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Advanced Hydrology Terminology and Concepts

The document covers advanced hydrology concepts including key terminologies such as vapor pressure, specific humidity, and relative humidity, along with their calculations. It discusses atmospheric moisture transport, precipitation mechanisms, and the dynamics of thunderstorm cells. Additionally, it addresses the measurement of precipitation and the optimal number of rain gauges for accurate rainfall estimation.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views68 pages

Advanced Hydrology Terminology and Concepts

The document covers advanced hydrology concepts including key terminologies such as vapor pressure, specific humidity, and relative humidity, along with their calculations. It discusses atmospheric moisture transport, precipitation mechanisms, and the dynamics of thunderstorm cells. Additionally, it addresses the measurement of precipitation and the optimal number of rain gauges for accurate rainfall estimation.

Uploaded by

kajal.kat2003
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Introduction

Module: 02

CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology


KEY TERMINOLOGIES:

• Global atmospheric circulation


• Vapour pressure (e)
• Saturation Vapour pressure (es)
• Specific humidity (q)
• Relative humidity (RH)
• Geopotential height (Z)
• Wind components (u and v)
• Precipitable water (PW)
• Integrated vapour transport (IVT)
2
GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

3
VAPOUR PRESSURE

• Vapor pressure (e) in the atmosphere refers to the pressure


exerted by water vapor present in the air.

e = ρv * Rv * T

• ρv is the density of water vapour, Rv is the gas constant for


water vapour and T is the absolute temperature in K.

• It is the measure of how much water is in the gaseous state


within the air.

4
SATURATION VAPOUR PRESSURE

• Saturation vapor pressure (es) in the


atmosphere refers to the maximum
amount of water vapor that the air can
hold at a given temperature.

17.27𝑇𝑇
es = 611* exp( )
237.3+𝑇𝑇

Here, T is in degree Celsius.

5
SPECIFIC HUMIDITY

• Specific humidity (q) is the mass of water vapour per unit mass of
moist air (air containing water vapour).

• It is a dimensionless quantity, often expressed in kg/kg.

• Ratio of the densities of water vapour (ρv) and dry air (ρa)

q = ρv / ρa

6
SPECIFIC HUMIDITY

•Specific humidity is approximated by

q = (0.622 * e) / p

•In this formula, 0.622 is the ratio of the molecular weight of water vapor
to the molecular weight of dry air.

•Total pressure p = ρa * Ra * T

•Here, Ra = gas constant for moist air = 287(1+ 0.608*q)

7
RELATIVE HUMIDITY

• Relative humidity (RH) is the ratio of the actual water vapor


pressure (e) to the saturation vapor pressure (es) at a given
temperature.

RH= e / es

DEW POINT TEMPERATURE


• Dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturated and
condensation begins.

8
NUMERICAL

At a climate station, air pressure is measured as 100 kPa, air temperature


as 20 °C, and the wet-bulb, or dew point, temperature as 16 °C. Calculate
the corresponding vapour pressure, relative humidity and air density.
Solution:

17.27𝑇𝑇
es = 611* exp( )
237.3+𝑇𝑇
At T= 20 °C, we get

es = 2339 Pa

9
NUMERICAL

The actual vapour pressure (e) is calculated by substituting the dew point
temperature Td = 16 °C, we get:

e = 1819 Pa

The relative humidity RH= e/es

RH= 0.78 or 78%

10
NUMERICAL

•Specific humidity is approximated by

q = (0.622 * e) / p

Given, p = 100 kPa = 100 x 103 Pa, therefore

q = 0.0113 kg water/kg moist air

11
NUMERICAL

Now, total pressure p = ρa * Ra * T

Substitute, Ra = 287(1+0.608*q) = 289 J/kg.K


p = 100 x 103 Pa
T = 20 °C = 293 K

Calculating the air density ρa , we get

ρa = 1.18 kg/m3

12
GEOPOTENTIAL HEIGHT

• Geopotential (Φ) is a measure of the potential


energy of a unit mass at a specific height relative to
sea level, essentially representing the work needed
to lift that mass against Earth's gravity.

• Geopotential Height (Z) represents the height of a


pressure surface above sea level, considering
variations in Earth's gravity.

