Research Library
A cited, continually-updated index of the literature on water-evaporation suppression — peer-reviewed studies, reviews, datasets and standards. Each entry links to its source (DOI) and to the relevant methods on this site. New publications are surfaced automatically; entries marked “pending review” are awaiting an editorial check.
- Field 2026 Open access Pending review
Sensitive Montmorillonite Evaporation Detector Based on Montmorillonite Monolayer Nanosheets
Jiahao Zhao, Qinglin Jia, Xu Wang et al. · Polymers
This study describes a method for fabricating high-conductivity nanofluidic channels using exfoliated montmorillonite nanosheets to create sensitive devices for detecting water evaporation.
- Field 2026 Open access Pending review
Floating Photovoltaic Systems in Urban Areas: Insights on the Thermoelectric Behavior and Water Evaporation Reduction
Breno Bezerra Freitas, Paulo Cesar Marques de Carvalho, José Carlos de Araújo et al. · IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
This experimental study compares the thermal, electrical, and evaporation-reducing performance of floating and ground-mounted photovoltaic systems in a semiarid urban environment.
- Modeling 2026 Pending review
Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Surface Water Evaporation Reduction Using Novel Coating Fluids
Mohammad Hassanzadeh, Saeed Esfandeh, Zahra Kamyab et al. · فصلنامه پدافند غیرعامل
A modeling study published in فصلنامه پدافند غیرعامل (2026) on materials science and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2026 Pending review
A refined reservoir evaporation loss estimation approach through improved wind function expression accuracy
Cuihong Pan, Zengliang Luo, Lunche Wang et al. · Journal of Hydrology
A modeling study published in Journal of Hydrology (2026) on evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2026 Pending review
Reduction in evaporation from water reservoirs using bubble sheets: Two distinct climates in Iran
Bahman Yargholi, Farshid Taran · Ecological Frontiers
A field study published in Ecological Frontiers (2026) on evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2026 Open access Pending review
AquaRev Water HDC Device: IAPMO-Certified Water Evaporation Reduction Test Report — HDC Products, Inc.
Christian Clemens · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
This report details independent laboratory testing conducted under NSF/ANSI-50 standards to evaluate the effectiveness of an inline hydrodynamic cavitation device in reducing water evaporation rates.
- Modeling 2026 Pending review
Comparing the Performance of Single and Hybrid Machine Learning Models for Estimating Pan Evaporation Across Climatically and Structurally Diverse Reservoirs
Boukemache Khaoula, Marouf Nadir, Batout Soumia et al. · Pure and Applied Geophysics
A modeling study published in Pure and Applied Geophysics (2026) on support vector machine and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Dataset 2026 Open access Pending review
Daily Meteorological Forcing and Evaporation Estimates for 189 Texas Reservoirs, 1915-2018
Yinuo Zhu, Bingjie Zhao, Huilin Gao · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
A dataset study published in Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) on environmental science and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2026 Open access Pending review
Applications of machine learning in enhancing evaporation estimation for small reservoirs: a case study in semi-arid South Texas
Syed Muhammad Fahad Abdullah, Chu‐Lin Cheng, Jude A. Benavides et al. · Modeling Earth Systems and Environment
A modeling study published in Modeling Earth Systems and Environment (2026) on evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2026 Open access Pending review
A novel hybrid EMD-RF-LSTM model with wavelet-based feature selection for monthly evaporation simulation in SMBA dam Reservoir-Algeria
M. Achite, B. Farokhzadeh, O. Bazrafshan et al. · Physics and Chemistry of the Earth Parts A/B/C
A modeling study published in Physics and Chemistry of the Earth Parts A/B/C (2026) on selection (genetic algorithm) and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Lab 2026 Open access
Experimental investigation of water-saving efficiency using hexagonal diamond-shaped floating covers in large-scale evaporation ponds under static water conditions
ZongLe Duan, KeBin Shi, KeWu Han et al. · PLoS ONE
Experimentally investigates water-saving efficiency of hexagonal, diamond-shaped floating cover elements, comparing geometries for evaporation reduction.
- Modeling 2026 Open access Pending review
Combined evaporation estimation model of upper and lower reservoirs of pumped storage plants in arid areas under floating coverage
Ke-Wu Han, Xian Cheng, Fei He et al. · Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies
A modeling study published in Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies (2026) on arid and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2026 Open access Pending review
Increased surface water evaporation loss induced by reservoir development on the Loess Plateau
Yao Liu, Xianhong Xie, Yibing Wang et al. · Hydrology and earth system sciences
A field study published in Hydrology and earth system sciences (2026) on evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2026 Open access
How Does Climate Influence Evaporation Suppression Efficiency in Floating Covers?
