NRES 401

Application of Penman, Penman-Monteith and Hamon (1963) Equations

Consider the following conditions, measured at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign and at the BEARS facility on June 21,
2006:
Average air Temperature, Ta = 83.7 oF
Average Relative humidity, Wa= 65.1%

Average wind speed at 2 m above the pan, va = 7 mi hr-1

Total (diffuse and direct) downwelling shortwave radiation striking a horizontal surface, Kin = 25.4 MJ m-2 day-1
Downwelling longwave (infrared) input, Lin = 34.4 MJ m-2 day-1
Upwelling longwave output, Lout = 39.7 MJ m-2 day-1
How much evaporation does the Penman combination equation estimate?
The Penman Combination Equation:
E = (K + L) + vw KE va {e*a ea}
vw { + }
Where:
E = evaporation rate in units of depth per time
= slope of the saturation vapor pressure vs. temperature relationship at Ta
K = short wave radiation net input
L = longwave radiation net input
o -1

= psychrometric constant 0.066 kPa C

v = latent heat of vaporization = 2.45 MJ kg-1
w = density of water = 1000 kg m-3
KE = mass transfer coefficient
va = velocity of air
e*a= saturation vapor pressure at atm. temp.
ea= water vapor pressure in atm.
Shortwave radiation input K = (1-a) Kin
Albedo for liquid water ranges from 0.05 for a smooth surface and with the sunlight angle greater than 60 degrees and 0.10 for a wavy
water surface and for sunlight at a 30 degree angle on a smooth surface. At this time of year (near the summer solstice), most of the
suns energy will strike the earths surface at an angle greater than 45 degrees, but there will be some wavyness due to wind. Assume
albedo, a = 0.07
K = (1-a) Kin= (1-0.07) 25.4 MJ m-2 day-1= 23.6 MJ m-2 day-1

Longwave Radiation input L

A fraction of the incoming radiation will be reflected by the water. This fraction is equal to the emissivity of the water (w).
Assume emissivity of water w = 0.95
L = w Lin - Lout = 0.95 34.4 MJ m-2 day-1 - 39.7 MJ m-2 day-1 = -7.02 MJ m-2
Saturation vapor pressure of the atmosphere
e*a = 0.611 exp

17.3 Ta
(Ta + 237.3)

Where Ta is Temperature of the atmosphere in oC so convert Ta from oF to oC: (83.7 oF 32 oF) = 28.7 oC
1.8 oF oC-1
e*a = 0.611 exp

17.3 28.7 = 0.611 exp(1.867) = 0.611 6.47 = 3.95 kPa

(28.7 + 237.3)

Water vapor pressure in the atmosphere (ea)

ea = Wa e*a = 0.651 3.95 kPa = 2.57 kPa
Slope of the saturation vapor pressure vs. temperature relationship () at 28.7 oC

2508.3 exp 17.3 T

=
2508.3
exp 17.3 28.7
= 0.0354 exp(1.867) = 0.229 kPa oC-1
(T +237.3)2
(T +237.3)
(28.7 +237.3)2

(28.7 +237.3)

In order for the units to be compatible with other terms, the wind velocity must be converted to units of m day-1:
7 mi 1610 m 24 hr = 270,480 m
hr
mi
day
day

Mass Transfer Coefficient:

KE = 0.622 a k2
P w [ln{(za-zd)/zo}]2

0.622 a
P w 6.25 [ln{(za-zd)/zo}]2

k = von Karmen constant = 0.4

P = atmospheric pressure = 100 kPa
w = density of water = 1000 kg m-3
za= height of temperature and velocity measurement = 2 m
zd = zero plane displacement (approximate elevation where wind vel.=0) = 0 for water surfaces
zo= surface roughness height = 0.23 mm for water surfaces
a = density of air: for P in kPa and Ta in oC, a = 3.47 P /(Ta +273) = 3.47 100 kPa/(28.7 oC) = 1.15 kg m-3
KE =

0.622 (1.15 kg m-3) 0.42

100 kPa (1000 kg m-3) [ln{(2 m-0)/0.00023m}]2

0.1144
100,000 kPa [ln(8696)]2

= 1.39 10-8 kPa-1

Substitute the above values into the Penman equation:

E = (K + L) + vw KE va {e*a ea}
vw { + }
E = 0.229 kPa oC-1 (23.6 + -7.02 MJ m-2 day-1) + 0.066 kPa oC-1 (2.45 MJ kg-1) 1000 kg m-3(1.39 10-8 kPa-1) (270,480 m day-1) {3.95 kPa 2.57 kPa}
(2.45 MJ kg-1) 1000 kg m-3{0.229 kPa oC-1 +0.066 kPa oC-1 }