Z=Φ/g

Units: hectoPascal (hPA) or millibar (mb)


13
GEOPOTENTIAL HEIGHT vs GEOMETRIC HEIGHT

• While geometric height is simply the


physical distance from a point to sea level,
geopotential height accounts for the fact
that gravity varies with altitude and
latitude.

• Geopotential height is preferred over


geometric height as it is a useful indicator
of atmospheric stability and flow patterns.

14
Pressure and Temperature changes with altitude

Normal Lapse Rate: Air temperature decreases by 6.4° C for every 1000 meters increase in altitude
15
WIND COMPONENTS

U component (Zonal):
• This component represents the wind speed
and direction along the east-west axis.

V component (Meridional):
• This component represents the wind speed
and direction along the north-south axis.

16
PRECIPITABLE WATER

• Precipitable water (PW) refers to the


total amount of water vapor present in a
vertical column of the atmosphere,
extending from the Earth's surface to the
top of the atmosphere.

• It essentially represents the depth of


liquid water that would result if all the
water vapor in that column were
condensed and precipitated.

17
PRECIPITABLE WATER

• Consider an element of height dz in a column of horizontal cross


sectional area A, then

𝑧𝑧𝑧
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 = � 𝑞𝑞. 𝜌𝜌𝑎𝑎 . 𝐴𝐴. 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑧𝑧𝑧

• q is the specific humidity and 𝜌𝜌𝑎𝑎 is the air density.


• z1 and z2 are the two elevations.

18
INTEGRATED VAPOUR TRANSPORT

• IVT, or Integrated Vapour Transport, refers to the horizontal


movement of water vapor in the atmosphere, specifically the
vertically integrated flux of water vapor.

• It is a key metric used in meteorology to understand and track


moisture transport, particularly in the context of atmospheric
rivers and extreme precipitation events.

1
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 = ∗ ∫ (𝑞𝑞 ∗ 𝑢𝑢 ∗ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)2 + ∫ (𝑞𝑞 ∗ 𝑣𝑣 ∗ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)2
𝑔𝑔

19
ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE TRANSPORT

The west coast of North America experiences frequent floods due to extreme atmospheric moisture transport,
especially during the winter.
20
SOUTH WEST INDIAN MONSOON

Source: Meehl et al., 2020


21
KEDARNATH FLOOD EVENT (16-17 JUNE 2013)

22
KERALA FLOODS 2018

Vertically integrated water vapor transport (IVT;kg m−1s−1) shaded (magnitude shown in the color bar) with
IVT wind fields corresponding to the magnitude of IVT; using ERA5 datasets for 13th August 2018.

Lyngwa, R. V., & Nayak, M. A. (2021). Atmospheric river linked to extreme


rainfall events over Kerala in August 2018. Atmospheric Research, 253,
105488.
23
Precipitation
• Precipitation includes rainfall, snowfall, and other processes by which water falls to
the land surface, such as hail and sleet.
• The formation of precipitation requires the lifting of an air mass in the
atmosphere so that it cools and some of its moisture condenses.
• The three main mechanisms of air mass lifting:
• Frontal lifting
• Orographic lifting
• Convective lifting

24
Three conditions that need to be met prior to precipitation process:
1 Cooling of the atmosphere
2 Condensation onto nuclei
3 Growth of the water/ice droplets

Mechanisms of cooling
• Cooling occurs during the uplift of air through the atmosphere.
• The cooler temperature leads to less water vapour being retained by the air and
conditions becoming favourable for condensation.

25
Types of Precipitation

• The actual uplift of air may be caused by heating from the earth’s surface (leading
to convective precipitation),

• An air mass being forced to rise over an obstruction such as a mountain range
(this leads to orographic precipitation),

• or from a low pressure weather system where the air is constantly being forced
upwards (this leads to cyclonic precipitation).

• Other mechanisms whereby the atmosphere cools include a warm air mass
meeting a cooler air mass, and the warm air meeting a cooler object such as the
sea or land (frontal precipitation)

26
Condensation

• Condensation nuclei are minute particles floating in the atmosphere which


provide a surface for the water vapour to condense into liquid water upon.

