Hydrology:

Soil moisture, Rainfall, and Evapotranspiration

Tarendra Lakhankar
NOAA-CREST Center, The City University of New York
 Overview

• Hydrology
• Rainfall
• Soil moisture
• Evapotranspiration
• Experiments
– Math Examples

Soil moisture experiment using moisture meter

(Postponed to next week due to cold weather)
The Hydrologic Cycle
 All water Freshwater Readily accessible freshwater

Lakes
0.007%

Atmospheric
water vapor
0.001%
100 liters (26 gallons)

3 liters (0.8 gallon)

0.003 liter
(1/2 teaspoon)

Readily
available
Freshwater freshwater
3% © 2001 Brooks/Cole - Thomson
. 0.003%
Learning

Total water
100%
Rainfall
 Precipitation

• Single strongest variable driving hydrologic processes

• Formed water vapor in the atmosphere

rain snow

sleet
graupel
hail
freezing rain
 Droplets become heavy
enough to fall

Evaporation decreases
size of many droplets

Droplets increase in size Some droplets increase

by condensation in size by impact and
aggregation
Larger drops
break up

Droplets form by nucleation

Water vapor Rain Drops

 Precipitation Measurements

• Point Measurement – Rainfall Gauges

• Network of Rainfall Gauges
– The number of stations depend on precipitation and its variability

• Area Measurement – Radar, Satellites

• Source of Data
• http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/precip.php
• http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/RFC_Precip/
• http://water.weather.gov/precip/download.php
• http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/
• Many other publications, Universities, etc.
 Rational Method for Watershed Discharge

Q  iCA Simplified Table of Rational Method

Runoff Coefficients (see
references below)
Q = Peak discharge, cfs
Ground Cover Runoff Coefficient, C
C = Rational method runoff coefficient
Lawns 0.05 - 0.35
i= Rainfall intensity, inch/hour
Forest 0.05 - 0.25
A = Drainage area, acre
Cultivated land 0.08-0.41
Meadow 0.1 - 0.5
Parks, cemeteries 0.1 - 0.25
If Unimproved areas 0.1 - 0.3

Q = cubic feet per second, Pasture 0.12 - 0.62

Residential areas 0.3 - 0.75
P = inches/hour and Business areas 0.5 - 0.95
A= Acres, Industrial areas 0.5 - 0.9

Then Asphalt streets

Brick streets
0.7 - 0.95
0.7 - 0.85
Q=
Roofs 0.75 - 0.95
1.008CiA
Concrete streets 0.7 - 0.95
Precipitation Measurement
Precipitation Measurement
Tipping-Bucket: Demonstration
 Pluviometer

• A rain gauge (also known as an udometer, pluviometer,

or an ombrometer) is a type of instrument used by
meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure
the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of
time.
 Precipitation Measurement

Under Canopy Outside Canopy

Precipitation Measurement
Precipitation Measurement
Ideal rain gage for rainfall with egg-crate
Structure (Dingman, 2002)
 Rainfall Interception
• Conifer forests in North America Ic = 15-40% of Pg
• Natural teak forests in Thailand Ic = 65% of Pg
• Is influenced by rain:
– amount,
– duration,
– intensity,
– and pattern
 Arithmetic Mean Method

• Simplest method for determining areal average

P1 = 10 mm
P1
P2 = 20
mm P3 =
N P2
1
P30mm i
N i1
∑ P
P3
10  20  30
P  20 mm
3

• Gages must be uniformly distributed

• Gage measurements should not vary greatly about the
mean
 Isohyetal method

• Steps
– Construct isohyets (rainfall contours) 1
0
– Compute area between each pair of
2
adjacent isohyets (Ai) P1
0
– Compute average precipitation for each A1=5 , p1 = 5
pair of adjacent isohyets (pi) A2=18 , p2 = 15
– Compute areal average using the P2
following formula A3=12 , p3 = 25

