HYDROLOGY

CIEN 3212
ENGR. REN
EVAPORATION
▪is defined as the rate of liquid water transformation to vapor from
open water, bare soil, or vegetation with soil beneath. In the case
of vegetation growing in soil, transpiration is defined as that part
of the total evaporation which enters the atmosphere from the soil
through the plants.
 PHYSICS OF EVAPORATION
▪Evaporation happens when a liquid substance becomes a gas. When
water is heated, it evaporates. The molecules move and vibrate so
quickly that they escape into the atmosphere as molecules of
water vapor.
▪Evaporation is a very important part of the water cycle. Heat from the
sun, or solar energy, powers the evaporation process. It soaks up
moisture from soil in a garden, as well as the biggest oceans
and lakes. The water level will decrease as it is exposed to the heat
of the sun.
FACTORS AFFECTING EVAPORATION
▪ There are primary factors that affect the rate of evaporation.

1. TEMPERATURE. The rate of evaporation is directly dependent on the

temperature it’s exposed to. The more the temperature, the more liquid it’s
exposed to. The kinetic energy increases and the liquid gets converted to
vapor instead. This increases the rate of evaporation. You must have noticed
that clothes dry at a much faster rate during summers than in winters when
the temperatures are higher
2. SURFACE AREA OF THE LIQUID. The rate of evaporation is directly
dependent on the area the liquid is exposed to. Let us take a look at some
practical examples. The cloth is usually spread over the cloth line so
that it gets exposed to more surface area, and that makes the water
evaporate. Then we all put our daily cup of tea into a saucer so that it cools
down easily. It is simply because some of the particles get
evaporated, leaving the tea at a lower temperature.

3. HUMIDITY OF THE AIR. Evaporation depends greatly on the water vapor

present in the air. The lesser the water vapor, the quicker the cloth gets
dried. The more there is water vapor in the air, the more time it takes for
the water to get evaporated and make our clothes dry.
4. WIND SPEED. The more the wind blows, the greater is the rate of
evaporation. Wind increases the kinetic energy between the water
particles and the rate at which the water gets evaporated. Take,
for example, a windy day better dries your clothes as compared to a moist
day

5. INTERMOLECULAR ATTRACTION. The viscosity of elements or compounds

often affects the rate of evaporation. The molecules of water are
loosely bound, while that of hydrogen sulfide is tightly bound. Hence, the time
taken by water to get converted to a gaseous state is comparatively less
than that of hydrogen sulfide.
6. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE. It was noticed that places on earth where
the atmospheric pressure is lesser, the process of evaporation is
more. The kinetic energy of the particles increased, and then the
change of status was observed. Thus the more the atmospheric pressure,
the lesser is the rate of evaporation.

7. DEPTH OF BODY FROM WHERE THE EVAPORATION OCCURS. The water

body from where the water is evaporated is the main factor in how
evaporation occurs. Thus, if the depth of a pond is too much, the rate
at which the water will be evaporated will be more.
8. VAPOR PRESSURE DIFFERENCE. The rate of evaporation clearly depends
on the vapor pressure of the air or the rate at which the air leaves the
surface. The difference between the vapor pressure of water and the vapor
pressure of air is the primary factor that affects evaporation.

9. PRESENCE OF SOLUTE IN A SOLUTION. When salt is present inside

water, the rate of evaporation increases. The simple reason is that
the boiling point of salt is more than the boiling point of water. As a
result, the concentration of dissolved solutes will be more than the
water itself.
 10. INFLUENCE OF MAGNETIC FIELD IN EVAPORATION. The influence of the
magnetic field affects the rate of evaporation. The magnetic field affects
the viscosity of the liquid and increases water tension. The result
is that the rate of evaporation increases.

