The Response of Water Temperatures to Meteorological Conditions

Abstract

The exchange of heat across the air‐water interface is one of the more important factors that govern the temperature of a water body. The net rate of heat exchange at the water surface is the sum of the rates at which heat is transferred by radiative processes, by evaporation, and by conduction between water and overlying air. The net rate can be evaluated in terms of a thermal exchange coefficient and an equilibrium temperature, both of which depend on observable meteorological variables. Any one of the many evaporation formulas and mathematical descriptions of the other heat exchange processes may be used to develop equations involving the thermal exchange coefficient and equilibrium temperature. Such equations are useful in developing relations that describe the temporal and spatial temperature distributions within a water body. They provide additional insight into the effects of meteorological conditions on water temperatures, and they facilitate estimates of various terms of the heat budget.