Evaporation from Lake Michie, North Carolina 1961-71
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Abstract
The Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Durham, N. C., collected evaporation data at Lake Michie, Durham's 480-acre water-supply reservoir, for 10 consecutive years from September 1961 to September 1971. Wind speed, air temperature, and water temperature-collected continuously-were used in conjunction with water-budget data to calibrate the semi-empirical mass-transfer equation, E Nu(eo - ea), where E is evaporation; N is the mass-transfer coefficient, which is a constant for a given lake; u is wind speed; eo is the vapor pressure of the saturated air at the water surface; and ea is the vapor pressure of the surrounding air. For evaporation expressed in inches, the mass-transfer coefficient for Lake Michie is 0.0036.
During the study period the average annual evaporation from Lake Michie was 37.9 inches. Within-year variation of evaporation from the lake is sinusoidal, with a high during July averaging 4.71 inches and a low during January averaging 1.45 inches.
Evaporation from Lake Michie was 0.72 (or about three-quarters) of the evaporation from the National Weather Service evaporation pan at Chapel Hill. This ratio, called a pan coefficient, was not constant throughout the year, ranging from an average of 0.57 for April to 1.09 for December.
Suggested Citation
Yonts, W., Giese, G.L., Hubbard, E., 1973, Evaporation from Lake Michie, North Carolina 1961-71: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 73-38, iv, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/wri7338.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Evaporation from Lake Michie, North Carolina 1961-71 |
| Series title | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
| Series number | 73-38 |
| DOI | 10.3133/wri7338 |
| Year Published | 1973 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Contributing office(s) | South Atlantic Water Science Center |
| Description | iv, 27 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| Other Geospatial | Lake Michie |