Evaporation Properties and Estimates in the Landlocked Arid Region in Xinjiang, China

Xinjiang, the western part of China, is landlocked and far from oceans, and has an arid climate. Evaporation properties in Xinjiang are in close relation with its unique natural and geographic conditions. As a result, the mountain areas are runoff forming areas where precipitation is greater than evaporation; the plains below the river mouths are runoff dissipating areas where actual evaporation is far greater than precipitation;and the broad desert areas are no-runoff areas where precipitation is completely consumed by evaporation. The experimental studies on evaporation and the available estimation methods for the evaporation from water surface, land and groundwater are presented.