Measuring the Link Between Energy and Water: Latent Heat Flux in Heterogeneous Mountain Environments

In addition to regulating downstream water delivery, high-elevation, mountainous regions play an important role in the storage and land-atmosphere exchange of energy and water. In fact, eighty-five percent of streamflow from the Colorado River comes from the mountain headwaters regions and weather patterns also depend on the energy and water balances, which are linked through the latent heat flux. Despite the importance of these regions, modeling and predicting water and energy availability in these heterogeneous environments is a challenge. The complex terrain in these regions make capturing the magnitude of the latent heat flux difficult and can lead to inaccurate predictions of weather patterns and water and energy availability. This study utilizes data from an eddy covariance tower placed near the East River in a Colorado headwaters region. Using the data from this flux tower we can more accurately measure the latent heat flux and thus calculate the water and energy balances. We then compare this to model simulations using ParFlow-CLM and Noah-MP, to better predict weather patterns and water availability in these heterogeneous mountain regions—something that has historically been very difficult in these areas.