negligible.
• Heat storage in lakes significantly influences the timing of evaporation

in deep lakes. The annual peak evaporation may be out of phase with

the annual peaks of air temperatures, water temperature and humidity.

• Bowen Ratio: The use of the Bowen ratio in the energy-balance

method, eliminates the need of wind data (which will be required if

sensible-heat exchange were to be separately evaluated). However,

data for surface temperature, air temperature and relative humidity are

needed. So, the same considerations for time averaging apply as in the

mass-transfer approach.
Applicability of the Energy-Balance Method:
Same kind of measurement related difficulties as in case of water-balance

method.

When applied to periods greater than 7 days, maximum accuracy results,

provided all the terms in the energy-budget equation are evaluated

accurately. Especially, change in energy storage may not be evaluated

accurately, if applied for periods less than one week.

Just as in case of mass-transfer methods, measurement of water-surface

temperatures poses problems.

The terms Aw and  Q are small especially with longer time periods and
t
hence neglected often.
Penman (or Combination) Approach:

Penman(1948) combined the mass-transfer and the energy-balance

approaches to arrive at an evaporation equation that did not require
surface-temperature data.

Derivation of the Penman Combination Equation:

Neglecting ground-heat conduction, water-advected energy and change in
energy storage,

K LH
E ..............(1)
 w .v
We know, H  K H .va .(Ts  Ta )..........(2)
 Sensible Heat
Also the slope of the SVP vs temperature curve at the air temperature
can be approximated as:

* *
es  ea
 .........(3)
Ts  Ta

Substituting for (Ts  Ta ) from (3) into (2) gives :

* *
K H .v a .( e s  ea )
H  ..........(4)

 Penman Combination Equation

But, KH   .w. v.KE .... (5)

ea  wa.ea*........(6)
After simplification using equations (5), (4), (1), (6), we get
.(K  L)  .KE.w.v.va.ea*.(1 wa )
E .........(7)
w. v.( )
(.Net radiation)  ( .Mass transfer)

(  )
Terms in the Penman Combination Equation

In the Penman combination equation (eq.(24)) for free

water evaporation,
• The weighting coefficients for the net radiation energy
and the mass transfer are ∆ and γ, respectively.
• ∆ is the slope of the SVP vs. temperature curve at the air
temperature
• γ is the psychrometric constant, which depends on
atmospheric pressure.
To summarize:
• The combination approach of Penman was
developed to estimate free-water evaporation.
This requires data on: net short wave radiation;
net long wave radiation; wind speed; air
temperature; relative humidity.
• The Penman combination method has become the
‘standard’ hydrological method for estimating free-water
evaporation, since

 it has a strong theoretical foundation

 requires meteorological data that are widely

available (or can be reasonably estimated)

 gives satisfactory results

 eliminates water surface temperature.

 Classification of Types of Evapotranspiration
ET type Type of Availability of Stored Water-advected
Surface water to Energy Use Energy Use (Aw)
surface (ΔQ)
Free-water Open water Unlimited None None
Evaporation
Lake Open water Unlimited May be May be involved
evaporation involved
Bare-soil Bare soil Limited to Negligible None
evaporation Unlimited
Transpiration Leaf or leaf Limited Negligible None
canopy
Interception Leaf or Unlimited Negligible None
loss leaf canopy
Potential ET Reference Limited to air, None None
crop Unlimited to
plants
Actual ET Land Area Varies in space Negligible None
and time
Free-water evaporation:
• Evaporation that would occur from open water surface in the
absence of advection and changes in heat storage. Thus, it depends
only on climatic conditions.

Lake Evaporation:
• In an actual water body (such as lake), the free-water evaporation is
adjusted to include the effects of advection and heat storage effects.

Pan Evaporation:
• Direct approach to estimate free-water evaporation, exposing a
cylindrical pan of liquid water to the atmosphere and to solve the
water-balance equation for a convenient time period ∆t (one day),

E  W  [  2   1 ]......... ....( 29 )
Here, W is the precipitation during ∆t. , ν1 and ν2 are the storages at the
beginning and the end of ∆t, respectively.
• Precipitation is measured in an adjacent non-recording
rain gage. The storage volumes are estimated by
measuring the water level in a small stilling well in the
pan with a high-precision hook gage.
• The water surface is maintained a few centimeters below
the pan rim by adding measured amounts of water as
necessary.
• For special studies on lake evaporation, pans are kept in
the centre of a floating platform with dimensions large
enough to ensure stability and prevent water splashing
in.
Pan Coefficient:
• An evaporation pan has far less heat-storage capacity;
lacks surface or ground-water inputs or outputs;

• sides of the pan are exposed to air and sun. This results
in elevating the warm-season average temperature and
vapour pressure of the water surface of a pan compared
to that of a nearby lake.