Bassem Mady · ESS Open Archive (preprint, under review)
A regional/global modelling study (Mady and colleagues, ETH Zürich / Eawag) assessing where floating modular covers deliver the greatest water-saving return. Suppression efficiency is shown to vary substantially across arid, semi-arid and humid climate zones, yielding a feasibility map for deployment. Note: a preprint awaiting peer review, included here as emerging research.
- Field 2026 Open access Pending review
Improving the Spatial Representation of Reservoir Evaporation Using SAR-Based Wind Fields
Katie A. McQuillan, George H. Allen, Christopher Pearson et al. · IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters
A field study published in IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters (2026) on mesoscale meteorology and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2026 Pending review
Dual Water–Energy Potential of Floating Photovoltaics in Morocco: Multi-Criteria Reservoir Selection, System-Performance Modelling, and Evaporation-Saving Assessment
Salma SEDKI · Materials research proceedings
A modeling study published in Materials research proceedings (2026) on environmental science and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2026 Open access Pending review
Performance evaluation and water evaporation mitigation of a floating PV plant installed on a reservoir
Aradhana Shukla, Satish Kumar Yadav, Deepak Yadav et al. · Results in Engineering
A field study published in Results in Engineering (2026) on environmental science and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2026 Open access
Evaluating evaporation losses from agricultural ponds with shelter net covers by integrated Dalton model
Wendi Wang, Francesco Bettella, Vincenzo D’Agostino et al. · Agricultural Water Management
Field evaluation of a 50% shade-net cover on agricultural ponds with an integrated Dalton-based cover-factor model, reporting moderate evaporation suppression and a well-calibrated predictive fit.
- Modeling 2025 Pending review
Simulating Floating Solar Photovoltaic Impact on Evaporation Reduction and Water Quality: Applications in Semi-Arid Environments
Qasem Abdelal, Raneem Alshakhatreh · Water Conservation Science and Engineering
A modeling study published in Water Conservation Science and Engineering (2025) on photovoltaic system and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2025 Open access Pending review
Floating Microbial Mass for Reservoir Evaporation Control and its Effect on Soil Mineralogy
Manish V. Shah, Devyani D. Vasava, Shalini Singh et al. · Agricultural Science Digest - A Research Journal
This study evaluates the effectiveness of using isolated floating microorganisms to reduce reservoir evaporation rates and examines the resulting impacts on soil mineralogy and water retention capacity.
- Field 2025 Open access Pending review
Influence of wetted perimeters variation of physical cover porosity on the evaporation suppression effect of plains reservoirs in arid zones
Shaolei Wang, Kebin Shi, Ke-Wu Han et al. · Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies
This study uses field experiments and analytical modeling to examine how the wetted perimeter of porous covers influences evaporation suppression in arid zone reservoirs, finding that pore structure significantly affects mass transfer and water temperature.
- Modeling 2025 Open access Pending review
Daily Reservoir Evaporation Estimation Using MLP and ANFIS: A Comparative Study for Sustainable Water Management
Funda Dökmen, Çiğdem Coşkun Dilcan, Yeşim Ahi · Water
A modeling study published in Water (2025) on adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2025 Open access Pending review
How to understand water scarcity results as a Life Cycle Assessment practitioner? An investigation into evaporation values and characterisation factors applied on reservoir-based hydroelectricity
Ingunn Saur Modahl, Hanne Lerche Raadal, Tor Haakon Bakken · Ecological Indicators
This study evaluates how evaporation rates and water scarcity characterization factors influence life cycle assessment results for reservoir-based hydroelectricity across different geographic locations.
- Modeling 2025 Pending review
Performance enhancement of daily reservoir evaporation rate estimation models using stacking regression by discretization with AI methods
Mohammed Achite, Okan Mert Katipoğlu, Ahmed Elbeltagi et al. · Theoretical and Applied Climatology
A modeling study published in Theoretical and Applied Climatology (2025) on mean squared error and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Field 2025 Open access Pending review
Oxygen isotopic evidence that Gale crater, Mars, was home to an Early Hesperian water reservoir that underwent significant evaporation
Amy E. Hofmann, P. D. Archer, A. C. McAdam et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Analysis of isotopic compositions in mineral-bound water from Gale crater suggests the presence of an Early Hesperian reservoir that experienced significant evaporation.
- Modeling 2025 Pending review
Two-dimensional modeling of the impact of surface coverage on the evaporation and hydrodynamics of a shallow tropical reservoir
Iran Eduardo Lima Neto · Journal of Hydrology
A modeling study published in Journal of Hydrology (2025) on evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2025 Open access Pending review
Estimating Reservoir Evaporation Under Mediterranean Climate Using Indirect Methods: A Case Study in Southern Portugal
Carlos Miranda Rodrigues, Rita Cabral Guimarães, Madalena Moreira · Hydrology
This study evaluates five indirect methods for estimating monthly reservoir evaporation in southern Portugal by benchmarking them against offshore meteorological data collected from nine reservoirs in a Mediterranean climate.