• They are commonly less than a micron in diameter. There are many different
substances that make condensation nuclei, including small dust particles, sea
salts and smoke particles.

• Cloud seeding: Artificial rain generation by releasing silver iodide or potassium


chloride particles, dropped from planes, to act as condensation nuclei. However, it
works only under certain favourable situations

27
Convective Precipitation
Orographic Precipitation

28
28
Frontal Precipitation

Cyclonic Precipitation

29
Growth of Droplets

• The main mechanism by which raindrops grow within a cloud is through collision
and coalescence.

• Two raindrops collide and join (coalesce) to form a larger droplet that may then
collide with many more before falling towards the surface as rainfall or another
form of precipitation.

• A large enough water droplet can overcome the gravity and fall as precipitation

30
Terminal Velocity
Three forces act on a falling raindrop:
• A gravity force Fg due to its weight,
• A buoyancy force Fb due to the displacement of air by the drop,
• A drag force Fd due to friction between the drop and the surrounding air. If the drop is a sphere
of diameter Z), its volume is (𝜋𝜋/6)𝐷𝐷3 SO the weight force is

Gravity Force Bouyancy Force

If the drop is released from rest, it will accelerate until it reaches its terminal velocity v1, at which three forces are
balanced in this condition

Fd = Fg - Fb

31
The assumption of a spherical raindrop shape is valid for drops up to 1 mm in diameter.
For tiny droplets in clouds, up to 0.1 mm diameter, the drag force is specified by Stokes'
law.
for which the drag coefficient is Cd = 24/Re, where Re is the Reynolds number

Assignment
Example. Calculate the terminal velocity of a 1-mm-diameter raindrop falling in still air at
standard atmospheric pressure (101.3 kP&) and temperature 200C.

32
Thunderstorm Cell Model
• The mechanisms underlying air mass lifting and precipitation are illustrated
by considering a schematic model of a thunderstorm cell.

• The thunderstorm is visualized as a vertical column made up of three parts,


an inflow region near the ground where warm, moist air is drawn into the
cell, an uplift region in the middle where moisture condenses as air rises,
producing precipitation, and an outflow region in the upper atmosphere
where outflow of cooler, dryer air occurs.

• Outside the cell column, the outflow air may descend over a wide area, pick
up more moisture, and reenter the cell at the bottom.

• This entire pattern, called convective cell circulation, is driven by the vast
amount of heat energy released by the condensing moisture in the uplift
region. A convective thunderstorm cell is visualized
as a cylindrical column of diameter D
having inflow, uplift, and outflow regions.

33
The thunderstorm is analyzed using the continuity equation for water vapor:

If precipitation of intensity i (in/h or cm/h) is falling on an area A beneath the storm cell, the mass flow rate of water
leaving the cell is mv = —pwiA, where pw is the density of liquid water.
Under the assumption of steady flow, the time derivative term in (3.3.5) is zero, and the mass flow rate of precipitation
is equal to the difference between the mass flow rates of water vapor entering the cell (1) and leaving (2)

The cell is a cylinder of diameter D, and air enters through height increment Δzi and leaves through height increment
Δz2- If air density and specific humidity are assumed constant within each increment, then

34
• The cell is a cylinder of diameter D, and air enters through height increment Δzi and leaves through
height increment Δz2 If air density and specific humidity are assumed constant within each
increment, then

A continuity equation may be written,

Where ρd is the density of dry air, which


is expressed by,

35
Measurement of Precipitation

Non Symons
Recording Rain-gauge
Rain gauge

Recording

Tipping
Bucket

Weighing
Bucket

Natural
Syphon
(Float)Type

36
Float / Natural
Weighing Bucket
Syphon Type

Tipping Bucket

37
Limitations of rain gauges

● Localized measurement:
● Wind effects
● Evaporation and temperature effects
● Maintenance requirements
● Spatial Resolution

38
Precipitation Data

• Hyetograph

39
Density of Rain Gauge Network

• In flat regions of temperate, mediterranean and tropical zones:


– Ideal: 1 station for 600-900 km2
– Acceptable- 1 station for 900-3000 km2
• In mountaneous regions of similar climate:
– Ideal: 1 station for 100-250 km2
– Acceptable- 1 station for 250-1000 km2
• In arid & polar regions:
– Ideal: 1 station for 1500-10000 km2

