This document discusses methods for estimating evapotranspiration and initial losses from precipitation. It describes the Blaney-Criddle and Thornthwaite formulas for calculating potential evapotranspiration. It also explains the concepts of interception and depression storage, which represent initial losses of precipitation before it becomes surface runoff. Interception is water captured by vegetation and lost to evaporation, while depression storage is water trapped in small depressions on the land surface.
This document discusses methods for estimating evapotranspiration and initial losses from precipitation. It describes the Blaney-Criddle and Thornthwaite formulas for calculating potential evapotranspiration. It also explains the concepts of interception and depression storage, which represent initial losses of precipitation before it becomes surface runoff. Interception is water captured by vegetation and lost to evaporation, while depression storage is water trapped in small depressions on the land surface.
This document discusses methods for estimating evapotranspiration and initial losses from precipitation. It describes the Blaney-Criddle and Thornthwaite formulas for calculating potential evapotranspiration. It also explains the concepts of interception and depression storage, which represent initial losses of precipitation before it becomes surface runoff. Interception is water captured by vegetation and lost to evaporation, while depression storage is water trapped in small depressions on the land surface.
This document discusses methods for estimating evapotranspiration and initial losses from precipitation. It describes the Blaney-Criddle and Thornthwaite formulas for calculating potential evapotranspiration. It also explains the concepts of interception and depression storage, which represent initial losses of precipitation before it becomes surface runoff. Interception is water captured by vegetation and lost to evaporation, while depression storage is water trapped in small depressions on the land surface.
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (PART 2) EMPIRICAL FORMULAE BLANEY-CRIDDLE FORMULA & THORNTHWAITE FORMULA BLANEY-CRIDDLE FORMULAE BLANEY-CRIDDLE FORMULAE North latitude Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec (deg)
40 6.76 6.72 8.33 8.95 10.02 10.08 10.22 9.54 8.39 7.75 6.72 6.52 Sample Problem Estimate the PET of an area for the season November to February in which wheat is grown. The area as in North India at a latitude of 30° N with mean monthly temperature as below: (Use the Blaney-Criddle Formula)
Month Nov Dec Jan Feb
Temp 16.5 13.0 11.0 14.5 (°C) Solution
Month Nov 61.7 7.19 4.44 Deb 55.4 7.15 3.96 Jan 51.8 7.30 3.78 Feb 58.1 7.03 4.08
16.26 THORNTHWAITE FORMULA TABLE 3.8 ADJUSTMENT FACTOR FOR USE IN THORNTHWAITE FORMULA (Eq. 3.18) North latitude Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec (deg)
40 0,84 0.83 1.03 1.11 1.24 1.25 1.27 1.18 1.04 0.96 0.83 0.81 ACTUAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (AET) AET AET Sample Problem Solution Solution ABSTRACTION FROM PRECIPITATION INITIAL LOSS INITIAL LOSS In the precipitation reaching the surface of a catchment the major abstraction is from the infiltration process.
However, two other processes, though small in magnitude, operate to
reduce the water volume available for runoff and thus act as abstractions. These are:
1. Interception process
2. Depression storage
And together called as Initial loss
This abstraction represents the quantity of storage that must be satisfied
before overland and runoff begins. INTERCEPTION Before precipitation reaches onto the ground, a part of it may be caught by the vegetation and subsequently evaporated, this volume of water is called the Interception. INTERCEPTION Interception occurs in three possible routes:
1. Interception loss - retained by the
vegetation as surface storage and returned to the atmosphere by evaporation.
2. Throughfall - drip off the plant
leaves to join the ground surface or the surface flow.
3. Stemflow - rainwater run along the
leaves and branches and down the stem to reach the ground surface. INTERCEPTION Interception loss is solely due to evaporation and does not include transpiration, throughfall or stemflow.
It is different to measure.
It depends on the species composition of vegetation, its density and
also on the storm characteristics.
It is estimated as 10% - 20% interception loss for the total rainfall in an
area during a plant-growing season.
A greater of 25% of the annual precipitation is the interception loss of
the forests experiencing large number of small storms. INTERCEPTION Interception loss is large for a small rainfall and levels off to a constant value for larger storms. INTERCEPTION INTERCEPTION It is found that coniferous trees have more interception loss than deciduous trees.
Coniferous trees Deciduous trees
INTERCEPTION Dense grasses have nearly same interception losses as full-grown tress and can account nearly 20% of the total rainfall in the season.
Agricultural crops in their growing season also contribute high
interception losses.
Dense grasses Agricultural crops
INTERCEPTION Interception process has significant impact on:
1. Ecology of the area related to silvicultural aspects
2. In situ harvesting
3. Water balance of region
Silvicultural System DEPRESSION STORAGE When the precipitation of a storm reaches the ground, it mist first fill up all depression before it can flow over the surface.
The volume of water trapped in these
depression called depression storage.
The amount is eventually loss to runoff
through processes of infiltration and evaporation - part of initial loss. DEPRESSION STORAGE Depends on a vast number of factors asa measure of the soil moisture:
