Evaporation changes over the contiguous United States and the former USSR:A reassessment

Observed decreases in pan evaporation over most of the United Stares and th e former USSR during the post-WWII period, if interpreted as a decrease in actual evaporation, are at odds with increases in temperature and precipita tion over many regions of these two countries. Using parallel observations of actual and Dan evaporation at six Russian, one Latvian, and one U.S, exp erimental sites, we recalibrate trends in pan evaporation to make them more representative of actual evaporation changes. After applying this transfor mation, pan evaporation time series over southern Russia and most of the Un ited States reveal an increasing trend in actual evaporation during the pas t forty years.