Abstract
Evaporation is the phenomenon by which a substance is converted from its
liquid into its vapor phase, independently of where it lies in nature.
However, language is alive, and just like regular speech, scientific
terminology changes. Frequently those changes are grounded on a solid
rationale; but sometimes these semantic transitions have a fragile
foundation. That is the case with ‘evapotranspiration’. A growing
generation of scientists have been educated on using this terminology,
and are unaware of the historical controversy and physical inconsistency
that surrounds it. Here, we present what may appear to some as an
esoteric linguistic discussion, yet it is triggered by the increasing
time some of us have devoted to justifying our word choice to reviewers,
editors and peers. By clarifying our arguments for using the term
‘evaporation’, we seek to prevent having to revive this discussion every
time a new article is submitted, so that we can move directly on to more
scientifically relevant matters.