Evapotranspiration

Module 4
Hydrologic WATER
Precipitation CYCLE
Water Cycle

Watersheds and Focus for

Land Resources this lecture

Evapo-Transpiration
Surface
Runoff
and
Rivers
Infiltration
Water Sources
Ground Rivers, Lakes,
• Water Supply Stormwater
Water Seas, Wetlands,
• Irrigation
Wastewater and Open Areas
• Hydropower
Evapotranspiration

The process by which precipitation reaching

the earth’s surface is returned to the
atmosphere as water vapor.

1. Evaporation from wet surfaces

2. Transpiration through plants

U.S. Geological Survey
Measurement of Evapotranspiration

1. pan evapotranspiration

2. lysimeters

3. catchment water balance

University of Utah

4. eddy covariance technique

5. empirical equations (estimation methods)

Amount of Evapotranspiration

Pan Evaporation:
measured evaporation
EP

ETO = k P (EP )
Potential Evapotranspiration: amount of water
that could be evaporated and transpired if there were
sufficient water available

Actual Evapotranspiration: heating of air masses

followed by condensation
ETC = kC (ETO )
where:
kP = pan coefficient
kC = crop coefficient
1. Pan Evapotranspiration

Pan Coefficient: kP
kp depends on:
• type of pan used
• pan environment: if
the pan is placed in a
fallow or cropped area
• climate: humidity and
wind speed Class A Pan

Note: the other type of pan is Colorado Sunken Pan…

Class A Pan
• circular, 120.7 cm in diameter and 25 cm • water should be regularly
deep (made of galvanized iron gauge 22) renewed, at least weekly, to
eliminate extreme turbidity.
• mounted on a wooden open frame
platform, 15 cm above ground level • should be protected by
fences to keep animals
• soil is built within 5 cm of the bottom of from drinking.
the pan (the pan must be level)

• filled with water to 5 cm below the rim,

and the water level should not be allowed
to drop more than 7.5 cm below the rim.
Pan Coefficient
The table for kp values using Class A Pan
Crop Coefficient (kc)

The figure showing kc values across seasonal variation

Sample Problem

In a Class A evaporation pan installed in Baler, Aurora…

the following has been observed.
• End water depth in pan on July 1 = 150 mm
• End water depth in pan on July 2 = 144 mm (after 24 hours)
• Rainfall (during 24 hours) = 0 mm

Determine the pan evaporation.

Also determine the potential evapotranspiration if the Pan is situated in a dry

fallow area with relative humidity of 30% and recorded wind speed at 4 m/s. The pan
approximately has 100m windward side distance.

Determine the approximate actual evapotranspiration if the time considered is at

initial onset of season for cropping.
Sample Problem

In a Class A evaporation pan installed in Baler, Aurora…

the following has been observed.
• End water depth in pan on July 1 = 150 mm
• End water depth in pan on July 2 = 144 mm (after 24 hours)
• Rainfall (during 24 hours) = 0 mm

Pan evaporation: EP = 150 – 144 = 6 mm/day

Potential evapotranspiration: from the table, kP = 0.50

ETO = kPEP = 0.50 (6 mm/day) = 3 mm/day

Actual evapotranspiration
From the figure, kC = 0.35
ETC = kCETO = 0.35 (3 mm/day) = 1.05 mm/day
2. Lysimeter

Lysimeter - measures the amount of

evapotranspiration released by plants
3. Catchment Water Balance

ET = P − RO − GW − S
P: precipitation or rainfall
RO: surface runoff (river discharges)
GW: groundwater
S: change in soil moisture storage

Water Balance will be discussed soon!!!

4. Eddy Covariance
directly estimates the transfer of water vapor
(evapotranspiration) from the land (or canopy)
surface to the atmosphere

Eddy Station
5. Empirical Equations

❑ Climatological Methods
A. Air Temperature-Based
B. Solar Radiation-Based
C. Penman Combination
D. Penman-Monteith

❑ Micrometeorological Methods
E. Mass-Transfer-Based
F. Aerodynamic
G. Bowen Ratio-Energy Balance
Air Temperature Methods

Common Form Examples

1. Thornthwaite (1948)
ET = cT a
2. Linacre (1977)
ET = c1d1T (c2 − c3h ) 3. Blaney-Criddle (1950)
4. Hargreaves (1985)
ET = potential 5. Kharrufa (1985)
evapotranspiration 6. Hamon (1961)
T = air temperature 7. Remanenko (1961)
h = humidity term
c1, c2, c3 = constants
d = day-length
A1 Thornthwaite

Step 1: The annual value of the heat index I is

calculated by summing monthly indices over a 12-month
period. The monthly indices are obtained from the
equation

I = annual heat index

i = monthly heat index for the month j
note: i = 0 if mean monthly temperature is 0°C or less
Ta = mean monthly air temperature (degree Celsius)
j = number of months (1 - 12)
 A1 Thornthwaite

