Evaporation and Water Level in the Active Layer

A simplified form of McIlroy's combination model was used to compute bihourly evaporation for a High Arctic site. The computed evaporation values reveal diurnal and seasonal patterns which show a close relationship with water levels in the active layer. The excess of evaporation over summer rainfall input to a small basin led to a rapid cessation of streamflow, confirming the importance of evaporation in the water balance of small arctic drainage basins.