Urban water storage capacity inferred from observed evapotranspiration
recession
- Harro Joseph Jongen
, - Gert-Jan Steeneveld,
- Jason Beringer,
- Andreas Christen,
- Krzysztof Fortuniak,
- Jinkyu Hong,
- Je-Woo Hong,
- Cor MJ Jacobs,
- Leena Järvi,
- Fred Meier,
- Włodzimierz Pawlak,
- Matthias Roth,
- Natalie Theeuwes,
- Erik Velasco,
- Ryan J. Teuling,
- Nektarios Chrysoulakis
Harro Joseph Jongen
Wageningen University, The Netherlandsn, Wageningen University, The Netherlandsn, Wageningen University, The Netherlandsn
Corresponding Author:[email protected]
Author ProfileGert-Jan Steeneveld
Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Author ProfileJason Beringer
University of Western Australia, University of Western Australia, University of Western Australia
Author ProfileAndreas Christen
University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg
Author ProfileKrzysztof Fortuniak
University of Lodz, University of Lodz, University of Lodz
Author ProfileJinkyu Hong
Yonsei University, Yonsei University, Yonsei University
Author ProfileJe-Woo Hong
Yonsei University, Yonsei University, Yonsei University
Author ProfileCor MJ Jacobs
Wageningen-UR, Alterra, Wageningen-UR, Alterra, Wageningen-UR, Alterra
Author ProfileLeena Järvi
University of Helsinki, University of Helsinki, University of Helsinki
Author ProfileFred Meier
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
Author ProfileWłodzimierz Pawlak
University of Lodz, University of Lodz, University of Lodz
Author ProfileMatthias Roth
National University of Singapore, National University of Singapore, National University of Singapore
Author ProfileNatalie Theeuwes
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI)
Author ProfileRyan J. Teuling
Wageningen University, Wageningen University, Wageningen University
Author ProfileNektarios Chrysoulakis
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas
Author ProfileAbstract
Water storage plays an important role in mitigating heat and flooding in
urban areas. Assessment of the water storage capacity of cities remains
challenging due to the inherent heterogeneity of the urban surface.
Traditionally, effective storage has been estimated from runoff. Here,
we present a novel approach to estimate effective water storage capacity
from recession rates of observed evaporation during precipitation-free
periods. We test this approach for cities at neighborhood scale with
eddy-covariance based latent heat flux observations from fourteen
contrasting sites with different local climate zones, vegetation cover
and characteristics, and climates. Based on analysis of 583 drydowns, we
find storage capacities to vary between 1.3-28.4 mm, corresponding to
e-folding timescales of 1.8-20.1 days. This makes the storage capacity
at least one order of magnitude smaller than the observed values for
natural ecosystems, reflecting an evaporation regime characterised by
extreme water limitation.