• The ratio of the lake evaporation to the pan evaporation

is called “pan coefficient”.
• Kohler et al.(1955) developed an empirical equation that
accounts for the energy exchange through the sides of
the pan and thereby adjust daily pan evaporation to daily
free-water evaporation:
•  pan Proportion of energy exchanged through the sides of
the pan that that is used for evaporation and is estimated
as:
 pan  0.34 0.0117.Tspan  (3.5*107 )(Tspan 17.8)3  0.0135v0pan
.36
..........(31)

• If annual evaporation values are of concern, then, the

inputs and the outputs of energy through the sides of a
pan are negligible (over a year) and hence adjustments
using equations (30) and (31) are not necessary. Year-
to-year evaporation estimates do not show considerable
variability. Free-water evaporation estimated by the
combination method closely approximates pan
evaporation on annual basis.
 Transpiration
Transpiration is the evaporation of water from the
vascular system of plants into the atmosphere. This
process involves:
• absorption of soil water by plant roots;
• translocation in liquid form through the vascular system
of roots, stem and branches to the leaves;
• translocation from the leaves to the walls of the stomatal
cavities;
• the water vapour in in these cavities then moves into the
ambient air through stomata (openings on the leaf
surface).
• Air in stomatal cavities is saturated at the temperature of the
leaf and water moves from the cavities into the air due to
vapour pressure difference, similar to open-water evaporation.
However, the difference lies in that plants exert some
physiological control over the size of the stomatal openings
and enable the movement of vapour.

• Transpiration is a physical process, and not a metabolic one.

The integrity of the transpiration stream is maintained from the
soil to the stomata on the leaves of the branches of great
heights of very tall trees. The great cohesive strength of water
due to its intermolecular hydrogen bonding is the cause for
maintaining this stream.
The term in double braces in eq.(2) represents the efficiency of the
turbulent eddies in the lower atmosphere in transporting water
vapour from the surface to the ambient air. This is viewed as
“atmospheric conductance” for water vapour, Cat.
• If is assumed to be 2m above the top of the vegetation,
combining equations (4), (5) and (6), a relation between
atmospheric conductance and wind speed can be generated for
various values of (10cm – 2m), depending on the type of land
cover.
• Evaporation from open- water surface is a one step process in
which water molecules pass from the water surface to the
atmosphere. This can be viewed analogous to electric
current(water vapour) moving in response to a voltage
(vapour-pressure difference) across a resistance( inverse of the
atmospheric conductance).
 Leaf Conductance
Transpiration is a two-step process in which
• Water molecules pass from the stomatal cavity to the leaf
surface and
• Water molecules pass from the leaf surface into the
atmosphere.

Considering the same electric-circuit analogy as before, the

same driving force operates across two resistances(inverse
conductances) linked in series (leaf and atmospheric).

Leaf conductance is estimated by the number of stomata

per unit area and the size of the stomatal openings. The
stomatal densities range between 10,000 and 100,000 per
cm2 of leaf surface.
 The size of the stomatal openings in plants are controlled

by the response of the guard cells. These cells respond

to:

• light intensity;

• ambient CO2 concentration;

• leaf-air vapour pressure difference;

• leaf temperature and

• leaf water content.

• Stewart (1988) developed and tested a model for estimating hourly
evapotranspiration that incorporates factors (i), (iii), (iv) and (v)
mentioned above. Herein the effect of ambient CO2 concentration
was not considered since it does not vary much with time. Also,
soil-water deficit was used as a surrogate for leaf –water content.
Stewart’s model has the general form:
 Canopy Conductance
Vegetated surface like grass, crop or forest canopy can be
thought of as a large number of leaf conductances in
parallel.
From the analogy with the electrical circuits, the total
conductance of a number of conductance in parallel, equals
the sum of the individual conductances.
Thus, a uniformly vegetated surface can be represented as
a single “big leaf” whose total conductance to water vapour
is proportional to the sum of the conductances of many
individual leaves.
The Penman – Monteith Model

• The penman (combination) model for evaporation from a

free water surface can be written in terms of atmospheric
conductance as:

.( K  L)   a .ca .Cat .ea* .(1  wa )

E ................(10)
 w .v .(   )
• Monteith(1965) showed that the Penman equation can be
modified to represent the ET rate from a vegetated surface
by incorporating canopy conductance in eq.(10).

 .( K  L )   a .c a .C at .e a* .(1  w a )
ET  .......... ......( 11 )
 w . v .(    .(1  C at / C can )
Penman-Monteith Equation.

Most widely used approach to estimating ET from

cropped/vegetated land surfaces. The assumptions of “no
water-advected energy”, and “no heat-storage effects” are
usually reasonable for vegetated surfaces unlike for natural
water bodies).
Has been successfully tested in many environments