40
Optimal Number of Rain Gauges

• The optimal number of rain gauge stations in a catchment required to


minimize the error in average rainfall estimation is obtained by statistical
analysis:
• If m is the existing number of rain gauges, N is the optimal number and e is
the percentage error permissible in the estimation of average rainfall, then,

2
𝐶𝐶𝑣𝑣
𝑁𝑁 =
𝑒𝑒

• Where 𝐶𝐶𝑣𝑣 = 100 ∗ (𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 /𝜇𝜇𝑚𝑚 ) is the coefficient of variation, and 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 , 𝜇𝜇𝑚𝑚 are
the standard deviation and mean of m rain gauge measurements
𝑃𝑃1 , 𝑃𝑃2 , 𝑃𝑃3 , … 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚 .

41
Example Problem 1

A catchment has 7 rain gauging stations. In a year, the annual rainfall


recorded by the gauges are:
130, 142.1, 118.2, 108.5, 165.2, 102.1 and 146.9 cm respectively.
For a 5% error in the estimation of mean rainfall, calculate the minimum
number of additional stations required to be established in the catchment.

Hint: 2
𝐶𝐶𝑣𝑣
𝑁𝑁 =
𝑒𝑒
𝐶𝐶𝑣𝑣 = 100 ∗ (𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 /𝜇𝜇𝑚𝑚 ) is the coefficient of variation, and 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 , 𝜇𝜇𝑚𝑚 are the standard
deviation and mean of m rain gauge measurements 𝑃𝑃1 , 𝑃𝑃2 , 𝑃𝑃3 , … 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚 .

42
Missing Rainfall Data

• If neighbouring m stations’ measurements of annual precipitation are


𝑃𝑃1 , 𝑃𝑃2 , 𝑃𝑃3 , … 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚 respectively, the missing annual precipitation at a
station X (𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥 ) can be determined. But for this, we need the data of
average annual precipitation (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎 ) from all these stations including X.
• If the average annual precipitation of these m stations are within 10% of
that of the station X value, then simple arithmetic mean can be used.

• If not, a weighted mean of 𝑃𝑃1 , 𝑃𝑃2 , 𝑃𝑃3 , … 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚 is recommended 


normal ratio method:

43
Example Problem 2

The average (normal) annual precipitation of 5 rain gauging stations P, Q,


R, S and T are: 125, 102, 76, 113, and 137 cm respectively. During a
particular storm, the precipitation recorded by the stations P, Q, R and S
are 13.2, 9.2, 6.8, and 10.2 cm respectively, while T faced a failure. Is there
a way to determine the rainfall at station T during this storm?
Hint:
∑𝑚𝑚
𝑖𝑖=1 𝑃𝑃𝑖𝑖
𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥 =
𝑚𝑚

𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥 1 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝑖𝑖 1 𝑃𝑃1 𝑃𝑃2 𝑃𝑃𝑚𝑚


= ∑𝑖𝑖=1 = + + ⋯
𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎

44
Test for Consistency of Dataset
Sources of inconsistency:
• Shifting of rain gauge to a new location
• Landscape changes/land use changes of the neighbouring area
• Impact of natural calamities (landslide, forest fire)
• Faulty instrument from a particular day onwards

• DOUBLE MASS CURVE TECHNIQUE used for test for consistency &
method of correction of dataset
• Double mass curve: Plot of accumulated annual rainfall of
neighbouring stations’ mean (∑ 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎 along x axis) versus accumulated
annual rainfall of station X (∑ 𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥 )
45
Double Mass Curve Analysis

• Plot of accumulated annual rainfall of neighbouring stations’ mean


(∑ 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎 along x axis) versus accumulated annual rainfall of station X
(∑ 𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥 ) gives double mass curve
• A break in slope of the line  change in precipitation regime of station
X. This is the change point year
• The corrected values (𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 ) for this station before the change point year
are determined from old recorded values (𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥𝑜𝑜 ) as follows:
𝑚𝑚𝑐𝑐
𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑜
where 𝑚𝑚𝑐𝑐 is the slope of line plot after change has occurred and 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑜 is the slope
before change point

46
Double Mass Curve Analysis

47
Evaporation
• Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on
the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas
phase.
• The two main factors influencing evaporation
• The supply of energy to provide the latent heat of
vaporization.
• Ability to transport the vapor away from the
evaporative surface.

