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Precision of evaporation measurements using the Bowen ratio

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Abstract

Energy balance/Bowen ratio estimation of evapotranspiration is examined to determine the effects of different sources of error. General usage of the approximate psychrometric equation which neglects terms of order 1/p (p atmospheric pressure) can lead to large bias errors if the wet-bulb temperature depression is large. Temperature and pressure corrections on the ‘psychrometric constant’ cannot be neglected without the risk of a bias error in excess of precision limits placed on a result. Aspiration to an isothermal block for wet-bulb temperature measurement compared with measurement at the air stream source does not necessarily lead to a more precise estimate of the Bowen ratio.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biometrics Section, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand

    K. J. A. Revfeim & R. B. Jordan

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  1. K. J. A. Revfeim
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  2. R. B. Jordan
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Revfeim, K.J.A., Jordan, R.B. Precision of evaporation measurements using the Bowen ratio. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 10, 97–111 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229278

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229278

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