- Field 2025 Open access Pending review
REDUCING THE EVAPORATION LOSSES FROM HADITHA AND DUKAN DAM RESERVOIRS USING FLOATING PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS
Zeena A. Abdulhadi, Moneer H. Tolephih, Emad Talib Hashim · ASEAN Engineering Journal
This study evaluates the potential for reducing evaporation losses at the Haditha and Dukan dam reservoirs in Iraq through the implementation of floating photovoltaic panels at varying coverage levels.
- Dataset 2025 Open access Pending review
Research data for manuscript "Evaporative loss and water transition rates in a karst reservoir area at tropical edge, south China: isotopic characteristics and their implications" by Xia et al.
XIA, CHENGCHENG · Mendeley Data
This dataset contains isotopic measurements for precipitation and water samples collected from the Dalongdong Reservoir in southern China between January 2017 and June 2021.
- Field 2025 Open access Pending review
Sustainable application of edible solute to control reservoir evaporation loss
Indramani Dhada, Poonam, Sudhakar Singha et al. · Scientific Reports
This study evaluates the environmental impact and economic viability of using edible solutes, such as cetyl and stearyl alcohols, to reduce evaporation rates in several Indian reservoirs.
- Dataset 2025 Open access Pending review
Eddy-covariance measurements of lake evaporation over Ross R Barnett Reservoir, Mississippi
Zhang, Qianyu, Zhu, Modi, Lan, Zhiheng et al. · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
This study presents a dataset of hydro-micrometeorological variables and eddy covariance flux measurements collected from a platform on the Ross Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi.
- Modeling 2025 Pending review
Comparative Evaluation of Tree and Neural Network-Based Models for Reservoir Evaporation Estimation
Issam Rehamnia, Emirhan Mustafa Anık, Sinan Nacar et al. · Pure and Applied Geophysics
A modeling study published in Pure and Applied Geophysics (2025) on artificial neural network and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2025 Open access Pending review
Correction: Rodrigues et al. Estimating Reservoir Evaporation Under Mediterranean Climate Using Indirect Methods: A Case Study in Southern Portugal. Hydrology 2025, 12, 286
Carlos Miranda Rodrigues, Rita Cabral Guimarães, Madalena Moreira · Hydrology
This correction addresses errors identified in a previous study regarding reservoir evaporation estimation techniques applied to Mediterranean climates in southern Portugal.
- Modeling 2025 Open access
Water storage paradox of reservoir expansion and evaporative losses in the MENA region
Milad Aminzadeh, Sankeerth Narayanaswamy, Hannes Nevermann et al. · Scientific Reports
Describes a water-storage paradox in the MENA region: expanding reservoir surface area to store more water also increases evaporative losses, sometimes offsetting the gain.
- Field 2025
Effect of Artificial Aeration on Evaporation Inhibition under Floating Balls Cover
Guo-chen Hao, Kebin Shi, Ke-Wu Han · Water Resources Management
Examines how artificial aeration interacts with a floating-ball cover to inhibit evaporation, a recent look at combining mixing with surface coverage.
- Field 2025 Open access
Evaluating the impact of floating spheres on evaporation reduction and water salinity control in reservoirs
Guo-chen Hao, Kebin Shi, Ke-wu Han · Agricultural Water Management
Field study of floating spheres on a reservoir, reporting simultaneous evaporation suppression and reduced salinity build-up — a dual co-benefit under arid conditions.
- Lab 2025
The impact of cover geometry on evaporation suppression of partially covered water reservoirs
Mohammad Javad Rezaei Jajarm, Pooria Akbarzadeh, Mohammad Mohsen Shahmardan et al. · Journal of Hydrology
Investigates how the geometry of openings in a partial cover controls residual evaporation at fixed coverage, finding circular openings more efficient than rectangular ones and proposing a regression model bridging lab and field.
- Field 2025 Pending review
Ephemeral reservoirs of low-head wadi dams drained by seepage, evaporation and pumping: the Pavlovsky/Polubarinova-Kochina/Abel analytical legacy redux
A. R. Kacimov · Advances in Water Resources
A field study published in Advances in Water Resources (2025) on ephemeral key and evaporation from open water. See the source for full details.
- Modeling 2025
A Novel Method for Assessing Evaporation in Small Water Bodies: Considering Floating Covers, Water Surface Flows, and Wind Speeds
Amir Rezazadeh, Pooria Akbarzadeh, Mohammad Mohsen Shahmardan et al. · Iranian Journal of Science and Technology Transactions of Civil Engineering
Proposes an integrated framework that combines floating-cover fraction, surface flow and wind to predict net evaporation suppression in small water bodies.
- Review 2024 Open access
Evaporation Loss From Small Agricultural Reservoirs in a Warming Climate: An Overlooked Component of Water Accounting
Milad Aminzadeh, Noemi Friedrich, Sankeerth Narayanaswamy et al. · Earth s Future
Argues that evaporation loss from small agricultural reservoirs is an overlooked and growing problem in a warming climate, and reviews mitigation options.
- Modeling 2024 Open access
Estimating the cost-effectiveness of several reservoir evaporation suppression strategies: a case study
R. S. Chapman, D Svendsen, Jan de Waal · Water SA
Compares the cost-effectiveness of monolayers, shade cloth and floating covers using a 20-year unit-reference-value approach, contrasting cheap-but-wind-vulnerable monolayers with more durable but costlier covers.
- Modeling 2024 Open access
Evaporation reduction and energy generation potential using floating photovoltaic power plants on the Aswan High Dam Reservoir
Konstantin Ilgen, Dirk Schindler, Alfons Armbruster et al. · Hydrological Sciences Journal
Estimates the combined evaporation-reduction and energy-generation potential of floating photovoltaic plants, a recent quantification of the dual benefit.
- Field 2024 Open access
Development of a Sustainable Technology in Reducing Reservoir Evaporation
Teh Hee Min, K. Gunasekaran Dr. K. Gunasekaran, Purwanti Sri Pudyastuti · E3S Web of Conferences
Pan experiments in a tropical climate testing non-woven geotextile and polypropylene sheet at partial coverage, supporting feasibility of low-cost covers for tropical reservoirs.
- Field 2024 Open access
Shading solutions for sustainable water management: impact of colors and intensities on evaporation and water quality
Doha Zeadeh, Ammar A. Albalasmeh, Osama Mohawesh et al. · Applied Water Science
Tests how shade colour and shading intensity affect evaporation and water quality, finding darker covers at high shading intensity give the greatest suppression while keeping water within irrigation standards.
- Modeling 2023
Estimating water surface evaporation losses under floating coverage: Modeling and Application
Ke-Wu Han, Kebin Shi, Xinjun Yan et al. · Journal of Hydrology
Develops and validates an improved model for estimating evaporation under floating ball coverage, showing that standard open-water equations overestimate losses once a floating layer is present.
- Dataset 2023 Open access
Supplementary Information datasets: Evaporation Reduction and Energy Generation Potential using Floating Photovoltaic Power Plants on the Aswan High Dam Reservoir
Konstantin Ilgen · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
An open supplementary dataset supporting analysis of evaporation reduction and energy-generation potential of floating photovoltaic plants — reusable data for researchers.
- Modeling 2023
Energy production and water savings from floating solar photovoltaics on global reservoirs
Yubin Jin, Shijie Hu, Alan D. Ziegler et al. · Nature Sustainability
A global simulation across more than 114,000 reservoirs estimated that floating photovoltaics at 30% surface coverage could generate on the order of 9,400 TWh/yr of electricity while conserving roughly 106 km³/yr of water through reduced evaporation — a scale large enough to meet the electricity needs of thousands of cities. A landmark quantification of FPV's combined water-and-energy potential.
- Field 2023
Efficiency of monolayers in evaporation suppression from water surface considering meteorological parameters
Mehrdad Karimzadeh, Javad Zahiri, Valiollah Nobakht · Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Assesses monolayer evaporation-suppression efficiency under varying meteorological conditions, showing how wind and temperature degrade performance.
- Standard 2023 Open access
The use of geomembranes in the storage of potable water
J.P. Lens, Lance Reed, Ray Peebles · E3S Web of Conferences
An engineering review of floating geomembrane covers for potable-water storage, describing evaporation control, disinfection-byproduct suppression and cost/footprint comparisons with rigid alternatives.
- Review 2023 Open access
Evaporative loss and environmental impact of covers on water storages: A review
P. Pittaway, Michael Scobie, Erik Schmidt · Journal of Environmental Quality
Reviews commercial evaporation-reduction products, noting that modular floating covers need high coverage to reach meaningful suppression and that span loading limits continuous covers to small storages.
- Lab 2023 Open access
Modelling and Experimental Investigation of the Evaporation Suppression Using Floating Covers in the Presence of Surface Flows
M.J. Rezaei Jajarm, P. Akbarzadeh, M.M. Shahmardan et al. · Modares Mechanical Engineering
Combined modelling and experiments showing white-ball covers consistently outperform black and mixed-colour covers. Low surface-flow rates (below an optimal threshold) enhanced suppression by cooling the water surface, whereas flow rates above the threshold increased evaporative loss — a nuance relevant to reservoirs with inflow/outflow circulation.
