Variation in growing season water balance in central Victoria, Australia, in relation to large-scale climate drivers
Adam John Marshall
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Federation University (formerly University of Ballarat), Ballarat, Vic., Australia. Email: adjomarshall@gmail.com
Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science 69(1) 131-145 https://doi.org/10.1071/ES19007
Submitted: 23 September 2018 Accepted: 27 May 2019 Published: 11 June 2020
Journal Compilation © BoM 2019 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
The precipitation and evaporation records from 1972 to 2013 were analysed at five stations in central Victoria, Australia. The stations formed a north-south transect of sites across a distinct climatic gradient spanning the dry inland plains, the Great Dividing Range and the southern coastal zone. The focus was on the March–November ‘Growing Season’ when typically higher available moisture is critical for a variety of agricultural practices and water management across the region. Growing season rainfall trends were fairly consistent across all stations with ongoing declines generally observed in all months with the exception of November, with the most notable declines in April, May and October. Pan evaporation recorded display greater variation between stations with both significant positive and negative trends evident within the season across the station network. The influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole on rainfall and pan evaporation was statistically significant, increasing through winter and peaking in spring at all stations. The Southern Annular Mode displayed marked intraseasonal influence which appeared to be highly location dependent. Interestingly, the tropical climate drivers displayed a stronger relationship with pan evaporation than rainfall over the analysis period. This highlighted the potential benefits of taking a broader terrestrial water balance (TWB) perspective of both pan evaporation and rainfall, a concept previously termed ‘Effective Rainfall’. Critically, this study shows the importance of understanding regional variation in TWB elements with respect to local topography and geographic location, as well as intraseasonal variations within the overall growing season.
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