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Nighttime, wet canopy evaporation rates and the water balance of an evergreen mixed forest
Author(s) -
Pearce A. J.,
Rowe L. K.,
Stewart J. B.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr016i005p00955
Subject(s) - interception , environmental science , evergreen , daytime , canopy , evaporation , atmospheric sciences , hydrology (agriculture) , meteorology , geology , geography , ecology , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , biology
The average nighttime evaporation rate of water intercepted on an evergreen mixed forest canopy is estimated as 0.37 mm/h from a regression of interception loss on gross rainfall for 35 storms occurring between 1900 and 0700 LT. The mean wet canopy evaporation rate estimated by the same method for both daytime and nighttime rainfall in 1975–1976 was also 0.37 mm/h. The similarity of daytime and nighttime evaporation rates indicates that evaporation from the wet canopy is driven by advected energy not by radiation. The diurnal rainfall distribution and nighttime evaporation rate indicate that net interception loss was 81–84% of gross interception, considerably higher than net losses estimated in other studies where nighttime losses were not considered separately from daytime losses. Interception losses at night were 40–50% of total gross interception, 50–60% of the total net interception, and ∽30% of total evaporation.