- Field 2022
Effects of floating covers used for evaporation suppression on reservoir physical, chemical and biological water quality parameters
Mahsa Bakhtiar, Milad Aminzadeh, Masoud Taheriyoun et al. · Ecohydrology
Measures how floating covers used for evaporation suppression affect a reservoir's physical, chemical and biological water quality — the trade-offs that come with sealing a surface.
- Field 2022 Open access
Floating solar PV to reduce water evaporation in water stressed regions and powering water pumping: Case study Jordan
Lewis W. Farrar, AbuBakr S. Bahaj, Patrick James et al. · Energy Conversion and Management
Field measurements and modelling in Jordan indicate that floating solar panels covering a conservative 10% of a reservoir could cut evaporation by ~42% while generating about 425 MWh/yr of electricity — illustrating the dual water–energy benefit of FPV in water-scarce regions where the saved water can also power pumping.
- Modeling 2022
Estimation of global reservoir evaporation losses
Wei Tian, Xiaomang Liu, Kaiwen Wang et al. · Journal of Hydrology
Estimates evaporation losses from reservoirs at global scale, putting a number on how much of the world's stored surface water is returned to the atmosphere each year.
- Review 2021
Critical evaluation of functional aspects of evaporation barriers through environmental and economics lens for evaporation suppression - A review on milestones from improved technologies
Ahmed M. Abdallah, C.M. Parihar, Sridhar Patra et al. · The Science of The Total Environment
A comprehensive review of evaporation barriers through an environmental and economic lens, comparing suspended, floating and chemical covers and flagging the embodied water cost of plastic covers as an under-studied lifecycle risk.
- Field 2021 Open access
Floating PV; an assessment of water quality and evaporation reduction in semi-arid regions
Qasem Abdelal · International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies
Assesses both water-quality effects and evaporation reduction from floating photovoltaics in semi-arid conditions, where evaporative loss is highest.
- Modeling 2021 Open access
Reservoir Management by Reducing Evaporation Using Floating Photovoltaic System: A Case Study of Lake Nasser, Egypt
Hany F. Abd‐Elhamid, Ashraf Ahmed, Martina Zeleňáková et al. · Water
A case study modelling how a floating photovoltaic system reduces reservoir evaporation as part of integrated water-resource management.
- Lab 2021
Reducing Evaporation From Water Reservoirs Using Floating Lattice Structures
S. Assouline, Kfir Narkis · Water Resources Research
Tests open lattice-like floating structures that permit light and oxygen transfer while still cutting evaporation, reporting suppression comparable to far higher opaque coverage — a route to ecologically compatible covers.
- Field 2021
Introducing affordable and accessible physical covers to reduce evaporation from agricultural water reservoirs and pools (field study, statistics, and intelligent methods)
Hamidreza Ghazvinian, Hojat Karami, Saeed Farzin et al. · Arabian Journal of Geosciences
Field and statistical study of low-cost polypropylene-based physical covers on agricultural pools in Iran, with optimisation methods applied to cover design.
- Field 2021
Evaporation Suppression From Small Reservoirs Using Floating Covers—Field Study and Modeling
Bassem Mady, Peter Lehmann, Dani Or · Water Resources Research
A field study and model of evaporation suppression from small reservoirs using floating covers, reporting realistic field reductions and the influence of partial coverage and wind.
- Review 2021 Open access
Controversy over the Use of “Shade Covers” to Avoid Water Evaporation in Water Reservoirs
Rosa María Martínez-Espinosa · Sustainability
A critical review of the controversy around using shade balls and shade covers on drinking-water reservoirs, weighing evaporation and disinfection-byproduct benefits against ecological and chemical concerns.
- Field 2021 Open access
Effect of continuous and modular floating covers on evaporation losses and microalgal growth
Maram M. Shalaby, I. N. Nassar, Ahmed M. Abdallah · Journal of King Saud University - Engineering Sciences
Compares continuous and modular floating covers for both evaporation loss and microalgal growth, connecting evaporation control with water-quality effects.
- Field 2021
Evaporation suppression from open water surface using various floating covers with consideration of water ecology
Maram M. Shalaby, I. N. Nassar, Ahmed M. Abdallah · Journal of Hydrology
Outdoor pan experiments comparing floating balls, sheets and other covers across contrasting Egyptian climates, weighing evaporation suppression against ecological effects to guide cover selection for multi-purpose reservoirs.
- Modeling 2020
Impacts of climate change on the evaporation and availability of water in small reservoirs in the Brazilian savannah
Daniel Althoff, Lineu Neiva Rodrigues, Demétrius David da Silva · Climatic Change
Projects how climate change affects evaporation from, and water availability in, small reservoirs, showing rising losses under warming scenarios.