The processes of evaporation from the land surface and transpiration from vegetation
are collectively termed evapotranspiration.
Potential evapotranspiration: that would occur from a well-vegetated surface when moisture supply is not limiting,
and this is calculated in a way similar to that for open water evaporation.

Actual evapotranspiration drops below its potential level as the soil dries out.
09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 48
Rate of evaporation depends on
• The vapor pressures at the water surface and air above
• Air & water temperatures
• Wind speed
• Atmospheric pressure
• Quality of water
• Size of the water body

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 49


Evaporimeter
• Class A Evaporation Pan

Class A Evaporation Pan


ISI Evaporation Pan

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 50


Evaporimeter
• Colorado Sunken Pan

Colorado Sunken Pan

• US Geological Survey Floating Pan


Pan Coefficient: Evaporation pans are not exact models of large reservoirs

Lake Evaporation = Cp* Pan Evaporation

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 51


Methods to reduce evaporation losses
• Reduction of surface area Evaporation Stations
• Mechanical covers 1. Arid zones—One station for every
30,000 km2,
• Chemical films: Cetyl alcohol & Stearyl alcohol 2. Humid temperate climates—One
station for every 50,000 km2, and
1. The film is strong and flexible and does not 3. Cold regions—One station for
break easily due to wave action. every100,000 km2.
2. If punctured due to the impact of Currently, about 220 pan-evaporimeters
raindrops or by birds, insects, etc., stations are being maintained by India
the film closes back soon after.
Meteorological Department.
3. It is pervious to oxygen and carbon
dioxide; the water quality is
therefore not affected by its
presence.
4. It is colourless, odourless and nontoxic.

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 52


Empirical Evaporation equation
• Daltons Equation

• Meyers Formula (1915)

• Rohwer’s Formula (1931)

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 53


Analytical Methods of Evaporation Estimation
• Water Budget Method
• Energy-balance Method
• Mass-transfer Method

Energy-balance in a Water Body

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 54


Energy Balance Method
Continuity
For the liquid phase, the extensive property is B = mass of liquid water; β = 1, ρ = ρw (the
density of water), and dB/dt = -ḿv, which is the mass flow rate of evaporation .
The continuity equation for the liquid phase is

The pan has impermeable sides, so there is no flow of liquid water across the
control surface and ∬pwVdA = 0.
The rate of change of storage within the system is given by (d/dt)∭ pwdⱯ = PwA
dh/dt, where A is the cross-sectional area of the pan and h is the depth of water in
it.

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 55


For the vapor phase, B = mass of water vapor; β = qv, the specific humidity, ρ = ρa, the air density, and dB/dt = ḿv, so the
continuity equation for this phase is

For a steady flow of air over the evaporation pan, the time derivative of water vapor stored within the control volume is
zero. Thus, after substituting values

which is the continuity equation for an evaporation pan, considering both water and water vapor. In a more general sense,
(3.5.4) can be used to define the evaporation or evapotranspiration rate from any surface when written in the form

where E is the equivalent depth of water evaporated per unit time (in/day or mm/day).

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 56


Energy
The heat energy balance of a hydrologic system, as expressed by

Where, dH/dt is the rate of heat input to the system from external sources,
dW/dt is the rate of work done by the system (zero in this case),
eu is the specific internal heat energy of the water,

The rate of change of heat energy stored in the control volume and the net outflow of heat energy carried across the
control surface with flowing water. Because V = 0 for the water in the evaporation pan, and the rate of change of its
elevation, z, is very small, then

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 57


• Considering a unit area of water surface, the source of heat energy is net radiation flux Rn, measured in
watts per meter squared; the water supplies a sensible heat flux Hs to the air stream and a ground heat
flux G to the ground surface, so dH/dt = Rn - Hs - G.
• If it is assumed that the temperature of the water within the control volume is constant in time, the only
change in the heat stored within the control volume is the change in the internal energy of the water
evaporated, which is equal to lvmv, where lv is the latent heat of vaporization. Hence,

By substituting value of mv with A = 1 m2, (3.5.8) may be solved for E

Energy Balance equation for


evaporation

If Hs = 0 & G = 0; then the evaporation rate of incoming net radiation is absorbed by evaporation

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 58


Aerodynamic Method
• Besides the supply of heat energy, the second factor controlling the evaporation rate
from an open water surface is the ability to transport vapor away from the surface.
• The transport rate is governed by the humidity gradient in the air near the surface and
the wind speed across the surface, and these two processes can be analyzed by coupling
the equations for mass and momentum transport in air.

