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Water is brought into the air as vapour by evaporation. It is a physical process by which vapour escapes from any free liquid water surface or wet surface at a temperature below the boiling point of water. In addition to loss by evaporation from soil, water is also lost by transpiration from vegetation covering the soil or water surface. This combined loss is known as evapotranspiration.
Water vapour is the principle participant in the many energy exchanges taking place in the atmosphere. The energy exchanges are responsible for the weather phenomena, which serve as important links connecting the various phases of the hydrological cycle.
Measurement of evaporation and evapotranspiration is of importance in many scientific fields. It is one of the main components of the water budget, knowledge of which is indispensable for the solution of numerous water management problems. Reliable evaporation data are required for planning, designing and operating reservoirs, ponds, shipping canals, irrigation and drainage systems. Evaporation is especially important in
arid zones where water must be used in the most efficient way. Knowledge of the water requirement of crops depends partly on the accurate determination of the loss of water by evapotranspiration from cultivated fields.
francis1897 answered the question on October 4, 2022 at 13:44