Pacific Southwest

Title: Evaporative loss from soil, native vegetation, and snow as affected by hexadecanol

Author: Anderson, Henry W.; West, Allan J.; Ziemer, Robert R.; Adams, Franklin R.

Date: 1963

Source: International Association of Scientific Hydrology, Committee for Evaporation, Publication No. 62. p. 7-12.

Description: Abstract - Only in a bulldozed brush field and with heavy applications of hexadecanol under snow did significant reductions in evapotranspiration occur with application of hexadecanol to natural stands. Marked reductions in evaporation from snow occurred when hexadecanol emulsion was applied to the snow surface. More than two-thirds of the precipitation in the United States is used by forest, browse, and non-economic vegetation areas (Wolman 1963). If transpiration or evaporation in these areas could be suppressed, important savings of water for other uses might be effected. One way of suppressing this water use might be by applying a chemical suppressant such as hexadecanol (Olsen et al. 1961, Roberts 1961, Woolley 1962). This paper reports results of a study of the effects of hexadecanol on summer soil moisture losses and winter snow surface evaporation loss at high elevation sites in the central Sierra Nevada.

Keywords: PSW4351, evaporation, hexadecanol, precipitation, soil

View and Print this Publication (37 KB )

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Anderson, Henry W.; West, Allan J.; Ziemer, Robert R.; Adams, Franklin R.  1963.  Evaporative loss from soil, native vegetation, and snow as affected by hexadecanol.   International Association of Scientific Hydrology, Committee for Evaporation, Publication No. 62. p. 7-12..