Assessment of wind shelter conditions of an open water storage reservoir using wind shelter index

Abstract Sharifi MR, Shahi Z. 2020. Assessment of wind shelter conditions of an open water storage reservoir using wind shelter index. Lake Reserv Manage. XX:XXX–XXX. Identifying the wind-affected area in a given waterbody facilitates the implementation of some evaporation control methods because the amount of evaporation is a function of the wind shelter. In this study, a method is developed to identify the wind-affected area of open water in reservoirs, using the Dez Dam in Iran. Through the wind shelter index (Sx), which is most commonly used in snowy areas, the wind shelter was calculated at different points on the open water. The points were then categorized in terms of the wind shelter index values using cluster analysis. For this purpose, Sx values were calculated and then clustered using 28,321 points of the lake’s surface. Using this method, the water surface was classified into areas, with 5 parts having different wind sheltering. On average, a considerable part of the water surface of the lake (66%) was more exposed to the wind than other parts. Therefore, it can be predicted that the evaporation at these areas is higher than at other areas of the lake surface.