Comparison of 15 evaporation methods applied to a small mountain lake in the northeastern USA

Journal of Hydrology
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Abstract

Few detailed evaporation studies exist for small lakes or reservoirs in mountainous settings. A detailed evaporation study was conducted at Mirror Lake, a 0.15 km2 lake in New Hampshire, northeastern USA, as part of a long-term investigation of lake hydrology. Evaporation was determined using 14 alternate evaporation methods during six open-water seasons and compared with values from the Bowen-ratio energy-budget (BREB) method, considered the standard. Values from the Priestley-Taylor, deBruin-Keijman, and Penman methods compared most favorably with BREB-determined values. Differences from BREB values averaged 0.19, 0.27, and 0.20 mm d-1, respectively, and results were within 20% of BREB values during more than 90% of the 37 monthly comparison periods. All three methods require measurement of net radiation, air temperature, change in heat stored in the lake, and vapor pressure, making them relatively data intensive. Several of the methods had substantial bias when compared with BREB values and were subsequently modified to eliminate bias. Methods that rely only on measurement of air temperature, or air temperature and solar radiation, were relatively cost-effective options for measuring evaporation at this small New England lake, outperforming some methods that require measurement of a greater number of variables. It is likely that the atmosphere above Mirror Lake was affected by occasional formation of separation eddies on the lee side of nearby high terrain, although those influences do not appear to be significant to measured evaporation from the lake when averaged over monthly periods.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Comparison of 15 evaporation methods applied to a small mountain lake in the northeastern USA
Series title Journal of Hydrology
DOI 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.03.018
Volume 340
Issue 3-4
Year Published 2007
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
Description 18 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Journal of Hydrology
First page 149
Last page 166
Country United States
State New Hampshire
Other Geospatial Mirror Lake
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