Evaporation from an open water surface.

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 59


The vapor flux ḿv passing upward by convection through this plane is given by the equation

where Kw is the vapor eddy diffusivity.

The momentum flux upward through the plane is likewise given by an equation

• Suppose the wind velocity u1 and specific humidity qV1 are measured at elevation z1, and u2 and qV2 at elevation z2, the
elevations being sufficiently close that the transport rates mv and τ are constant between them.
• Then the substitutions dqv/dz = (qV2 – qv1)l(z2 –z1) and du/dz = (u2 – u1)/(z2 – z1) can be made in (3.5.11) and (3.5.12),
respectively, and a ratio of the resulting equations taken to give

OR

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 60


The wind velocity in the boundary layer near the earth's surface (up to about 50 m) is well described by the logarithmic profile
law.

where u* = shear velocity= (𝝉𝝉/𝝆𝝆𝒂𝒂), k is the


von Karman constant

Thornthwaite-Holzman equation
for vapor transport

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 61


Assumptions:
wind velocity u1 = 0 at the roughness height Z1 = Z0 and that the air is saturated with moisture there.
qv = 0.622 e/p, where e is the vapor pressure and p is the ambient air pressure (the same at both heights),
so measurements of vapor pressure can be substituted for those of specific humidity. At height z2, the vapor pressure is ea,
the ambient vapor pressure in air, and the vapor pressure at the surface is taken to be eas the saturated vapor pressure
corresponding to the ambient air temperature.

with the form of the vapor transfer


coefficient B varying from one place to
another. This type of equation was first
proposed by Dalton in 1802

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 62


Combined Aerodynamic and Energy Balance Method
Evaporation may be computed by the aerodynamic method when energy supply is not limiting and by the energy balance
method when vapor transport is not limiting.

both of these
Combined Aerodynamic and
factors are
Energy Balance Method
limiting

Bowen ratio β

The energy balance equation with ground heat flux G = O can then be written as

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 63


The Bowen ratio is calculated by coupling the transport equations for vapor and heat, this is similar to the coupling of the
vapor and momentum transport equations used in developing the Thornthwaite-Holzman equation.
The transport equations for vapor and heat are

where Cp is the specific heat at constant pressure and Kh is the heat diffusivity. Using measurements of qv and T made at
two levels z1 and z2

Assuming the transport rate is constant between these levels,

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 64


• Dividing by lv and substituting 0.622 e/p for qv provides the expression for the Bowen
ratio β

The ratio Kh/Kw of the heat and vapor diffusivities is commonly taken to be 1

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The evaporation rate computed from aerodynamic methods that can be combined to yield a weighted estimate of
evaporation E, by

where y is the psychrometric constant and Δ is the gradient of the saturated vapor pressure curve at air temperature Ta

+ = 1

The chief assumptions of the energy balance are that steady state energy flow prevails and that changes in heat storage over
time in the water body are not significant.

Priestley-Taylor evaporation equation

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Evapotranspiration
• Evapotranspiration is the combination of evaporation from the soil surface and
transpiration from vegetation.
• The same factors governing open water evaporation also govern evapotranspiration,
namely energy supply and vapor transport.
• Third factor enters the picture: the supply of moisture at the evaporative surface.

• The potential evapotranspiration of another crop growing under the same conditions as the reference
crop is calculated by multiplying the reference crop evapotranspiration Etr by a crop coefficient kc, the
value of which changes with the stage of growth of the crop.
• The actual evapotranspiration Et is found by multiplying the potential evapotranspiration by a soil
coefficient ks (0 < ks.< 1)

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Thank you

09-09-2025 CEC-531: Advanced Hydrology 68

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