EARTHSC 2WW3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Soil, Growing Season, Evapotranspiration
9 Aug 2018
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Document Summary
X-axis represents months of year. y-axis represents precipitation in millimetres. Surp = surplus (soil is full of water, becomes runoff). Dst = precipitation and soil water used by vegetation. Water balance: def = precipitation and soil water used by vegetation but not enough for optimal growth. +dst = water sufficient for growth, excess becomes soil water. Thornthwaite model uses temperature and variation as variables. Potential evapotranspiration (pe): maximum evapotranspiration; when water is not limiting: a function of temperature. If t o, then pe = 0: pe greatest in djf in southern hemisphere, pe greatest in jja in northern hemisphere. P-pe = difference of the above two: accumulated water loss (acc wl) = when pe > p. If pe > p, acc wl = | p - pe | [to find a number, add the absolute values of the number above it to the number to the left of it].
