A graphical interpretation of the rescaled complementary relationship
for evapotranspiration
Abstract
Wet-surface evaporation equations related to the Penman equation can be
represented graphically on vapor pressure () versus temperature ()
graphs (Qualls & Crago, 2020). Here, actual regional evaporation is
represented graphically on (, ) graphs using the Complementary
Relationship (CR) between actual and apparent potential evaporation. The
CR proposed by the authors can be represented in a simple and intuitive
geometric form, in which lines representing the regional latent heat
flux, , and the wet surface (Priestley & Taylor, 1972) evaporation
rate, , intersect at =0. This approach allows a graphical estimate of
(or the corresponding mathematical formulation) without the need to know
either the wet surface or the apparent potential evaporation rates. The
wet surface temperature is needed, and a calculation method for it is
provided. The formulation works well using monthly data from seven sites
in Australia, even when the same value of the Priestley & Taylor
parameter α is used for all sites.