Abstract
Investigations into the recent drought in the Murray-Darling Basin have brought to light confusion surrounding the cause and effect of temperatures, potential evaporation and actual evaporation. In this study, a simple coupled land surface-planetary boundary layer model is used to illustrate the role of soil moisture in controlling evaporation and temperature, and to explore the interaction between potential and actual evaporation and temperatures under drought conditions. We demonstrate that increased temperatures during drought conditions are a result of the reduced soil moisture and actual evaporation. It is also shown that potential evaporation is increased under drought conditions as a result of increased atmospheric moisture demand, which is itself due to the decreased actual evaporation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Hydro-Climatology |
| Subtitle of host publication | Variability and Change |
| Pages | 105-111 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Volume | 344 |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Nov 2011 |
| Event | Hydro-climatology - Variability and Change Symposium, part of the 25th International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly, IUGG 2011 - Melbourne, VIC, Australia Duration: 28 Jun 2011 → 7 Jul 2011 |
Conference
| Conference | Hydro-climatology - Variability and Change Symposium, part of the 25th International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly, IUGG 2011 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Melbourne, VIC |
| Period | 28/06/11 → 7/07/11 |
Keywords
- Drought
- Evaporation
- Murray-Darling Basin
- Soil moisture
- Temperature
