Lesson 5 - EVAPORATION • The amount of water evaporated from a water surface

is estimated by the following methods

Abstraction from Precipitation
1. Using evaporimeter data
• All abstractions from precipitation are those due to
evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, surface detention 2. Empirical evaporation equations
and storage.
3. Analytical methods.
• Evaporation from water bodies and soil masses
Types of Evaporimeters
together with transpiration from vegetation is termed as
evapotranspiration. 1. Class A Evaporation Pan
Evaporation Process ❖ A pan of diameter 1210mm and depth 255mm
• Evaporation is the process in which a liquid change to
❖ Depth of water is maintained between 18 and 20cm
the gaseous state at the free surface, below the boiling
point through the transfer of heat energy. ❖ The pan is made of unpainted GI sheet
• The rate of evaporation is dependent on ❖ The pan is placed on a wooden platform of height
1. The vapor pressures at the water surface and air 15cm above ground level to allow free air circulation
above below the pan

2. Air and water temperatures ❖ Evaporation is measured by measuring the depth of

water in a stilling well with a hook gauge.
3. Wind speed
2. ISI Standard Pan
4. Atmospheric pressure
❖ A pan of diameter 1220mm and depth 255mm
5. Quality of water
6. Size of the water body ❖ The pan is made of copper sheet 0.9mm thick, tinned
inside and painted white outside
Vapor Pressure
❖ The pan is placed on a square wooden platform of
• Rate of evaporation is proportional to the difference width 1225mm and height 100mm above ground level to
between the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) at the allow free air circulation below the pan
water temperature, (ew ) and the actual vapor pressure
in the air (ea) ❖ A fixed-point gauge indicates the level of water

Temperature 3. Colorado Sunken Pan

• The rate of evaporation increases with an increase in ❖ 920mm square pan made of unpainted GI sheet,
the water temperature 460mm deep, and buried into the ground within 100mm
of the top
Wind
• Wind helps to remove the evaporated water vapor from ❖ Main advantage of this pan – its aerodynamic and
the zone of evaporation, thereby creating greater scope radiation characteristics are similar to that of a lake
for evaporation.
❖ Disadvantages – difficult to detect leaks, expensiveto
Atmospheric Pressure install, extra care is needed to keep the surrounding area
free from tall grass, dust, etc.
• Other factors remaining the same, a decrease in
atmospheric pressure (as in high altitudes areas) 4. US Geological Survey Floating Pan
increases the evaporation rate.
❖ A square pan of 900mm sides and 450mm deep.
Soluble Salts
❖ Supported by drum floats in the middle of a raft of size
• When a solute is dissolved in water, the vapor pressure 4.25m x 4.87m, it is set afloat in a lake with a view to
of the solution is less than that of pure water and hence simulate the characteristics of a large body of water
it causes reduction in the rate of evaporation. Under
identical conditions evaporation from sea water is about ❖ Water level in the pan is maintained at the samelevel
2-3% less than that from fresh water. as that in the lake, leaving a rim of 75mm.

Heat Storage in water bodies ❖ Diagonal baffles are provided in the pan to reduce
surging in the pan due to wave action
• Deep water bodies have more heat storage capacity
than shallow water bodies. The effect of heat storage is ❖ Disadvantages – High cost of installation and
to change the seasonal evaporation rates and the annual maintenance, difficulty in making measurements.
evaporation remains more or less unaltered.
Pan Coefficient Cp
Evaporimeters
• Pan Coefficient – Evaporation Pan are not exactly
• Estimation of evaporation is of importance in many models of large reservoirs and the following drawbacks:
hydrologic problem associated with planning and
operation of reservoirs and irrigation systems.
1. They differ in the heat – storing capacity and heat Lesson 5.2 – Evapotranspiration
transfer from the sides and bottom.
Transpiration
2. The height of the rim in an evaporation pan affects the
wind action over the surface.  Transpiration is the process by which water leaves the
body of a living plant and reaches the atmosphere as
3. The heat – transfer characteristics of the pan material water vapor. The water is taken up by the plant-root
is different from that of the reservoir. system and escapes through the leaves.
• Thus, a coefficient in introduced as  The important factors affecting transpiration are:
atmospheric vapor pressure, temperature, wind, light
intensity and characteristics of the plant, such as root and
leaf systems.
Evapotranspiration

 The total amount of water loss in the form of water

vapors into the atmosphere from surface of the soil,
canopy interception, water bodies as well as from the
aerial parts of the plants in a process known as
evapotranspiration.
Evaporation Station
 The term consumptive use is also used to denote this
• Arid zones – one station every 30,000 km2 loss by evapotranspiration.
• Humid temperate climates – one station for every  If sufficient moisture is always available to completely
50,000 km2, and meet the needs of vegetation full covering the area, the
• Cold regions – one station for every 100,000 km2 resulting evapotranspiration is called potential
evapotranspiration (PET).
Empirical Evaporation Equations
 The real evapotranspiration occurring in a specific
Most of the available empirical equations for estimating situation is called actual evapotranspiration (AET).
lake evaporation are a Dalton type equation of the
general form  Field capacity is the maximum quantity of water that
the soil can retain against the force of gravity.
Analytical Methods of Evaporation
 Permanent wilting point is the moisture content of a soil
1. Water – budget method at which the moisture is no longer available in sufficient
2. Energy – balance method quantity to sustain the plants.