E = 3.80 kPa oC-1 MJ m-2 day-1 + 0.84 kPa oC-1 MJ m-2 day-1 = 0.0064 m day-1 = 6.4 mm day-1
723 MJ m-3 kPa oC-1
Actual pan evaporation measured at the State Water Survey complex for this date was 6.6 mm

Evapotranspiration
For the above conditions, how much evapotranspiration would the Penman Montieth equation estimate for soybeans, assuming the
average leaf conductance, Cleaf, was equal to the maximum leaf conductance C*leaf = 11 mm sec-1, leaf area index is 3, shelter factor is
0.5, albedo is 0.22 and vegetation height is 1 m?
The Penman-Monteith Equation is:
ET = (K + L) + ca a Cat {e*a ea}
vw { + (1+Cat/Ccan )}
Where:
= slope of the saturation vapor pressure vs. temperature relationship at Ta
K = short wave radiation net input
ca = heat capacity of the atmosphere = 0.001 MJ kg-1 oC-1
L = longwave radiation net input
a = density of air

= psychrometric constant
v = latent heat of vaporization
w = density of water
Cat = atmospheric conductance
e*a= saturation vapor pressure of atm.
Ccan= canopy conductance
ea= water vapor pressure in atm.
Wa = relative humidity (fraction)
Shortwave radiation input:
K = (1-a) Kin= (1-0.22) 25.4 MJ m-2 day-1= 19.8 MJ m-2 day-1
Assume emissivity of the crop is approximately equal to water, hence, L = -7.02 MJ m2 day-1 as calculated above
Cat =

va
6.25{ ln [(za - zd)/zo]}2

= (270,480 m day-1)
=
2
6.25[ln{(3 m-0.7(1 m))/(0.11m)}]

4401 m day-1

za= height of temperature and velocity measurement, usually 2 m above vegetation or water surface
zd = zero plane displacement (approximate elevation where va =0) zd 0.7(veg height)
zo= surface roughness height zd 0.10(veg height)

Ccan = fs Cleaf LAI

Where
fs = shelter factor ranging from 0.5 for dense vegetation to 1 for sparse vegetation,
Cleaf = average leaf conductance, which for this example = C*leaf = 11 mm sec-1
LAI = Leaf Area Index = 3 for this example
Ccan = 0.5 11 mm sec-1 3 = 16.5 mm sec-1 0.001 m mm-1 3600 sec hr-1 24 hr day-1 = 1426 m day-1
Substitute the above variables into the Penman-Monteith equation:
ET = (K + L) + ca a Cat {e*a ea}
vw{ + (1+Cat/Ccan )}
ET = 0.229 kPa oC-1 (19.8 + -7.02 MJ m-2 day-1) + (0.001 MJ kg-1 oC-1) 1.15 kg m-3 (4401 m day-1) {3.95 kPa 2.57 kPa}
(2.45 MJ kg-1) 1000 kg m-3{0.229 kPa oC-1 + 0.066 kPa oC-1 (1+4401 m day-1/1426 m day-1)}

= 0.0081 m day-1 = 8.1 mm day-1

This is greater than pan evaporation, which can occur for short periods of time, but normally the actual leaf conductance is less than
C*leaf because stomates close in response to lack of water, high temperatures, low humidity and low sunlight.
What is the estimated potential evapotranspiration from the Hamon Equation?
The Hamon (1963) Equation:
PETH = 29.8 D ea*(Ta)
Ta + 273.2
Where:
PETH = Potential ET (mm/day)
5

D = Daylight hours (hrs)

Ta = mean daily temperature (oC)
ea*(Ta) = saturation vapor pressure (kPa) evaluated at the atmospheric temperature Ta
Daylight hours for June 21 at 40 degrees N latitude = 15
PETH = 29.8 15 (3.98 kPa) = 5.9 mm day
(28.7+273.2)
This value is reasonably close to the observed pan evaporation for this date (6.6 mm), but over the course of the 2006 growing season,
daily PETH values were not very well correlated with observed pan evaporation, and tended to be less than pan evaporation.

1:1 line

The estimated pan evaporation from the Penman equation is more strongly correlated with the pan evaporation measurements, as we
should expect, since it was derived to approximate evaporation from a pan. Pan evaporation tends to be greater than
evapotranspiration, so PETH may still be a reasonable approximation of average monthly or seasonal potential evapotranspiration.
Homework Assignment: Due October 16
Use the Penman equation to estimate pan evaporation for the following conditions measured August 8, 2006: Ta = 73.6 oF, relative
humidity = 75.1%, wind speed = 2.8 mi hr, global down welling solar input=16 MJ m-2 day-1, down welling longwave radiation=33.4
MJ m-2 day-1, and upwelling longwave radiation =35.9 MJ m-2 day-1. For the same conditions, use the Penman-Montieth equation to

estimate evapotranspiration from a corn crop, 3 meters tall, with a leaf area index of 4, and the average leaf conductance equal to a
maximum leaf conductance of 10 mm sec-1.