P3
3 A4=12 , p3 = 35
1M N
PP ∑
Ai Ai 0
A
pi i1
P
i 1 i
5 5 1815 12 25 12 35
P  21.6 mm
47
 Inverse distance weighting
• Prediction at a point is more
influenced by nearby measurements
than that by distant measurements P1=10
• The prediction at an ungaged point is
inversely proportional to the distance
to the measurement points P2= 20 d1=25
• Steps
d2=15 P3=30
– Compute distance (di ) from
point to all measurement points.
ungaged d3=10
p

– Compute the precipitation at the

ungaged point using the following
formula N

∑ P 
10 20 30
x1  x2   1y  2y
2 2 i2
d12  Pˆ  d  
Pˆ  25
2
15 102  25.24 mm
2
 i1 N i
1 1 1
∑ d1 2  252
 
152 102
i 
i1 

 Thiessen polygon method
• Any point in the watershed receives the same
amount of rainfall as that at the nearest gage P1
• Rainfall recorded at a gage can be applied to any A1
point at a distance halfway to the next station in
any direction P2
• Steps in Thiessen polygon method
A2
1. Draw lines joining adjacent gages
2. Draw perpendicular bisectors to the lines created in P3
step 1 A3
3. Extend the lines created in step 2 in both directions
to form representative areas for gages
4. Compute representative area for each gage
5. Compute the areal average using the following P1 = 10 mm, A1 = 12 Km2
formula
P2 = 20 mm, A2 = 15 Km2
1 N 1210 15 20  20 30  20.7 mm
P   Ai i
P  P3 = 30 mm, A3 = 20 km2
A i1 P 47
 Rainfall interpolation in GIS

• Data are generally available as

points with precipitation stored in
attribute table.
 Rainfall maps in GIS

Nearest Neighbor “Thiessen” Spline Interpolation

Polygon Interpolation
 Storm Patterns (Histograms)

Figure 2.14
 Lets do some calculation

Estimate Average precipitation

Soil Moisture
 Soil Moisture

• Meteorological and weather prediction

modeling
• Hydrological modeling
– Runoff prediction and flood control
– Reservoir management
– Soil erosion and mud slide
• Agriculture applications
– Improving crop yield
– Irrigation scheduling
 Volumetric vs. Gravimetric Water Content

 Volumetric Water Content (VWC)  Gravimetric Water Content (GWC)

 Symbol –   Symbol – w
 Water volume per unit total volume  Water weight per unit dry soil
weight
Air 15%

Wate 35%
r

Soil
50%

• In situ field measurement methods only measure

volumetric water content
 Direct Water Content Measurements

• Gravimetric (w) Technique

– Sample representative weight of soil
• Take care to limit water draining/evaporating from soil
– Weigh sample on balance with adequate accuracy/precision
– Dry sample at 105o C for 24 h
• Allow to cool in desiccators
– Obtain dry sample weight and take weight
• Generate volumetric water content
– Same as gravimetric except soil is sampled with known volume
 Direct Water Content Measurements
• Advantages
– Simple
– Direct measurement
– Can be inexpensive

• Disadvantages
– Destructive
• does not account for temporal variability
– Time consuming
– Requires precision balance & oven
On field how to take sample
 Measuring in situ Water Content (indirect)
• Neutron thermalization
– Neutron probes
• Dielectric measurement
– Capacitance/Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR)
– Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)
 Neutron Thermalization Probe: How They Work

• Radioactive source
– High-energy epithermal neutrons
• Releases neutrons into soil
– Interact with H atoms in the soil
• slowing them down
– Other common atoms
• Absorb little energy
from neutrons
• Low-energy detector
– Slowed neutrons
collected
• “thermal neutrons”
– Thermal neutrons directly related to H
atoms, water content

The probe contains a source of fast neutrons, and the gauge monitors the flux of slow
 Dielectric Theory: How it works
• In a heterogeneous medium:
– Volume fraction of any
constituent is related to the total
dielectric permittivity Material Dielectric
Permittivity
– Changing any constituent volume
changes the total dielectric Air 1
– Because of its high dielectric Soil Minerals 3-7
permittivity, changes in water Organic Matter 2-5
volume have the most significant Ice 5
effect on the total dielectric
Water 80

