Long-Term Perspective on the Nature of the AIr–water Temperature Relationship: A Case Study

Monthly mean data from a 90 year period relating to a small catchment (142.4 km2) in north-central Austria were used to provide a long-term perspective on the nature of the air–water temperature relationship. Annual mean values of air and water temperature were related in a relatively insensitive and scattered way (r2 < 55%, b < 0.65), whereas the relationship for monthly mean values was closer and steeper (r2 > 95%, b > 0.65). A separate regression equation was needed to describe the behaviour of monthly mean water temperatures as the air temperatures fell below freezing. Analysis of air–water temperature regressions for individual months revealed a series of relations which were generally more scattered and less, but variously, sensitive than the ensemble relationship of monthly mean values. Monthly mean water temperatures could be predicted from the ensemble air–water temperature relationship and from the relations for individual months with root mean square errors of > 1.0 and < 0.8°C, respectively. Segmentation of air–water temperature regressions according to air temperatures above and below freezing did not significantly improve water temperature prediction. Hysteresis in, and the relatively low slope of, the air–water temperature relationships in the study catchment reflected the importance of snowmelt in the flow regime.