Premium
Effects of diurnal, intra‐seasonal and seasonal climate variability on the energy balance of a small subtropical reservoir
Author(s) -
McGloin Ryan,
McGowan Hamish,
McJannet David
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/joc.4147
Subject(s) - environmental science , climatology , latent heat , mesoscale meteorology , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , energy balance , overcast , evaporation , seasonality , subtropics , water balance , meteorology , geography , geology , ecology , statistics , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , sky , fishery , biology
In order to gain a full understanding of the importance of interactions between the atmosphere and inland water bodies, there is a need to analyse these exchanges in different regions throughout the world and under a wide range of weather and climate conditions. A 2‐year time series of energy balance measurements was made at a small reservoir situated in southeast Queensland, Australia. Measurements were used to establish diurnal, intra‐seasonal and seasonal cycles of evaporation, while synoptic weather maps and local weather station data were used to relate variations in water surface–atmosphere energy exchanges to synoptic and mesoscale weather phenomena. Consistent diurnal peaks in latent heat flux during the afternoon were observed throughout this study as a result of strong dry winds coinciding with peak water surface temperatures. Occasional intra‐seasonal pulses in latent heat flux (i.e. evaporation) in winter and spring were associated with the passage of cold fronts over southern Queensland, which brought strong dry westerly winds. The average annual evaporative water loss from the reservoir during the 2‐year measurement campaign was 991 mm year −1 . It is thought that differences between the annual evaporation totals for the 2 years of this study may have been related to differences in the frequency of overcast conditions as a result of a change in the phase of the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation.