Lake Water Balance and Mass Balance

Surface-ground water interaction may have substantial influence

on water levels and solute concentrations in lakes and wetland
ponds.
Water
W t and d mass balance
b l off a lake
l k can be
b seen as an integrated
i t t d
measurement of surface-ground water exchange fluxes over the
entire lake.

Objectives
1. Understand the effects of surface-ground water exchange on
lake water and mass balance.
2. Estimate the lake-scale average exchange rates from water
balance simulation.

Textbook chapter
Hayashi & van der Kamp, 2007. In: Plant disturbance ecology.
Academic Press, pp. 311-339). 1

Lake Water Balance Equation

dV V: lake water volume (m3)
Q in Q out =
dt dV/dt: rate of volume change (m3 d-1)
input output
dh A: lake water area (m2)
=A
dt h: water depth (m)

Pcp ET
IS
R OS
SD

IG OG
Input flux (m3 d-1) Output flux (m3 d-1)
Pcp: precipitation ET: evaporation & transpiration
IS: stream inflow OS: stream outflow
IG: groundwater inflow OG: groundwater outflow
R: diffuse runoff
SD: snow drift (in or out) 2

1
 Simple tank model of water balance
Case 1: Qin = const. Case 2: Qin = 0
Qin
h = 0 at t = 0 h = 1 at t = 0

h h
h

Qout t t
Qout h negative feedback
el
water leve

Natural systems are usually

in the steady-state, averaged
over a long term.

time
3

Precipitation
Rainfall can be measured relatively easily and accurately,
but often has a large spatial variability for individual storm
events.
S
Snowfall
f ll measurements
t suffer
ff from
f the
th wind
i d under-catch.
d t h

no shield with Alter shield

Geonor T200 precipitation Dingman (2002, Physical hydrology, Fig. 4-15 )
gauge with Alter wind shield.
4

2
 Even shielded snow gauges
require wind correction.
Archived climate data are
often uncorrected, resulting
in inaccuracy and
inconsistency.
Climate data interpretation for
long-term trend analysis
requires a special attention.
Singh and Singh (2001,
(2001 Snow and
glacier hydrology, Fig. 4-18 )
- What type gauge was used?
- Was correction made? How?

Snow Drift or Blowing Snow

Wind driven transport can

move a large amount of snow,
particularly on smooth, non-
vegetated surfaces.
Snow drift also enhances the
sublimation loss of snow.

Do lakes lose or gain snow during blowing snow events?

What is the effect of tall stubble in farm fields?

3
 Rain or Snow?
Automated meteorological stations record total amounts
of precipitation, but not rain and snow individually.
Climate models calculate total precipitation and
temperature. How can we separate rain and snow??
100
93.7%
cumulative frequency (%)

80

60

40

20
3.5%
0
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
mean daily temperature (C)
Data by Ralph Wright (Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development) 7

Lake Evaporation

A separate set of slides will be presented.

4
 Lake Energy Balance

Qn + Qa Qh Qe Qw (all terms in W m-2)

Qn: net radiation

Qa: net advection of energy by wind Qn
streams Qh Qe
Qh: sensible heat flux Qa
Qe: latent heat flux
Qw: rate of energy storage in
lake water Qw volume temp. change

Evaporation rate, E (m s-1) is proportional to latent heat flux.

Qe = E density of water latent heat of vaporization
How is E affected by climate and seasonality?

Estimation of Lake Evaporation

From the lake energy balance,
Qh + Qe Qn + Qa Qw Available energy

U i
Using th
the Bowen
B ti Qh = Q
ratio, Qe
Qe = (Qn + Qa Qw) / (1 + )
Written in a different form, the Priestley-Taylor equation is:
Qe = (Qn + Qa Qw) / ( + )
: slope of vapour pressure-temperature curve (hPa K-1)
: psychrometric constant (hPa K-11)
: dimensionless constant
The equation with = 1.26 has been shown to give
reasonably accurate estimates of evaporation from shallow
lakes and wetlands (Rosenberry et al., 2004, Wetlands, 24:483).
10

5
 Groundwater Exchange with Lakes

Lakes are almost always connected to

groundwater.
The amount and direction of groundwater
exchange depends on topographic
setting, geology, climate, and many other
factors.
Water balance of some lakes are
dominated by groundwater exchange,
while
hil other
h lakes
l k are dominated
d i d by
b
surface water inputs and outputs.

Winter et al. (1998. USGS Circular 1139)

11

Stream Inflow and Outflow

V-notch weir
For lakes with inflow and outflow
streams, accurate flow
measurement is critical for lake
water balance.
Outflow is controlled by lake
water level negative feedback
2
ow (m s )

Lake OHara
-1

Flow
3

metering
stream outflo

0
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
lake water level (m above bench mark) 12

6
Runoff and Stream Inflow: Watershed Hydrology

Surface water input (m3) = runoff (m) Ac (m2)

What controls runoff?

- Climate
Cli t
- Topography
A
- Soil thickness
- Geology
AC
- Vegetation and landuse
A lake
A: l k area AC: catchment
t h t area
-

13

Basin Morphology
Volume (V) - Area (A) Depth (h) Relation
A

h
V

A h2 A h0 A h2/p
V h3 V h1 V h(1+2/p)
p : parameter representing the slope profile.
p = 1 for straight slope
p > 1 for convcave slope
Hayashi and van der Kamp (2000, J. Hydrol., 237: 74) 14

7
 Volume (V) - Area (A) - Depth (h) Model
2/ p 1+ 2 / p
h A h h 6000
A = Amax V = max max
1 + 2 / p hmax
calculated from
hmax bathymetry
4000

A ((m2)
Amax: maximum area
hmax: maximum depth 2000

0
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
h (m)
4000

3000

V (m3)
2000

1000

0
40 m survey points 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
15
h (m)

Simple Lake Water Balance Simulation

dV
Qin Qout =
dt
For lakes with negligible snow drift and diffuse runoff,
Pcp + IS + IG ET OS OG = V/t V: volume change
t: time interval
Pcp ET (e.g. 1 day)
IS
OS

IG OG

Pcp, ET, and surface flows can be measured, but groundwater

components are very difficult to measure. We will use the
water balance equation to estimate net groundwater flow.
IG OG = V/t Pcp + ET IS + OS
16

8
 Simple Spreadsheet Exercise of
Water Balance Simulation

We will use Microsoft Excel to demonstrate a simple simulation of

lake water balance.
balance
Field data from a study site in Canada will be used as examples.

17

Location of Study Sites

Rocky Mountains Calgary

Lake
OHara St. Denis

Prairies
18

9
 Lake OHara, Yoho National Park
Issue: Climate change impacts on glaciers and water resources
Is groundwater a significant part of the hydrologic cycle?

Lake OHara at 2000 m altitude Opabin Glacier at 2500 m

Supplementary reading: Hood et al. (2006, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L13405) 19

Lake OHara Characteristics

Frozen from November to May.

temperature (oC)
Area = 0.26 km 0 5 10
Max depth = 42 m 0

10
pth (m)

20
dep

30 June 26
200 m
Jul-28
Depth contour = 5 m
Aug-24
40
20

10
 Evaporation Estimate by Priestley-Taylor Eqn.
Qe = (Qn + Qa Qw) / ( + )
Qn: net radiation, measured (photo)
Qa: advection by streams, ignored (expected to be minor)
Qw: energy storage
t iin lake,
l k from
f temperature
t t profiles
fil
For June 3-15, 2005, Qn = 72 W m-2 Qw = 23 W m-2
Avg. temp = 4.1 oC = 0.57 hPa K-1
At 2000 m elev., = 0.52 hPa K-1
Assume = 1.26
32 4 W m-22
Qe = 32.4
Latent heat (Lv) = 2.49 106 J kg-1
Density (w) = 1000 kg m-3
E = Qe / (Lv w) =
21

Precipitation and Stream Flow Measurements

Estimated uncertainty in
flow measurements 10 %

Jaime Hood gauging a stream. Tipping bucket rain gauge. 22

11
 See the handout for step-by-step instructions.

23

Lake Water Level (w.r.t. Bench Mark) and Flux

0.9
evel (m)

0.8
07
0.7
water le

0.6 snowmelt period

0.5
6/2 6/17 7/2 7/17 8/1 8/16 8/31 9/15 9/30 10/15
1.5
stream inflow
flow (m3 s-1)

1 groundwater

0.5

0
6/2 6/17 7/2 7/17 8/1 8/16 8/31 9/15 9/30 10/15 24

12
 Lake Solute Mass Balance Equation
Solute mass balance is similar to water balance. Each term is
multiplied by the concentration. For example;
CP (kg m-3) Pcp (m3 d-1) = mass flux (kg d-1) in precip.
(k m-33) V (m
C (kg ( 3) = ttotal
t l mass (kg)
(k ) iin th
the lake.
l k
Mass balance equation is:
[CPPcp + CISIS + CIGIG - C(OS + OG) + RXN] t = (CV)
C: Concentration in lake (kg m-3)
RXN: Reaction rate (kg d-1)

CPPcp
CISIS
COS

CIGIG COG
25

Solute Mass Balance

[CPPcp + CISIS + CIGIG - C(OS + OG) + RXN] t = (CV)
The concentration of outflow terms is equal to C. What is
the underlying assumption?
Why is ET not in the equation?

Reaction term (RXN) represents all other processes.

What are those?
- Dissolution/precipitation of minerals
- Biological
g production
p (e.g.
( g CO2) and uptake
p (e.g.
( g N and P))
- Atmospheric exchange
- Diffusive exchange with the sediment

26

13
 Dissolved Mass in a Prairie Wetland Pond
For each species, CV is the total mass dissolved in pond water.
Dividing it by the initial value measured on April 12, CV/(C0V0) is
used to compare the relative behaviours of individual species.
Chloride (Cl) is considered non-reactive.
How do other species behave? Why?
3
alkalinity
Cl
CV / (C 0V 0)

2 SO4

1994
0
Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct.
Heagle et al. (2007, Wetlands, 27: 806) 27

14
 1
Simple Spreadsheet Exercise of Water Balance Simulation

In this computer lab we will estimate net groundwater input to an alpine lake using the water balance
equation. The lab is based on Hood et al. (2006, Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L13405).
The water balance equation of a lake is;
IG OG = V/t Pcp + ET IS + OS (1)
Lake area (A) is a function of water level (h) in general, but in this simple example we assume
that A is constant at 0.26 km2.
Your data set contains lake water level h (m) with respect to a local bench mark, daily
precipitation P (mm), estimated daily evaporation E (mm), and daily average stream inflow IS (m3
s-1) and outflow OS (m3 s-1). Note that there are four inflow streams, and IS is the total of all four
streams.

(a) For 03/06/2005 (Row 3), calculate the volumetric rate of precipitation Pcp (m3 s-1) falling on
the lake by multiplying P by the lake area:
Pcp = P mm 0.001 m mm-1 (0.26 106 m2) / 86400 s (2)
In terms of cell formula, Eq. (2) can be written as:
H3 = D3*0.001*C3*1e6/86400
(b) Similarly, calculate the volumetric rate of evaporation ET (m3 s-1) leaving the lake surface by
multiplying E by the lake area:
ET = E mm 0.001 m mm-1 (0.26 106 m2) / 86400 s (3)
In terms of cell formula, Eq. (3) can be written as:
I3 = E3*0.001*C3*1e6/86400
(c) Calculate the rate of storage change:
V/t = (Change in water level between June 3 and June 4) (0.26 106 m2) / 86400 s
Or in terms of cell formula,
J3 = (B4 B3)*C3*1e6/86400
(d) Calculate the net groundwater flow rate IG OG from Eq. (1) using the cell formula:
K3 = J3 H3 + I3 F3 + G3
(e) Repeat the same calculation up to October 17 (Row 139) by copying the cell formula.
(f) Plot the time series of h on a chart.
(g) Plot the time series of IS and IG OG on a single chart, compare it with the water level chart
f
from (f).
(f) Discuss
i the
h seasonall trends
d off these
h variables.
i bl