The influence of errors in precipitation measurements on the accuracy of the evaporation measurements performed by a class A evaporation pan

Summary Since uncorrected precipitation measurements are used for calculating the evaporation measured by a class A pan, precipitation measurement errors are introduced into the evaporation results. In defining the total error of the evaporation measurement it is necessary to consider the fact that the class A pan orifice and the rain gauge orifice are at different elevations. This paper presents a model to estimate the average value for the total error of evaporation. It is also shown that the evaporation measured by a class A pan is smaller than the actual evaporation by between 5 and 20%.