Influencing Factors
• Water Content Water Content
• Soil Temperature
• Soil Porosity and Bulk Density
• Minerals (2:1 clays)
• Measurement Frequency
• Air Gaps (Installation – swelling soils)
 Dielectric Mixing Model: FYI

• The total dielectric of soil is made up of the dielectric of

each individual constituent
– The volume fractions, Vx, are weighting factors that add to
unity
 b  mb Vm  a bVa  wb  omb Vom  i
t
b
V i

– Where  is dielectric permittivity, b is a constant around 0.5, and

subscripts t, m, a, om, i, and w represent total, mineral soil, air, organic
matter, ice, and water.
 Volumetric Water Content and Dielectric Permittivity

• Rearranging the equation shows water content, , is

directly related to the total dielectric by

( m0.5Vm  a0.5Va  om0.5Vom  i

 1   i

0.5
t 0.5
V)
 w
0.5  w
0.5

• Take home points

– Ideally, water content is a simple first-order function of dielectric
permittivity
• Generally, relationship is second-order in the real world
– Therefore, instruments that measure dielectric permittivity of
media can be calibrated to read water content
 Dielectric Instruments: Time Domain Reflectometry
• TDR sensors propagate a pulse down a line into the soil, which is
terminated at the end by a probe with wave guides.
• TDR systems measure the determine the water content of the soil by
measuring how long it takes the pulse to come back.
 Dielectric Instruments: Capacitor/FDR Sensor Basics

• Sensor probes form a large capacitor

– Steel needles or copper traces in circuit board are capacitor
plates
– Surrounding medium is dielectric material
– Electromagnetic (EM) field is produced between the positive
and negative plates
 Typical Capacitor

Capacitor
Dielectric
Material

Positive Plate Negative Plate

Electromagnetic
Field
Example: How Capacitance Sensors Function

2 cm
Sensor (Side View)

1 cm

EM
0 cm Field
 Question: What Technique is Best for My Research?
• Answer: It depends on what you want.
– Every technique has advantages and disadvantages
– All techniques will give you some information about water content
• So what are the important considerations?
– Experimental needs
• How many sites? How many probes at each site?
– Current inventory of equipment
• What instruments are available or can by borrowed
– Budget
• How much money can be spent to get the data?
– Required accuracy/precision
– Manpower available to work
– Certification
• People available certified to work with radioactive equipment
 Examples: Applying Techniques to Field Measurement
• Case: Irrigation scheduling/monitoring
– Details
• 20+ sites, measurements from .25 m to 2 m
• Spread over field system
• Continuous data collection is desirable
• Money available for instrumentation
• Eventually moving to controlling irrigation water
– Choice
• Capacitance sensors
– Good accuracy
– Inexpensive
– Easy to deploy and monitor
– Radio telemetry available to simplify data collection
 Sensor Installation
• Permanent installation
– Horizontal insertion
• Purpose
– Measure at specific depths
– Useful to see infiltration fronts, drying depths
• Technique
– Dig trench
– Install probes into side wall
» Installation tools are helpful (see
manufacturer)
» Ensure NO air gaps between probes and
soil
– Refill trench
 Sensor Installation
• “Push-in and Read” Sensors
– Purpose
• Spot measurements of VWC
• Many measurements over large area
• No need for data on changes in VWC over time
– Technique
• Push probe into soil
– Ensure adequate soil to probe contact
• Take reading from on-board display
With Replicates
 U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN)
All 114 Stations Installed/Operational End of FY 08

Installed 7 Pairs (14)

Installed Single (92)
Awaiting Installation (8)
 What can I expect to see in the field?
20 20

16
Volumetric water Content

16

Rainfall (mm)
12 12
(%)

8 8

4 4

0 0
8/1 8/4 8/7 8/13 8/16 8/19 8/22 8/25 8/28
8/10 8/31
August 2006
EC-5 15cm EC-5 30cm EC-5 45cm
EC-5 90cm TE-5(WC) 15cm Rain (mm) 0

