Intra-Annual and Interannual Dynamics of Evaporation Over Western Lake Erie

Journal Article · Mon Nov 23 00:00:00 UTC 2020 · Earth and Space Science

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ea001091 · OSTI ID:1826900

Shao, Changliang  ^[1]; Chen, Jiquan  ^[2]; Chu, Housen  ^[3]; Stepien, Carol A. ^[4]; Ouyang, Zutao ^[2]

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1. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing (China). Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning; Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Center for Global Change and Earth Observations
2. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Center for Global Change and Earth Observations
3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA (United States). Pacific Marine Environmental Lab. (PMEL)

Evaporation (E) is a critical component of the water and energy budget in lake systems yet is challenging to quantify directly and continuously. We examined the magnitude and changes of E and its drivers over Lake Erie - the shallowest and most southern lake of the Laurentian Great Lakes. We deployed two eddy-covariance tower sites in the western Lake Erie Basin - one located nearshore (CB) and one offshore (LI) - from September 2011 through May 2016. Monthly E varied from 5 to 120 mm, with maximum E occurring in August–October. The annual E was 635 ± 42 (±SD) mm at CB and 604 ± 32 mm at LI. Mean winter (October–March) E was 189 ± 61 mm at CB and 178 ± 25 mm at LI, accounting for 29.8% and 29.4% of annual E. Mean daily E was 1.8 mm during the coldest month (January) and 7.4 mm in the warmest month (July). Monthly E exhibited a strong positive linear relationship to the product of wind speed and vapor pressure deficit. Pronounced seasonal patterns in surface energy fluxes were observed with a 2-month lag in E from R_n, due to the lake's heat storage. This lag was shorter than reports regarding other Great Lakes. Difference in E between the offshore and nearshore sites reflected within-lake spatial heterogeneity, likely attributable to climatic and bathymetric differences between them. These findings suggest that predictive models need to consider lake-specific heat storage and spatial heterogeneity in order to accurately simulate lake E and its seasonal dynamics.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1826900
• Journal Information: Earth and Space Science, Journal Name: Earth and Space Science Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 7; ISSN 2333-5084
• Publisher: Wiley, American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English