Winter evaporation on a mountain slope, Hawaii

Author:

Nullet, Dennis, Giambelluca, Thomas W.

Title:

Winter evaporation on a mountain slope, Hawaii

Periodical:

Journal of Hydrology

Year:

1990

Volume:

112

Pages:

257-265

Subject:

Climate Haleakala Evaporation Haleakala Numerical simulations

Summary:

An understanding of local differences in evaporation is useful for many applications. These include water resource assessment and agricultural development planning. Presented in this paper, are the preliminary results of a study that was done regarding the nature and sources of variation in evaporation along the northwest flank of Haleakala. This volcanic mountain sits on the island of Maui, in Hawaii, where evaporation measurements at six sites were conducted between late November, 1987 and early January, 1988. Measurements were compared with estimated evaporation using four models in an effort to determine the applicability of the models to tropical islands and to identify possible sources of error in model estimates. All four models that were tested underestimated the evaporation levels at all sites. Positive heat advection from the surrounding ocean and from land sources increased evaporation at low elevations while the mixing of dry air through the trade wind inversion greatly increased the evaporation levels at the highest elevation.

Label:

Weather & Climate

Date:

1990

Collection:

Periodicals