GGR227H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Evapotranspiration, Surface Runoff, Transpiration
Document Summary
Canada = world"s second highest users (wasters?) of water: 343 l per person/day. Residence time is important, e. g. , for flushing pollution (groundwater pollution is slow to recover) Leaf area index: area of leaves above a square meter of ground surface (m2/m2) In tropical rainforests, pet and actual evapotranspiration (aet) are about equal. In deserts, pet greatly exceeds aet because of long periods when soils are dry (e. g. , in southern. New mexico, precipitation averages 21 cm/yr, but solar energy could potentially evaporate over 200 cm/yr) Interception then infiltration and percolation to groundwater (zone of saturation below the water table), storage in soil, and or uptake and transpiration by plants or evaporation or overland flow (runoff to streams) Groundwater and runoff: groundwater, natural recharge: water percolates through layers to replenish aquifers, lateral recharge: some recharge comes from rivers and lakes, very slow.
