Evaporation From Lake Superior
Abstract
Evaporation is a critical component of the water balance of each of the Laurentian Great Lakes, and understanding the magnitude and physical controls of evaporative water losses are important for several reasons. Recently, low water levels in Lakes Superior and Michigan/Huron have had socioeconomic, ecological, and even meteorological impacts (e.g. water quality and quantity, transportation, invasive species, recreation, etc.). The recent low water levels may be due to increased evaporation, but this is not known as operational evaporation estimates are currently calculated as the residual of water or heat budgets. Perhaps surprisingly, almost nothing is known about evaporation dynamics from Lake Superior and few direct measurements of evaporation have been made from any of the Laurentian Great Lakes. This research is the first to attempt to directly measure evaporation from Lake Superior by deploying eddy covariance instrumentation. Results of evaporation rates, their patterns and controlling mechanisms will be presented. The direct measurements of evaporation are used with concurrent satellite and climate model data to extrapolate evaporation measurements across the entire lake. This knowledge could improve predictions of how climate change may impact the lake's water budget and subsequently how the water in the lake is managed.
- Publication:
-
AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2009
- Bibcode:
- 2009AGUSMCG21B..03S
- Keywords:
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- 1818 Evapotranspiration;
- 1880 Water management (6334);
- 3307 Boundary layer processes;
- 9345 Large bodies of water (e.g.;
- lakes and inland seas) (0746)