Abstract
Using water balance computations, the behavior of different kinds of lakes is discussed. Simple analytical expressions relating water level to hydrological conditions and lake bathymetry are given. The importance of knowing the river basin area when analyzing lake levels is stressed. A conceptual rainfall-runoff model including lake routing is used to simulate runoff and lake levels and to compute quasi-steady state conditions and long-term transient situations. It is suggested that models can be used to construct curves relating lake levels to precipitation and lake evaporation. By comparing with paleo-lake levels, the annual precipitation related to these levels can be found, provided information is available about the seasonal distribution of the precipitation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, R. E. & J. A. Munter, 1981. Seasonal reversals of groundwater flow around lakes and the relevance to stagnation points in lake budgets. Wat. Resour. Res. 17: 1139–1150.
Belyaev, A. V., 1991. Changes in the level of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea. In Schiller, G., R. Lemmelä & M. Spreafico (eds), Hydrology of natural and manmade lakes. IAHS Publ. 206: 45–54.
Bengtsson, L., R. Berndtsson, J. Høybye, L. Iritz, J. Niemczynowicz, C. Svensson & T. Zhang, 1995. Flood analysis and protection system. Rep. 3187, Dept. Wat. Res. Engineering, Lund University, 161 pp.
Bowler, J. M., 1981. Australian salt lakes: A paleohydrologic approach. Hydrobiologia 82:431–444.
Harlin, J., 1989. Proposed Swedish spillway design guidelines compared with historical flood marks at Lake Siljan. Nordic Hydrology 20: 293–304.
Harrison, S. P., 1988. Lake-level records from Canada and the eastern USA. Lundqua rep. 29, Lund Univ. Dept. Quaternary, 81 pp.
Lindkvist, T. & H. Danielsson, 1987. Swedish water archive. SMHI rep. 15, SwedishMeteorological Hydrological Inst., Norrköping, 171 pp.
Mifflin, M. D. & M. M. Wheat, 1979. Pluvial lakes and estimated pluvial climates of Nevada, Nev. Bur.Mines Geol. Bull. 94: 1–57.
Richardson, J. L. & A. E. Richardson, 1972. History of an African rift lake and its climatic implications. Ecol. Monogr. 42: 499–534.
Smith, G. E., 1979. Subsurface stratigraphy and geochemistry of Late Quaternary evaporites, Searles Lake, California, US. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap., 1043, 130 pp.
Street, F. A., 1980. The relative importance of climate and hydrogeological factors in influencing lake-level fluctuations. Paleoecol. Afr. 12: 137–158.
Street, F. A. & A. T. Grove, 1976. Environmental and climatic implications of Late Quaternary lake-level fluctuations in Africa. Nature 261: 385–390.
Street-Perrot, F. A. & S. P. Harrison, 1985. Lake levels and climate reconstruction. In: Hecht, A. D. (ed.), Quantitative paleoclimate analysis and modeling. John Wiley, New York: 291–340.
Szestay, K., 1974. Water balance and water level fluctuations of lakes. Hydrol. Sci. Bull. 19: 73–84.
Thornthwaite, C. W., 1948. An approach towards a rational classification of climate. Geog. Rev. 38: 55–94.
Vali-Khodjeini, A., 1991. Hydrology of the Caspian Sea. In Schiller, G., R. Lemmelä & M. Spreafico (eds), Hydrology of natural and manmade lakes. IAHS Publ. 206: 45–54.
Winkler, M. G., 1985. Late-glacial and Holocene environmental history of South-Central Wisconsin: A study of upland and wetland ecosystems. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Wisconsin-Madison, 261 pp. s
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bengtsson, L., Malm, J. Using rainfall-runoff modeling to interpret lake level data. Journal of Paleolimnology 18, 235–248 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007982710792
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007982710792