Data courtesy of W. Bandaranayake and L. Parsons,

Univ. of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center
USDA Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN)
 Soil Moisture - Microwave Remote Sensing Evolution

Active Microwave Passive Microwave

own energy (Reflection) Earth energy (Emission)

High (10’s meter) Low (10-100 Km)

Regional modeling Global modeling
Soil Moisture Sensing Technology

NPOESS
CMIS/VIIRS

AQUARIUS
SMAP

RADARSAT-2 SAOCOM
SMOS, METOP GCOM-
W Ground truth
RADARSAT-1
SM
ERS-2, ENVISAT
AMSR-E Missions:
SIR-C/X-SAR
FIFE’87-89
JERS-1, ERS-1 Mansoon’90
ESTAR, OXSOME’90
SEASAT, SSM/I MACHYDRO’90
PBMR, SMMR HAPEX’90-92
Field
WASHITA’92
Experiments WASHITA’94
SGP’97
SGP’99
1970s 2000 2010 SMEX’02
1980s
SMEX’03
1990s L and C band, which penetrate cloud, rain, and vegetation canopies
Common wavelength
SMEX’04
 Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E)

• AMSR-E is Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for NASA’s Earth Observing System
and JAXA of Japan. It’s onboard the Aqua satellite of EOS that was successfully launched
in May 2002.
Mission AMSR-E
Operational Launched December,
begin 2002
Instrument Passive microwave
concept radiometer
Frequency 6.92, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8,
36.5, 89 GHz
Polarization Dual polarization

Channels 12 channels
Foot print 5 to 60 km
Angular range 55 degrees
Swath 1445 km

http://wwwghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/AMSR/
 SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) Mission

• ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission has been designed to observe soil
moisture over the Earth's landmasses and salinity over the oceans.
• The goal of the SMOS mission is to monitor surface soil moisture with an accuracy of 4% (at
35-50 km spatial resolution).

Mission SMOS
Launch November, 2009
Duration Minimum 3 years
Instrument Microwave Imaging Radiometer using
Aperture Synthesis - MIRAS
Instrument concept Passive microwave 2D-interferometer
Frequency L-band (21 cm, 1.4 GHz)
Number of receivers 69
Receiver spacing 0.875 lambda = 18.37 cm
Polarization H&V
Radiometric resolution 35 km at center of field of view
Angular range 0-55 degrees
Temporal resolution 3 days revisit at Equator

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html
 SMAP ( Soil Moisture Active Passive) Mission

• SMAP is implemented as a directed mission within the NASA Earth Systematic Mission
Program. The SMAP project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with
participation by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
• SMAP will use a combined radiometer and high-resolution radar to measure surface soil
moisture and freeze-thaw state, providing new opportunities to enable improvements to
weather and climate forecasts, flood prediction and drought monitoring.

Mission SMAP
Launch March, 2013
Duration 3 years
Instrument concept Active microwave Passive microwave
- Synthetic Aperture Radar - Radiometer

Frequency L-band :1.26 GHz (H) L-band :1.41 GHz

1.29 GHz (V)
Polarization HH, VV,HV H, V, U
Radiometric resolution 1 - 3 km 40 km
Angular range 40 degrees
Swath width 1000 km
Temporal resolution global coverage within 3 days at the equator and 2 days at
boreal latitudes (>45°N)

http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov
 ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) Level 2 – Soil Moisture Product

• The ASCAT soil moisture product is produced by EUMETSAT, using the

WARPNRT software originally developed by IPF/TU Wien (Institute of
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vienna University of Technology).
• Accuracy: The average RMS error of the soil moisture index is about 25%, which
corresponds to about 0.03-0.07 m3 water per m3 soil, depending on soil type.
• The ASCAT soil moisture service has been set up to meet the requirements of
Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) applications. Value-added soil moisture products
for hydrological users in Europe are currently under development within the Satellite
Application Facility in Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management.

