Abstract
Spatial heterogeneity in Dead Sea surface temperature (SST) was pronounced throughout the daytime, based on METEOSAT geostationary satellite data (2005–2015). In summer, SST peaked at 13 LT (local time), when SST reached 38.1 °C, 34.1 °C, and 35.4 °C being averaged over the east, middle, and west parts of the lake, respectively. In winter, daytime SST heterogeneity was less pronounced than that in summer. As the characteristic feature of the diurnal cycle, the SST daily temperature range (the difference between daily maxima and minima) was equal to 7.2 °C, 2.5 °C, and 3.8 °C over the east, middle, and west parts of the Dead Sea, respectively, in summer, compared to 5.3 °C, 1.2 °C, and 2.3 °C in winter. In the presence of vertical water mixing, the maximum of SST should be observed several hours later than that of land surface temperature (LST) over surrounding land areas due to thermal inertia of bulk water. However, METEOSAT showed that, in summer, maxima of SST and LST were observed at the same time, 13 LT. This fact is evidence that there was no noticeable vertical water mixing. Our findings allowed us to consider that, in the absence of water mixing and under uniform solar radiation in the summer months, spatial heterogeneity in SST was associated with inhomogeneity in evaporation. Maximal evaporation (causing maximal surface water cooling) took place at the middle part of the Dead Sea, while minimum evaporation took place at the east side of the lake.
Highlights
Spatial heterogeneity in Dead Sea surface temperature (SST) was pronounced throughout the daytime, based on METEOSAT geostationary satellite data (2005–2015)
In winter, when maximal solar radiation reached ~500 W/m2 compared to ~900 W/m2 in summer, daytime SST non-uniformity was less pronounced than that in summer: at 13 local time (LT), Tm was equal to 22.4 ◦ C, which was lower than maxima of Tw (22.9 ◦ C) and theeastern eastern (Te) (24.2 ◦ C)
In this study we investigated the diurnal cycle of spatial heterogeneity in Dead Sea SST
Summary
Spatial heterogeneity in Dead Sea surface temperature (SST) was pronounced throughout the daytime, based on METEOSAT geostationary satellite data (2005–2015). As the characteristic feature of the diurnal cycle, the SST daily temperature range (the difference between daily maxima and minima) was equal to 7.2 ◦ C, 2.5 ◦ C, and 3.8 ◦ C over the east, middle, and west parts of the Dead Sea, respectively, in summer, compared to 5.3 ◦ C, 1.2 ◦ C, and 2.3 ◦ C in winter. METEOSAT showed that, in summer, maxima of SST and LST were observed at the same time, 13 LT This fact is evidence that there was no noticeable vertical water mixing. Dead Sea and the increasing trend in Dead Sea surface temperature (SST) of 0.6 ◦ C per decade This positive feedback loop leads to acceleration in the Dead Sea water level drop: this causes a continuing hazard to this unique hypersaline lake, located at ~400 m below sea level. In the Dead Sea, at a depth of 0.5 m, solar radiation is
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