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MEASUREMENTS OF DIFFERENT FACTORS FOR
EVAPORATION
MEASUREMENT OF EVAPORATION
Estimation of evaporation is of utmost importance in many hydrologic problems
associated with planning and operation of reservoirs and irrigation systems. In arid
zones, this estimation is particularly important to conserve the scarce water
resources. However, the exact measurement of evaporation from a large body of
water is indeed one of the most difficult tasks.
Evaporation is usually measured by evaporimeter, Empirical Equations/Methods, and
Analytical Methods. Evaporation pans are most widely used for measuring evaporations.
It is affected by the size, depth, and location of the pan
EVAPORIMETER
These are pans containing water that is exposed to the atmosphere.
Loss of water by evaporation from these pans is measured at
regular intervals (daily). Meteorological data such as humidity, wind
velocity, air and water temperatures, and precipitation are also
measured and noted along with evaporation.
TYPES OF EVAPORATION PANS
(EVAPORIMETER)
1. Class A Evaporation Pan: It is a standard pan of
1210mm diameter and 255 mm depth used by the US
Weather Bureau. The depth of the water is maintained
between 18cm and 20 cm. The pan is normally made of
unpainted galvanized iron sheet. Evaporation is
measured by measuring the depth of water in a stilling
well with a hook gauge.
TYPES OF EVAPORATION PANS
(EVAPORIMETER)
2. ISI Standard Pan: Also known as modified class A
pan, consist of a pan 1220 mm in diameter with 255 mm
of depth. the pan is made of copper sheet of
0.9 mm thickness, thinned inside and painted white
outside. The evaporation at this pan is found to be less
by about 14% to that from unscreened pan. 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.
TYPES OF EVAPORATION
3. Colorado Sunken Pan: This pan, 920 mm
square and 460 mm deep is made up of
unpainted galvanized iron sheet and buried into
the ground within 100 mm of the top. Main
advantage of this pan – its aerodynamic and
radiation characteristics are like that of a lake.
Disadvantages – difficult to detect leaks,
expensive to install, extra care is needed to keep
the surrounding area free from tall grass, dust
etc.
TYPES OF EVAPORATION
4. US Geological Survey Floating Pan:
With a view to stimulate the
characteristics of a large body of water,
this square pan (900mm side and 450mm
depth) supported by drum floats in the
middle of a raft (4.25m x 4.87mis set a
float in a lake.
Pan Coefficient (Cp) - Evaporation pans are not exact models of large
reservoirs and have the following principal drawbacks:
1. They differ in the heat-storing capacity and heat transfer from the sides and bottom.
2. The height of the rim in an evaporation pan affects the wind action over the surface.
3. The heat transfer characteristics of the pan material is different from that
of the reservoir.
4. Also, it casts a shadow of varying sizes on the water’s surface.
5. Hence evaporation measured from a pan must be corrected to get the evaporation
from a large lake under identical climatic and exposure condition.
Pan Coefficient (Cp)
Mathematically,
(𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏)𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆 = 𝑷𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒙 (𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏)𝒑𝒂𝒏
or
(𝐸𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒
𝑃𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐶𝑝 =
(𝐸𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)𝑝𝑎𝑛
The value of the Pan Coefficient is different for different pan type as given below.
S. No Pan Type Pan Coefficient
1 Class A 0.7
2 ISI Standard 0.8
3 Colorado Sunken 0.78
4 US Geological Survey Floating Pan 0.8
Evaporation Station
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests the following
minimum number of Evaporimeters for a particular area.
▪ For Arid Zone one station per 30,000 𝑘𝑚 is enough.
2

▪ For the Humid Zone one station per 50,000 𝑘𝑚 is a suitable

2
option.
▪ For Cold Zone one station per 100,000 𝑘𝑚 is required.
2
EMPIRICAL METHODS/EQUATIONS
Most of the available empirical equations estimating lake evaporation are
Dalton-type equation of the general form.
𝐸𝐿 = 𝐾𝐹 𝑢 𝑒𝑤 − 𝑒𝑎
Where:
𝐸𝐿 = Evaporation (mm/day)
K = Constant
F(u) = Wind speed correction function
𝑒𝑤 = Saturation vapor pressure at the water surface temperature
𝑒𝑎 = Actual vapor pressure of overlaying air at a specified height.
EMPIRICAL METHODS/EQUATIONS
Two empirical methods/formula.