- Review 2020
Suppressing Evaporation from Surface Water Reservoirs: A Review
S. Deepika, M. Osman, Manoranjan Kumar et al. · Journal of Agricultural Engineering (India)
A review of biological, chemical and mechanical evaporation-suppression strategies for surface reservoirs, comparing reported effectiveness ranges across cover and shading approaches.
- Field 2020
Evaporation loss and energy balance of agricultural reservoirs covered with counterweighted spheres in arid region
Ke-Wu Han, Kebin Shi, Xinjun Yan · Agricultural Water Management
Year-round monitoring of a sphere-covered agricultural reservoir in arid China, showing counterweighted spheres hold position under wind and produce a measurable shift in the surface energy balance.
- Lab 2020
The effect of floating balls density on evaporation suppression of water reservoirs in the presence of surface flows
Amir Rezazadeh, Pooria Akbarzadeh, Milad Aminzadeh · Journal of Hydrology
Investigates how the packing density of floating balls affects evaporation suppression from reservoirs, identifying how coverage fraction maps to performance.
- Modeling 2020 Open access
An assessment study of evaporation rate models on a water basin with floating photovoltaic plants
Fausto Bontempo Scavo, Giuseppe Marco Tina, Antonio Gagliano et al. · International Journal of Energy Research
Assesses evaporation-rate models for a water basin partly covered by floating photovoltaic panels, estimating how much evaporation an FPV array suppresses alongside generating power.
- Field 2019
Water Savings Efficiency of Counterweighted Spheres Covering a Plain Reservoir in an Arid Area
Ke-Wu Han, Kebin Shi, Xinjun Yan et al. · Water Resources Management
A field and energy-balance study of counterweighted HDPE spheres on an arid Chinese reservoir, reporting substantial water savings with lighter-coloured spheres outperforming darker ones.
- Lab 2019
Evaporation Suppression From Water Bodies Using Floating Covers: Laboratory Studies of Cover Type, Wind, and Radiation Effects
Peter Lehmann, Milad Aminzadeh, Dani Or · Water Resources Research
Laboratory studies of evaporation suppression by floating covers of different types and coverage fractions, linking cover properties and the surface energy balance to suppression efficiency.
- Review 2019 Open access
A Review of Evaporation Reduction Methods from Water Surfaces
Yara Waheeb Youssef, A. G. Khodzinskaya · E3S Web of Conferences
A concise review of the main methods for reducing evaporation from water surfaces — physical covers, chemical monolayers and shading — with their relative strengths and limitations.
- Modeling 2019 Open access
Estimating reservoir evaporation losses for the United States: Fusing remote sensing and modeling approaches
Gang Zhao, Huilin Gao · Remote Sensing of Environment
Fuses satellite remote sensing with modelling to estimate evaporation losses across United States reservoirs, quantifying how much stored water is lost to the atmosphere at national scale.
- Modeling 2018 Open access
Evaporation suppression and energy balance of water reservoirs covered with self-assembling floating elements
Milad Aminzadeh, Peter Lehmann, Dani Or · Hydrology and earth system sciences
A physically based energy-balance model of reservoirs covered with self-assembling floating elements, showing how covers redirect intercepted radiation into sensible and longwave fluxes and raise the Bowen ratio to suppress evaporation.
- Modeling 2018 Open access
The water footprint of water conservation using shade balls in California
Erfan Haghighi, Kaveh Madani, Arjen Y. Hoekstra · Nature Sustainability
Assesses the water footprint of the Los Angeles shade-ball deployment, finding the water used to manufacture the balls is large enough that they must remain in place for years before net water savings are realised.
- Field 2018 Open access
Reduction of Evaporation from Water Reservoirs Using Floating Covers in Isfahan
Elham Mazaheri, Jahangir Abdei Koupai · Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
A 13-month randomised field trial in Isfahan, Iran compared three floating-sheet materials: polystyrene (85.6% evaporation reduction), polystyrene with an aluminium layer (83%), and polycarbonate (76.5%). Although polystyrene reduced evaporation most, polycarbonate showed the best long-term durability — a practical trade-off for material selection.
- Field 2018
Evaporation Reduction from Water Reservoirs in Arid Lands Using Monolayers: Algerian Experience
Sofiane Saggaï, Oum Elkheir Bachi · Water Resources
A field study of monolayer evaporation reduction on reservoirs in arid Algeria, reporting real-world performance and the gap between laboratory and open-air results.
- Lab 2017 Open access
Spreading rate and dispersion behavior of evaporation-suppressant monolayer on open water surfaces: Part 1 – At zero wind stress
Gavin Brink, Andrew P. Wandel, Nigel Hancock et al. · Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science
Examines how an evaporation-suppressant monolayer spreads and disperses on open water, a key control on whether a film stays intact long enough to be effective.
