MEASURING AND ESTIMATING OPEN WATER EVAPORATION IN ELEPHANT BUTTE RESERVOIR IN NEW MEXICO

摘要

Elephant Butte Reservoir with an estimated surface area of 40,000 acres at full capacity isrnconsidered a major component of the Rio Grande hydrology. Understanding evaporative lossrnfrom the reservoir is needed for management and distribution of the Rio Grande water amongrnvarious users. An eddy covariance tower is currently measuring the evaporation rate in arnlocalized area of the reservoir. However, evaporation is highly variable across the Reservoir'srnwater surface. This paper describes a methodology to account for spatial and temporal variabilityrnof the evaporation from reservoir using a combination of remote sensing and groundrnmeasurement.