Mission
Operational begins
Instrument concept
Frequency
Polarization
Spatial Resolution
ASCAT
11 December, 2008
Active microwave – Real aperture radar
Radar C-band (5.255 GHz)
VV polarization
50 km 35 km
(25 km grid spacing) (12.5 km grid spacing)

Angular range 25º - 65 º

Swath Width 550 km

Source: http://www.eumetsat.int, http://www.ipf.tuwien.ac.at

 NOAA-CREST Microwave Radiometer

Specification:
L-Band Radiometer
• Frequency: 1.40 to 1.55 GHz (SMAP Frequency)
• polarization : Dual (H, V)
• Antenna System: 1.5 x 0.7 meters
• Delivery date: September 2009
• Manufacturer: Radiometrics Corporation, Boulder CO.
High frequency Radiometers
• 37, 89 GHz radiometer for snow related research.
We looking for suitable
field location for
Research Objective: radiometer.
• Improve our understanding of scattering and emission.
• Evaluate the vegetation (NDVI, VWC) effect on soil moisture.
• Evaluate spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture.
Evaporation
 Evaporation

• Process by which the phase of water is changed from

liquid to a vapor.
• It occurs at the evaporating surface, the contact
between water body and overlaying air.
 Evaporation

• Evaporation rate is a function of several

meteorological and environmental factors
The two main factors from an engineering standpoint
are:
– Solar energy: it provides latent heat of vapor
– Advective energy: it is the ability to transport
 Evaporation Measures

• Pan evaporation
• Water budget
• Correlations to climate data (empirical)
 Evaporation

• Pan evaporation method

An evaporation pan is a device designed to measure
evaporation by monitoring the loss of water in the pan
during a given time period, usually one (1) day.

Pan coefficient = 0.60 to 0.85 on an annual

basis

EL  pc E p
Standard 4 foot diameter pan

http://www.ametsoc.org
 Evaporation
• Correlations to Climate Data
– General Empirical Formula

E f
(e,U )
– General Theoretical Formula
 – Empirical Formula for Lake
Hefner
EL  0.00241(eo 
ea 8 )U 8
1. EL = evaporation rate in inches per day
2. eo = saturation vapor pressure at the water
surface in inches of mercury
3. eo8 = vapor pressure in air over the lake at
an elevation of 8 m, in inches of mercury
4. U8 = wind speed over the lake at an
elevation of 8 m, in miles per day

• As an engineer, you have to find an empirical formula

for surface waters in your area of interest
 – Empirical Formula for Class A
pan E  (e  e ) n (m  bU )
p o a
1. Ep = daily pan evaporation, (in./day)
2. eo = saturation vapor pressure at the water
surface, (in. of mercury)
3. eo = atmospheric vapor pressure at air
temperature, (in. of mercury)
4. U = wind speed at 6 inches above pan rim,
(mpd)
5. n, m, and b = 0.88, 0.37, 0.0041,
respectively.
• Note: saturated vapor pressure is a function of
temperature.
 Transpiration

• Transpiration is the process by which plants transfer

water from the root zone to the leaf surface, where it
eventually evaporates into atmosphere.
• The process by which transpiration takes place can be
described as follows:
– Water is extracted by a plants roots, transported upward
through its stem and diffused into the atmosphere through
stoma.
 Transpiration

• Contributing factors:
a. Moisture available
b. Vegetation type
c. Vegetation density
d. Vegetation health
 Transpiration

• Measured with phytometer (plant used as a measuring device)

• Phytometer is a device for measuring transpiration, consisting of a
vessel containing soil in which one or more plants are rooted and
sealed so that water can escape only by transpiration from the
• plant. Based on monthly consumptive use (if available) and
monthly evaporation