- Review 2017
Reservoir Evaporation in the Western United States: Current Science, Challenges, and Future Needs
Katja Friedrich, Robert L. Grossman, Justin Huntington et al. · Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
A community review of the state of reservoir-evaporation science in the western United States — measurement methods, knowledge gaps and priorities for improving estimates in a water-stressed region.
- Field 2016 Open access
Evaporation Retardation by Monomolecular Layers: An Experimental Study at the Aji Reservoir (India)
Kishor Panjabi, Ramesh Rudra, Pradeep Goel · Open Journal of Civil Engineering
A field trial applying a cetyl/stearyl alcohol monolayer to the Aji Reservoir in a tropical semi-arid region of India reported a 19.26% reduction in evaporation loss over a roughly six-month season, preserving about 0.18 million m³ of water — evidence that chemical films can deliver meaningful, low-cost savings in the field, while still well below near-full-coverage physical methods.
- Field 2015
Evaporation mitigation using floating modular devices
M. Mahmudul Hassan, William L. Peirson, Bryce M. Neyland et al. · Journal of Hydrology
Field trials using low-cost recycled plastic bottles as floating modules, finding evaporation reduction scales roughly linearly with packing density at coastal and arid-zone sites.
- Field 2013
Physical, chemical and microbiological effects of suspended shade cloth covers on stored water for irrigation
J.F. Maestre-Valero, Víctoriano Martínez Álvarez, Emilio Nicolás · Agricultural Water Management
Multi-parameter field study of stored irrigation water under a suspended shade-cloth cover, documenting physical, chemical and microbiological changes alongside reduced evaporation.
- Field 2012 Open access
Use of palm fronds as shaded cover for evaporation reduction to improve water storage efficiency
Shamshad Alam, Abdulmohsen A. Al-Shaikh · Journal of King Saud University - Engineering Sciences
Field-tests palm fronds as a low-cost shaded cover to reduce evaporation and improve water-storage efficiency — a locally available, low-tech option for small storages.
- Review 2012 Open access
Evaporation Reduction by Suspended and Floating Covers: Overview, Modelling and Efficiency
Fernanda Helfer, Charles Lemckert, Hong Zhang · Urban Water Security Research Alliance Technical Report No. 28
A frequently-cited review and 1-D modelling study of cover-based evaporation control. Suspended covers were found capable of up to ~88% suppression — the highest of the methods compared — while floating modular covers offered the best scalability; windbreaks delivered only ~27% reduction and only for small water bodies.
- Modeling 2011 Open access
Evaporation suppression from water reservoirs: Efficiency considerations of partial covers
S. Assouline, Kfir Narkis, Dani Or · Water Resources Research
Analyses the efficiency of partial covers, showing why suppression does not scale linearly with covered area because uncovered water and edges evaporate faster.
- Field 2011
Effects of a suspended shade cloth cover on water quality of an agricultural reservoir for irrigation
J.F. Maestre-Valero, Víctoriano Martínez Álvarez, Belén Gallego-Elvira et al. · Agricultural Water Management
Examines how a suspended shade-cloth cover changes reservoir water quality — thermal stratification, dissolved oxygen, salinity and chlorophyll-a — alongside its evaporation savings for drip irrigation.
- Modeling 2011
The Economic Impact of Water Evaporation Losses from Water Reservoirs in the Segura Basin, SE Spain
David Martínez-Granados, J.F. Maestre-Valero, Javier Calatrava et al. · Water Resources Management
Quantifies the economic impact of reservoir evaporation losses in Spain's water-scarce Segura Basin, translating lost water into monetary terms.
- Field 2010 Open access
Experimental assessment of shade-cloth covers on agricultural reservoirs for irrigation in south-eastern Spain
Víctoriano Martínez Álvarez, J.F. Maestre-Valero, Bernardo Martín Górriz et al. · Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research
A two-year field assessment of black-polyethylene suspended shade-cloth covers on Spanish agricultural reservoirs, reporting large evaporation reductions alongside strong suppression of algal blooms.
- Modeling 2010 Open access
Evaporation from partially covered water surfaces
S. Assouline, Kfir Narkis, Dani Or · Water Resources Research
Theory and experiments showing evaporation from partially covered surfaces is nonlinear in coverage fraction, because edge effects at cover perimeters drive disproportionate loss at intermediate coverage.
- Field 2010 Open access
Energy balance and evaporation loss of an irrigation reservoir equipped with a suspended cover in a semiarid climate (south-eastern Spain)
Belén Gallego-Elvira, Alain Baille, Bernardo Martín Górriz et al. · Hydrological Processes
An energy-balance and mass-transfer study of a suspended double shade-cloth over an irrigation reservoir, attributing most of the ~85% evaporation reduction to a reduced vapour-pressure deficit beneath the cover.
