Evaporation is of decisive importance for the Dead Sea region. KIT starts a research programme to sample reliable data.  

Firstly among other evaporation governs the Dead Sea water table and secondly it is apart from large scale advection responsible for the regional load of humidity in the air and therefore triggers weather processes (clouds, precipitation) and climate phenomena (haze, radiation) in the region. Reliable results on the evaporation in the Dead Sea valley are sparse especially evaporation estimates over the lake surface (Lensky et al., 2005).
Within DESERVE different approaches to measure and/or to calculate evaporation most reliable will be made. It was decided to establish a set of three (temporarily up to 5) stations equipped with instruments form high frequent meteorological measurements at the western coast of the Dead Sea with different distances to the shore line. Depending on the very periodical daily wind direction changes it allows according to boundary layer theory, to calculate the latent heat flux (evaporation) and the sensible heat flux over the soil surface as well as over the water body.  
Sets of instruments measuring the complete energy balance of a surface with high frequency and precision where calibrated and installed (i) over bare soil, (ii) at the coastline, (iii) and within high vegetation in early 2014. Two additional stations will be operated for several months in August and September 2014.

View the measurements here.

 

Western coast of southern Dead Sea. The field laboratory for measuring the components of the surface energy balance (i) radiation budget, (ii) soil heat flux, (iii) sensible heat flux, and (iv) latent heat flux.

Evaporation measurements over bare soil.

Evaporation measurements over the Dead Sea water body depending on wind direction.

Evaporation measurements within high vegetation.