Step 2: calculates unadjusted monthly

values of potential evapotranspiration,
ET' (in mm), based on a standard
month of 30 days, 12 hr of sunlight/day

in which C = 16 (a constant) and a = 67.5 x 10-8I3 – 77.1 x 10-6I2 + 0.0179 I + 0.492

The value of the exponent a in the preceding equation varies from zero to 4.25
(e.g. Jain and Sinai, 1985)

Annual heat index varies from 0 to 160, and ET' = 0 for temperature below 00 Celsius.
A1 Thornthwaite

Step 3: The unadjusted monthly evapotranspiration values ET' are

adjusted depending on the number of days N in a month (1≤N≤31)
and the duration of average monthly or daily daylight d (in hr) which
is a function of season and latitude.

ET = adjusted monthly potential evapotranspiration (mm)

d = duration of average monthly daylight (hr)
N = number of days in a given month, 1 - 31 (days)
IWMI Atlas

Estimate the monthly evapotranspiration rate in Beijing.

A2 Linacre

ET = Linacre potential evapotranspiration in mm/day

Tm = T + 0.006h
T = daily temperature
h = the elevation (meters)
A = latitude (degrees)
Ta = mean monthly temperature
Td = mean dew-point temperature
Ta , Tm , and Td in °C
A3 Blainey-Criddle

ET = evapotranspiration (mm) for the period in which p is expressed

Ta = mean temperature in °C
p = percentage of total daytime hours for the used period
(daily or monthly) out of total daytime hours of the year (365×12)
k = monthly consumptive use coefficient, depending on vegetation type,
location and season (according to Blaney-Criddle, for the growing season
(May to October) k varies from 0.5 for orange tree to 1.2 for dense natural
vegetation.
A4 Kharrufa

ET = evapotranspiration (mm) for the period in which p is expressed

Ta = mean temperature in °C

p = percentage of total daytime hours for the used period (daily or

monthly) out of total daytime hours of the year (365×12)
A5 Hargreaves

ET = evapotranspiration (mm)

For a given latitude and day… RA is obtained from tables or may be

calculated using a set of equations (Jensen et al., 1990)

TD = difference between mean monthly maximum and minimum

temperatures (°C)

Ta = mean temperature in °C
A6 Hamon

ET = evapotranspiration (inch/day)

D = hours of daylight for a given day in units of 12 hr

Pt = saturated water vapor density term

Ta = mean daily air temperature in °C

A7 Remanenko

ET = evapotranspiration

Ta = mean air temperature in °C

Td = mean dew-point temperature

Rh = mean monthly relative humidity

Solar Radiation Methods
ET = Cr (wRS ) Examples
Common Forms 1. Turc (1961)
ET = Cr (wRn )
2. Makkink (1957)
3. Jensen and Haise (1963)
4. Hargreaves (1975)
λ = latent heat of vaporisation 5. Doorenbos and Pruitt (1977)
(calories per gram) 6. McGuinness and Bordne (1972)
ET = potential evapotranspiration
(in mm per day)
7. Abtew (1996)
Rs = total solar radiation 8. Priestley and Taylor (1972)
(in calories per cm2 per day)
Rn = net radiation (in calories per cm2 per day)
w = temp and altitude-dependent weighting factor
Cr = coefficient depending on the relative humidity and wind speed
B1 Turc

ET = evapotranspiration (mm/day for 10-day periods)

T = air temperature in ºC
Rs = total solar radiation in cal/cm2/day
RH = relative humidity (%)
B2 Makkink

ET = evapotranspiration (mm/day for 10-day periods)

 = slope of saturation vapor pressure curve (in mb/ºC)
γ = psychromatic constant (mb/ºC)

EL = elevation (in meters) cp varies slightly with atmospheric pressure

λ = latent heat (in calories per gram) and humidity (0.2397 to 0.260) or an
average value of 0.242 is reasonable…
P = atmospheric pressure in (millibar)
cp = specific heat of air (cal/g/ºC)
B3 Jensen and Haise

ET = potential evapotranspiration (in mm per day)

λ = latent heat of vaporization (calories per gram)
Rs = total solar radiation (in calories per cm2 per day)
CT = 0.025 (temperature constant)
Tx = -3 when T is in degree Celsius
B4 Hargreaves

ET = potential evapotranspiration (in mm per day)

λ = latent heat of vaporization (calories per gram)
Rs = total solar radiation (in calories per cm2 per day)
T = temperature in °C
B5 Doorenbos and Pruitt

a = adjustment factor that varies with mean The adjustment factor a was
relative humidity and daytime wind speed presented in graphic and tabular
forms, and can also be calculated from

