Evaporation, precipitation, and associated salinity changes at a humid, subtropical estuary |
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Authors: | D M Sumner G Belaineh |
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Institution: | (1) Center for Marine Ecosystem Health—Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, 5600 U.S. 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA;(2) Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA;(3) National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA |
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Abstract: | The distilling effect of evaporation and the diluting effect of precipitation on salinity at two estuarine sites in the humid
subtropical setting of the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, were evaluated based on daily evaporation computed with an energy-budget
method and measured precipitation. Despite the larger magnitude of evaporation (about 1,58 mm yr−1) compared to precipitation (about 1,180 mm yr−1) between February 2002 and January 2004, the variability of monthly precipitation induced salinity changes was more than
twice the variability of evaporation induced changes. Use of a constant, mean value of evaporation, along with measured values
of daily precipitation, were sufficient to produce simulated salinity changes that contained little monthly (root-mean-square
error = 0.33‰ mo−1 and 0.52‰ mo−1 at the two sites) or cumulative error (<1‰ yr−1) compared to simulations that used computed daily values of evaporation. This result indicates that measuring the temporal
variability in evaporation may not be critical to simulation of salinity within the lagoon. Comparison of evaporation and
precipitation induced salinity changes with measured salinity changes indicates that evaporation and precipitation explained
only 4% of the changes in salinity within a flow-through area of the lagoon; surface water and ocean inflows probably accounted
for most of the variability in salinity at this site. Evaporation and precipitation induced salinity changes explained 61%
of the variability in salinity at a flow-restricted part of the lagoon. |
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