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Abstract

A simple but effective evaporimeter, developed by Andersson (1969) but which has not received wide international attention, was compared with regard to evaporation with the standard methods Class A pan, Piche atmometer, and Penman calculation. The Andersson evaporimeter, made of Plexiglas, consists of a lidded cylindrical water reservoir of 0.15 L and can be placed on a pole in the terrain at chosen heights above ground level. Evaporation takes place through circular holes in the upper part of the reservoir. The reading is performed to an accuracy of 0.01 mm. Measurements were made at two meteorological stations in different climate zones. Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia in an arid climate and Kulumsa in Ethiopia in a dry subhumid climate. Each site covered 2 year of daily recordings. At Sidi Bouzid a 1:1 linens relationship was found between the Andersson evaporimeter and the Class A pan, whereas at Kulumsa a 0.8:1 relationship was obtained. Furthermore, 1:1 relationships were found at both sites between the Andersson evaporimeter and the Penman calculated values, when the latter were corrected to cope with heat exchange between device wall and air. The evaporation from the Andersson evaporimeter at Sidi Bouzid was 0.8-0.9 of that from the Piche atmometer. Any discrepancies were explained by differences in reservoir volume and function of the devices. The small volume of water and the cheapness and convenience of the device in studies of spatial variability of potential evaporation at field scale make it a worthwhile alternative to those currently used.

Keywords

Ethiopia; field scale; potential evaporation; spatial variation; Tunisia

Published in

Arid Soil Research And Rehabilitation
1998, volume: 12, number: 3, pages: 275-290

SLU Authors

  • Messing, Ingmar

    • Department of Soil Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

UKÄ Subject classification

Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15324989809381516

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/128565