3. Mass – transfer method  The field capacity and permanent wilting point depend
upon the soil characteristics. The difference between this
Water – budget method two-moisture content is called available water, the
Water – Budget Method – simplest but the least reliable. moisture available for plant growth.
If the unit of time is kept very large, estimates of Measurement of Evapotranspiration Lysimeters
evaporation will be more accurate.
 A lysimeters is a special watertight tank containing a
Energy – budget method block of soil and set in a field of growing plants
Energy – Budget Method – is application of law of  Evaporation is estimated in terms of the amount of
conservation of energy. The energy available for water required to maintain constant moisture conditions
evaporation is determined by considering the incoming within the tank measured either volumetrically or
energy, outgoing energy and energy stored in the water gravimetrically through an arrangement made in the
body over a known time interval. lysimeters. Field Plots
Reservoir evaporation and methods for its reduction
 In special plots as the elements of the water budget in
The water volume lost due to evaporation from a a known interval of time are measured and the
reservoir in a month is calculated as evapotranspiration determined as Evapotranspiration =
[precipitation + irrigation input – runoff – increase in soil
Methods to reduce evaporation losses storage groundwater loss]
1. Reduction of surface area – as the area increases  Measurements are usually confined to precipitation,
the rate if evaporation also increases irrigation input, surface runoff and soil moisture.
2. Mechanical covers – permanent roods over the Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (ETo)
reservoir, temporary roods and floating roof such as rafts
and light – weight floating particles  The potential evapotranspiration of any other crop (ET)
is calculated by multiplying the reference crop
3. Chemical films – application of cetyl alcohol
evapotranspiration by coefficient K, the value which
(hexadecanol) and stearyl alcohol (octadecanol)
changes with stage of the crop.
Lesson 6 – Streamflow Measurement considerable use in stream-flow measurement practice.
 Float-Gauge Recorder – The float operated stage
 Streamflow representing the runoff phase of the
recorder is the most common type of automatic stage
hydrologic cycle is the most important basic data for
recorder in use. In this, a float operating in a stilling well
hydrologic studies.
is balanced by means of a counterweight over the pulley
 A stream can be defined as a flow channel into which of a recorder. Displacement of the float due to the rising
the surface runoff from a specified basin drains. or lowering of the water-surface elevation causes an
angular displacement of the pulley and hence of the input
 The measurement of discharge in a stream forms an shaft of the recorder. Mechanical linkages convert this
important branch of Hydrometry, the science and practice angular displacement to the linear displacement of a pen
of water measurement. to record over a drum driven by clockwork. The pen
traverse is continuous with automatic reversing when it
 Streamflow measurement techniques can be broadly
reaches the full width of the chart. A clockwork
classified into two categories as:
mechanism runs the recorder for a day, week or fortnight
o Direct determination of stream discharge: and provides a continuous plot of stage vs time. A good
instrument will have a large-size float and least friction.
1. Area-velocity methods, 2. Dilution techniques 3.
Electromagnetic methods 4. Ultrasonic method  Bubble Gauge – In this gauge, compressed air or gas
is made to bleed out at a very small rate through an outlet
o Indirect determination of streamflow: placed at the bottom of the river. A pressure gauge
1. Hydraulic structures, such as weirs, flumes and gated measures the gas pressure which in turn is equal to the
structures and 2. Slope-area method water column above the outlet. A small change in the
water-surface elevation is felt as a change in pressure
Classification of Streams from the present value at the pressure gauge and this in
1. Perennial Streams - Water flows in these streams turn is adjusted by a servo-mechanism to bring the gas
to bleed at the original rate under the new head. The
throughout the year. The primary water source can be
pressure gauge reads the new water depth which is
from ground water, surface water, or a combination of
transmitted to a recorder.
both.
2. Intermittent Streams - Intermittent streams flow for o The bubble gauge has certain specific advantages over
a float-operated water stage recorder and these can be
part or most of the year but may carry no water during the
listed as under:
dry season.
3. Ephemeral Streams - These streams flow only for a  There is no need for costly stilling wells;  A large
short time, usually after a large storm or snowmelt when change in the stage, as much as 30 m, can be measured;
there is an increase in water runoff. Ephemeral streams  The recorder assembly can be quite far away from the
are very small and normally have a dry channel during sensing point; and  Due to constant bleeding action
the year. there is less likelihood of the inlet getting blocked or
choked.
Measurement of Stage
Methods of Streamflow Measurement
The stage of a river is defined as its water surface
elevation measured above datum. This datum can be Volumetric method and gravimetric method
mean-sea level (MSL) or any arbitrary datum, connected
 The first two methods are applicable if the channel or
independently to the mean sea level.
the stream cross sectional area is small, and the flow is
Manual Gauges relatively slow/laminar. It is the simplest and quickest
method of determining the flow, thus may cause
 Staff Gauge – The simplest of stage measurements are inaccuracies on flow measurement of large channels.
made by noting the elevation of the water surface in
contact with a fixed graduated staff. The staff is made of Slope-Area Method
a durable material with a low coefficient of expansion with
 This method is most used by civil engineers in the
respect to both temperature and moisture. It is fixed
design of channels (canals and drainage systems).
rigidly to a structure, such as an abutment, pier, wall, etc.
Velocity-area method
 Wire Gauge – It is a gauge used to measure the water-
surface elevation from above the surface such as from a a. Float Method ; b. Current Meter
bridge or similar structure. In this, a weight is lowered by
Control-section method
a reel to touch the water surface. A mechanical counter
measures the rotation of the wheel which is proportional The use of these structures is that these structures
to the length of the wire paid out. The operating range of provide a unique control section in the flow such that the
this kind of gauge is about 25 m. discharge will become a function of the water surface
elevation measured from the specific datum.
 Automatic Stage Recorders – The staff gauge and
wire gauge described earlier are manual gauges. While
they are simple and inexpensive, they have to be read at
frequent intervals to define the variation of stage with
time accurately. Automatic stage recorders overcome
this basic objection of manual staff gauges and find