Atmospheric Stability Effects on Penman-Monteith Evapotranspiration Estimates

This study explores surface-layer stability effects on the Penman-Monteith (P-M) method, one of the most widely used methods to estimate evapotranspiration (ET). Stability correction is applied to the original (neutral stability) formula by using atmospheric exchange coefficients developed by LOUIS et al. (1981). First, the effects of stability on the P-M formula are explored theoretically. ET is then computed from field data using both P-M formulas and the values are compared to measured ET from Bowen-ratio and lysimeter data. Theoretical investigation of the P-M formula is performed by varying stability conditions for a range of vapor pressure deficit and canopy conductance. Infinitely large canopy conductance (zero canopy resistance) gives potential ET with results similar to MAHRT and EK (1984): the stability-dependent formula gives larger (smaller) potential ET than the original formula under unstable (stable) conditions. For finite canopy conductance, ET behaves differently from potential ET as a result of coupling between canopy and atmospheric conductances. Stability-dependent ET values become smaller than the original formula values under extreme unstable conditions (when atmospheric conductance becomes large compared to canopy conductance) because stability-dependent sensible heat flux is considerably larger than its neutral counterpart under same net input energy. Field data collected during both wet and dry growing seasons indicate that both P-M formulas track the Bowen-ET estimates and lysimeter measurements quite closely.