Evaporation

• Evaporation - net rate of vapor transport to the

atmosphere
• Evaporation - the process by which water
transforms into vapor. The process occurs at the
water surface where molecules of water develop
sufficient energy to escape bonds with the water
and become vapor molecules in the air.
• Anticipated evaporation is a decisive element in
design of reservoirs to be constructed in arid
regions. Evaporation from water and soil surfaces
can account for a significant volume of water.
 Factors controlling evaporation
process
• Meteorological factors
• Nature of evaporation surfaces
Meteorological Factors
• The rate of evaporation is influenced by solar
radiation, air temperature, vapor pressure,
wind and minimally by atmospheric pressure.
• Since solar radiation is an important factor,
evaporation also varies with latitude, season,
time of a day and sky condition.
Nature of evaporating surface
• All surfaces exposed to precipitation, such as
vegetation, buildings, and paved streets, are
potentially evaporation surfaces.
• The rate of evaporation of saturated soil surface
is approximately the same as that from an
adjacent water surface of the same temperature.
As the soil begins to dry, evaporation decreases
and its temperature rises to maintain the energy
balance. Evaporation virtually ceases since there
is no effective mechanism for transporting water
from appreciable depth.
• The rate of evaporation from soil surfaces is
limited by the availability of water or evaporation
opportunity.
• Evaporation from snow or ice can occur only
when the vapor pressure of the air is less than
that of the snow surface.
• The effect of salinity or dissolved solids is brought
about by the reduced vapor pressure of the
solution.
• Any foreign material which tends to seal the
water surface or change its vapor pressure or
albedo will affect the evaporation.
 Water budget determination of
reservoir evaporation
• The direct measurement of evaporation under
field conditions is not feasible.
• The most obvious approach for determining or
estimating vapor transport for water surfaces
involves the maintenance of a water budget.
• Assuming the storage S, surface inflow I, surface
outflow O, subsurface seepage Og and
precipitation P can be measured, evaporation E
can be computed from the continuity equation:
E = (S1‐ S2) + I + P‐ O‐ Og
• Seepage is usually the most difficult factor to
evaluate since it must be estimated directly
from measurements of groundwater levels,
permeability, etc.
• If seepage approaches or exceeds
evaporation, evaporation determination is
usually not possible.
 Energy-Budget determination of
reservoir evaporation
• Energy budget for a lake

where Qn – the net (all wave) radiation absorbed by the water

body
Qh – the sensible heat transfer (conduction) to the
atmosphere
Qe – the energy used for evaporation
Qθ– the increase in energy stored in the water body
Qv – the advected energy (net energy content of inflow
and outflow elements)
All expressed in equivalent energy units per unit of surface
area.
• Evaporation, E (cm)

where: ρ – density of water

Hv – latent heat of vaporization
R – ratio of heat loss by conduction to heat
loss by evaporation (Bowen ratio)
• Empirical Formula

Where: E – lake evaporation

eo – vapor pressure of the water surface
ea – vapor pressure at some fixed height in
the overrunning air
v – wind speed at some fixed height
• Penman Equation

Where:
D-the slope of the saturation-vapor-pressure
versus temp curve at the air temp Ta
g – defined by Bowen ratio equation

To – water surface temp

 Estimation of reservoir evaporation
from pan evaporation
• Pan – most widely used evaporation instrument
• 3 Types of exposures employed for pan
installation – sunken, floating, and surface
• Sunken Pan
Advantages – eliminate objectionable boundary
effects of radiation on the side walls and heat
exchange between the atmosphere and the pan.
Disadvantages – collects trash, difficult to install,
clean and repair, leaks not easily detected, height
of vegetation adjacent to the pan is critical
• Floating Pan
Advantages- evaporation nearly approximate
evaporation from lake
Disadvantages – observational difficulties are
prevalent e.g. splashing frequently renders data
unreliable, installation and operational expense is
excessive.
• Surface Pan
Advantages – economy and ease of installation
and operation and maintenance.
Disadvantages – greater evaporation due to
radiant energy intercepted by the side walls
• To minimize heat exchange, the evaporation pan
should be insulated. In some localities, it is
necessary to screen evaporation pan to eliminate
loss of water due to birds and animals drinking
from the pan.
• Pan coefficients are applied to observed or
derived pan evaporation to estimate reservoir
evaporation for both design and operation.
• Any steps which can be taken to reduce reservoir
evaporation per unit of storage provide a
corresponding increase in usable water supply.