T  ET  E
1. T = transpiration rate (mm/time)
2. ET = evapotransipiration rate (mm/time)
3. E = Evaporation rate (mm/time)
http://www.ictinternational.com.au/hrm30.htm
 Evapotranspiration
• ET = evaporation from soils, plant
surfaces, and water bodies
combined with water losses through
plant leaves
• Evaporation: net loss of water
from a surface resulting from a
change in state from liquid to vapor
and the net transfer of vapor to the
atmosphere
• Transpiration: net loss of water
from plant leaves by evaporation
through plant stomata
 Impacts on Hydrology

• > 70% of annual PPT in US

• > 95% in semi-arid and arid regions
• For dry areas, ET/P ~ 1
– Q/P is very small
– ET is limited by plant water availability
• For humid areas, ET/P is smaller
– Q/P is higher
– ET is limited by energy
 Evapotranspiration
• Mass balance
S PRF ET
• Based on Pan Evaporation
ET kE p

• k = 0.35 to 0.85 = f(soil/plant condition,

location of the pan, wind speed, upwind fetch, and
humidity)
• For example, k = 0.7 if wind speed = 170-425 km/day,
upwind fetch of green crop = 1,000 m, and low relative
humidity = 20-40 percent.
Example–
Assume the following situations for a small watershed in northern Indiana.
The six-month seasonal precipitation is 70 cm, runoff is 20 cm, and the
change in groundwater storage is 15 cm. What are the monthly
evapotransipiration rates?

S PRET
157020ET
ET 70201535 cm/6
month
5.83 cm/month
 Evapotranspiration

• Irrigation needs based on evapotranspiration

0 Known 0 0 Known

S PI RF
ET

I ET P
 Evapotranspiration

• Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) is the amount of

evapotranspiration that would take place under the
assumption of an ample supply of moisture at all times.
• PET is an indication of optimum crop
water requirements.
 Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

Combination
Approach
Can be measured using
- evaporation pan
- weighing lysimeter

Allows for estimation of E from measurements of

- Global radiation
- Wind speed
- Air temperature
- Relative humidity
 Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

Reference Evapotranspiration ET0

Radiation
Crop evapotranspiration under Temperatur
standard conditions eWind speedWell watered
grass
Humidity
ETc  K c ET0
For ryegrass Kc Well watered crop
mid=1.65 optimal
agronomic
Crop evapotranspiration under comditions

non-standard conditions(actual
evapotranspiration)
Water & environmental stress

ETactual  Ks
 Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

Crop growth stages

• initial stage.
• development stage
• Mid-season stage
• Late season stage
 Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

Crop Coefficient
• Crop growth stages
• Single crop coefficient
approaches (Kc)
• Dual crop coefficient
approaches (Kcb+ Ke )
• basal crop coefficient (Kcb)
• soil water evaporation
coefficient (Ke)
• Kc=Kcb+Ke
Drought Videos
 Drought Videos to Watch

• Western U.S. drought puts big strain on reservoirs

https://youtu.be/W_nZmt7xmaQ (2.56 min)
• NASA | Mega-droughts Projected for American West
http://youtu.be/ToY4eeWsdLc (2.40 min)
• NASA launches Earth-observing satellite helps Measuring Soil
Moisture Cycle and floods conditions
http://youtu.be/Jj8pKIkOxpk (3.00 min)
• California's Extreme Drought, Explained | The New York Times
http://youtu.be/rHWHuP91c7Y (3.36 min)
• Real World: What Is Soil Moisture?
http://youtu.be/aJ3KaDJ9chM (5.28 min)
Experiment
National Weather Stations in New York
Thiessen Method for Average Rain

Step 1
Thiessen Method for Average Rain

Step 2
Thiessen Method for Average Rain

Step 3
Thiessen Method for Average Rain

Step 4
 Soil Moisture Experiment
• Mark the glass 5 levels.
• Fill soil in plastic glass 50%
• Pour the ¼ glass of water in soil.
• Allow water to infiltrate to soil.
• Take a moisture meter
• Check the video how this moisture meter works
(Earth Battery) https://youtu.be/aCCK132OIGA
• Measure wetness of soil on scale of 1-10.
• Pour more water slowly to make soil completely
saturate.
• Estimate approx. how much water you poured to soil
get saturate?