RH = mean relative humidity in percentage

Ud = mean daytime wind speed in m/s

Rs = solar radiation in mm/day

b = -0.3 mm/day
B6 McGuinness & Bordne

ET = evapotranspiration (cm/day) for a monthly period

T = temperature in degrees Fahrenheit

RS = total solar radiation (cal/cm2/day)

B7 Abtew

ET is in mm/day

Rs = total solar radiation (MJm-2d-1)

λ = latent heat of vaporization (MJ kg-1)
K = dimensionless coefficient
B8 Priestly and Taylor

ET = evapotranspiration (mm/day for 10-day periods)

 = slope of saturation vapor pressure curve (in mb/ºC)
γ = psychromatic constant (mb/ºC)
λ = latent heat (in calories per gram)
Rn = net radiation (cal cm-2d-1)
C Penman Combination
C Penman Combination
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith

v
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
D FAO Penman-Monteith
E Mass-Transfer Methods

ET0 = f (u )es − ea 
ET0 = free water-surface evaporation
es = saturation vapor pressure at the
temperature of the water surface
ea = actual vapor pressure in the air
f(u) = wind factor (based on elevation
E Mass-Transfer Methods

The wind speed (monthly mean) u is measured in miles per hour and vapor pressure e, in
inches of Hg. The subscripts attached to u refer to height in meters at which the measurements
are taken; no subscript refers to measurements near the ground or water surface.
E Mass-Transfer Methods

The wind speed (monthly mean) u is measured in miles per hour and
vapor pressure e, in inches of Hg. The subscripts attached to u refer to
height in meters at which the measurements are taken; no subscript
refers to measurements near the ground or water surface.
E Mass-Transfer Methods

The wind speed (monthly mean) u is measured in miles per hour and vapor pressure e, in inches
of Hg. The subscripts attached to u refer to height in meters at which the measurements are
taken; no subscript refers to measurements near the ground or water surface.
F Aerodynamic Methods

ρa = density of moist air

k = von Karman’s constant
q = specific humidity
U = logarithmic wind profile
z = elevation from ground surface
Example
Estimate the monthly evapo-transpiration based on
IWMI Records obtained from Tashkent, Uzbekistan
index i potential ET adjusted ET
A1 Thornthwaite
Step 1: The annual value of the heat index I is
calculated by summing monthly indices over a 12-month
period. The monthly indices are obtained from the
equation

I = annual heat index

i = monthly heat index for the month j
note: i = 0 if mean monthly temperature is 0°C or less
Ta = mean monthly air temperature (degree Celsius)
j = number of months (1 - 12)
A1 Thornthwaite
Step 2: calculates unadjusted monthly
values of potential evapotranspiration,
ET' (in mm), based on a standard
month of 30 days, 12 hr of sunlight/day

in which C = 16 (a constant)
a = 67.5 x 10-8I3 – 77.1 x 10-6I2 + 0.0179 I + 0.492

The value of the exponent a in the preceding equation

varies from zero to 4.25 (e.g. Jain and Sinai, 1985)

Annual heat index varies from 0 to 160, and ET' = 0 for

temperature below 00 Celsius.
A1 Thornthwaite
Step 3: The unadjusted monthly evapotranspiration values ET' are
adjusted depending on the number of days N in a month (1≤N≤31)
and the duration of average monthly or daily daylight d (in hr) which
is a function of season and latitude.

ET = adjusted monthly potential evapotranspiration (mm)

d = duration of average monthly daylight (hr)
N = number of days in a given month, 1 - 31 (days)
Example For July as example:

Estimate the monthly evapo-transpiration based on

IWMI Records obtained from Tashkent, Uzbekistan 𝑑 = 83% 𝑥 24 ℎ𝑟
𝑑 = 19.92 ℎ𝑟
Example For July as example:
1.51
Estimate the monthly evapo-transpiration based on 𝑇𝑎
IWMI Records obtained from Tashkent, Uzbekistan 𝑖=
5
1.51
15
𝑖= = 5.25
5
Example I = sum of index
I = 111.12
Estimate the monthly evapo-transpiration based on
IWMI Records obtained from Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Example For July as example:
𝑎
Estimate the monthly evapo-transpiration based on 10𝑇𝑎
IWMI Records obtained from Tashkent, Uzbekistan 𝐸𝑇′ = 𝐶
𝐼
2.4551
10 ∗ 15
𝐸𝑇′ = 16
if I = 111.12 111.12
then a = 2.4551 ET’ = 33.42 mm/month
Example For July as example:

Estimate the monthly evapo-transpiration based on 𝑑 𝑁

IWMI Records obtained from Tashkent, Uzbekistan 𝐸𝑇 = 𝐸𝑇′
12 30
19.92 31
𝐸𝑇 = 33.42
12 30
ET = 57.33 mm/month

Then, repeat the process for all months…!!!

Example
Estimated evapo-transpiration for Tashkent, Uzbekistan