The Role of Evaporation in Evaluating the Water Reserve of Romanian Lakes – a Case Study

Authors

  • Gianina Neculau National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management, Bucharest, Romania
  • Florentina-Iuliana Stan National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management, Bucharest, Romania
  • Mary-Jeanne Adler National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management, Bucharest, Romania

Keywords:

evaporation, lake, correlations, volume, water reserves

Abstract

Evaporation is a component of the hydrologic balance and a meteorological factor which directly influences water balance, together with rainfall. The main objectives of this paper are: the spatial and temporal analysis of lake surface evaporation in Romania and the determination of the water volume lost through evaporation. This paper is based on the use of annual data series on evaporation measured at the 21 lakes where this parameter is being monitored. In terms of methodology, our paper is based on the statistical analysis, the estimation of the water volume lost through evaporation being done by extrapolating the values measured at the level of the evaporation basin to the entire surface of the lake (according to Drobot and Şerban,1999). In order to evaluate water losses caused by evaporation in relation to the water volume of lakes, the Izvorul Muntelui, Furculeşti, Fântânele, Bezid and Dridu lakes were taken as case studies, the analysis being carried out for the years of maximum and minimum evaporation. The results of our analysis show that the volume of water lost through evaporation depends both on local climate conditions and on the morphometrical characteristics of lakes. Thus, evaporation can reduce a lake volume by up to 10%, in the case of lakes with small surface areas (below 10 km2) and small water volumes.

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Published

2016-10-14

Issue

Section

Articles