Stilling and its aerodynamic effects on pan evaporation

Abstract
Declines in wind speed (u) (termed as “stilling”) has been reported in many regions of the world. To explore the temporal trends of u and its aerodynamics effects is vital to understand the changes in water resources. This study analyzed the changes of temporal trends for u and its aerodynamic effects using the data during 1959-2000 at 266 stations across China. The improved PanPen model was used to estimate Epan and quantify the contribution of radiative and aerodynamic components (aerodynamic component separated into wind speed u, vapour pressure deficit D, and air temperature Ta). Climate factors include Epan measured with the standard Chinese 20 cm diameter pan, u, Ta, relative humidity (rh) and sunshine hours (sh). The results showed: stilling occurred in most of stations (206 among 266) and 105 stations presented significant decreasing trends at 99% confidence level; stilling was the main cause for controlling the trends in Epan in most part of China, especially in the west and north of China. The results indicated that decreasing trends in Epan due to stilling would inevitably alter water resources, and should be put further investigation incorporation other factors.