1. Meyer’s Equation/Formula
2. Rohwer’s Equation/Formula
EMPIRICAL METHODS/EQUATIONS
1 . Meyer’s Equation/Formula: 𝑬𝑳 = 𝑲𝒎 (𝒆𝒘 − 𝒆𝒂 )(𝟏 +
𝑼𝟗
)
𝟏𝟔

Where:
𝐸𝐿 = Lake Evaporation (mm/day)
𝐾𝑚 = Meyer’s constant, normally for deep lakes (0.36) and for shallow (0.5)
𝑒𝑤 = Saturation vapor pressure at water surface temperature
𝑒𝑎 = Actual vapor pressure of overlaying air at a specified height.
𝑈9 = Monthly Mean velocity (km/hr) at 9am above ground.
EMPIRICAL METHODS/EQUATIONS
1 . Rohwer’s Equation/Formula:
𝑬𝑳 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟕𝟏(𝟏. 𝟒𝟔𝟓 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟕𝟑𝟐𝑷𝒂 )(𝒆𝒘 − 𝒆𝒂 )(𝟎. 𝟒𝟒 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟕𝟑𝟑𝑼𝒐 )

Where:
𝐸𝐿 = Lake Evaporation (mm/day)
𝑃𝑜 = Mean barometric reading in mm of Hg
𝑈𝑜 = Monthly Mean velocity (km/hr) at ground level

𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝑈ℎ = 𝐶ℎ1/7 = wind velocity at height “h”

C = Constant
ANALYTICAL METHODS/EQUATIONS
Two analytical methods/formula.

1. Water Budget Equation

2. Energy Budget Equation
WATER BUDGET EQUATION
∆𝑺 = 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 − 𝑶𝒖𝒕𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘
∆𝑺 = 𝑷 + 𝑽𝑰𝑮 + 𝑽𝑰𝒔 − (𝑽𝒐𝒔 + 𝑽𝑶𝑮 + 𝑬𝑳 + 𝑻𝑳 )
Where:
∆𝑺= Change in storage
𝑷= Precipitation
𝑽𝑰𝒔 = Surface inflow to the lake
𝑽𝑶𝑺 = Surface outflow to the lake
𝑽𝑰𝑮 = Groundwater inflow to the lake
𝑽𝑶𝑮 = Groundwater outflow to the lake
𝑻𝑳 = Transpiration Loss
𝑬𝑳 = Evaporation
ENERGY BUDGET EQUATION 𝑬𝑳 = (
𝑯𝒏 − 𝑯𝒔 − 𝑯𝒊 − 𝑯𝒈
)
𝝆 𝟏+𝜷
Where:
𝑯𝒏 = Net heat received by water surface, 𝑯𝒏 = 𝑯𝒄 𝟏 − 𝜸 − 𝑯𝑩
𝑯𝑩 = Back Radiation
𝑯𝒆 = Heat used up in evaporation
𝑯𝑮 = Heat flux into the ground
𝑯𝒂 = Sensible heat transfer from water to air
𝑯𝒊 = Net heat going out of a system by water flow
𝑯𝒔 = Net heat stored in water
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
PROBLEM NO. 1
A lake has an area of 10𝑘𝑚2 . During a specific month the lake
evaporation was 90mm. During3 the same month the inflow to the lake from
1.2𝑚
a river was on average and the outflow from the lake via another
𝑠 3
1.1𝑚
river was on the average . Also, for the same month a water level
𝑠
increase of 100 mm for the lake was observed.
a. What was the precipitation in mm during that month?
b. The concentration of phosphorous in inflow river water was 1.0 mg/L
and outflow river water 0.8 mg/L during the month. What was the change
of stored phosphorous (kg) in the lake during the month?
PROBLEM NO. 2
The average rainfall in a watershed is 50 in/yr, and the
average evapotranspiration is 32 in/yr. Assume no ground
water crosses the watershed boundary.

a) What is the stream runoff flux in ft/yr?

b) What fraction of rainfall is evapotranspiration?
c) What fraction of rainfall is runoff?
PROBLEM NO. 3
A lake had a water surface elevation of 103.200 m above datum at
the beginning of a certain month. In that month the lake received an
average inflow of 6.0 cu.m/s from surface runoff resources. In the
same period the outflow from the lake had an average value of 6.5
cu.m/s. Further in that month, the lake received a rainfall of 145mm
and the evaporation from the lake surface was estimated as 6.10
cm. Write the water budget equation for the lake and calculate the
water surface elevation of the lake at the end of the month. The
average lake surface area can be taken as 5000 ha. Assume that
there is no contribution to or from the groundwater storage.