- Review 2008
The potential for monolayers to reduce the evaporation of water from large water storages
G.T Barnes · Agricultural Water Management
Reviews the potential and the practical limits of monolayers for reducing evaporation from large water storages, including wind sensitivity, spreading and persistence challenges.
- Field 2007 Open access
Evaporation from a small water reservoir: Direct measurements and estimates
Josef Tanny, S. Cohen, S. Assouline et al. · Journal of Hydrology
Compares direct eddy-covariance measurements of evaporation from a small reservoir against common estimation methods, testing how well standard models reproduce observed open-water loss.
- Lab 2006
Efficiency of shading materials in reducing evaporation from free water surfaces
Víctoriano Martínez Álvarez, Alain Baille, J.M. Molina Martínez et al. · Agricultural Water Management
Class-A pan experiments characterising how different shading materials reduce evaporation, establishing interception of incoming solar radiation as the dominant control.
- Modeling 1997 Open access
The influence of wind stress, temperature, and humidity gradients on evaporation from reservoirs
Scott A. Condie, Ian T. Webster · Water Resources Research
Analyses how wind stress, temperature and humidity gradients control evaporation from reservoirs, clarifying the physical drivers behind open-water loss.
- Review 1983
Evaporation Reduction: Summary of Long‐term Tank Studies
Keith R. Cooley · Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
A classic review of multi-year U.S. tank trials of wax, foamed-wax and foamed-rubber covers, reporting a wide reduction range and durability differences that set the baseline for later floating-cover research.
- Field 1973
Evaporation Reduction with Reflective Covers
Keith R. Cooley, Lloyd E. Myers · Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division (ASCE)
Tested eight light-coloured floating materials in buried and exposed tanks, reporting 23–87% evaporation reduction. Styrofoam and lower-melting-point continuous wax covers were the most efficient, at roughly $0.12–0.28 per 1,000 L saved — cheaper, at the time, than developing new water supply. An early cost-grounded case for reflective floating covers.
- Modeling 1972
An aerodynamic formula to compute evaporation from open water surfaces
G. Lakshman · Journal of Hydrology
Proposes an aerodynamic (mass-transfer) formula to compute evaporation from open-water surfaces from routine meteorological inputs.
- Modeling 1970
Energy Relationships in the Design of Floating Covers for Evaporation Reduction
Keith R. Cooley · Water Resources Research
An early treatment of the energy relationships that govern floating-cover design for evaporation reduction, relating cover optical and thermal properties to performance.
- Lab 1969
Evaporation Retarded by Monolayers
William D. Garrett · Science
Demonstrates that the evaporation-suppression efficiency of a hexadecanol monolayer is governed primarily by the air velocity over the surface, largely independent of the underlying (uncovered) evaporation rate — a mechanistic result with direct implications for where and how chemical films can be expected to perform.
- Lab 1965
Evaporation of Water: Its Retardation by Monolayers
Victor K. La Mer, Thomas W. Healy · Science
A landmark account of how monomolecular films retard evaporation of water, establishing the physical basis for chemical evaporation suppression.
- Field 1964 Open access
Evaporation Control Research, 1959–60
Gordon E. Koberg · USGS Water Supply Paper 1693
Follow-on USGS study that developed glyceryl-monostearate emulsions as self-spreading dispensers for hexadecanol films and explored copper-based bacteriostatic treatment to extend film life on the water surface. Persistence and toxicity trade-offs remained barriers to durable, large-scale monolayer suppression.
- Field 1963 Open access
Open-air evaporimeter studies on the water evaporation reduction due to hexadecyl (cetyl) alcohol, octadecoxy-ethanol and other monolayers
A.V. Deo, K.V. George, N.R. Sanjana et al. · MAUSAM (Indian Journal of Meteorology, Hydrology and Geophysics)
Among the earliest open-air (rather than laboratory) trials of evaporation-retardant monolayers. Tests in evaporimeters and small tanks found that alkoxy-ethanol films consistently outperformed plain cetyl/stearyl alcohol monolayers, while confirming that real outdoor conditions erode the suppression seen in still-air lab work.
- Field 1962 Open access
A practical field technique for measuring reservoir evaporation utilizing mass-transfer theory
G. Earl Harbeck · USGS professional paper
A foundational USGS field technique for estimating reservoir evaporation from mass-transfer theory, calibrated against the Lake Hefner water-budget studies. Still underpins aerodynamic estimates today.
- Review 1960 Open access
Review of literature on evaporation suppression
G. B. Magin, L. E. Randall · USGS Professional Paper 272-C
An early USGS synthesis of the published literature on evaporation suppression, documenting decades of monolayer and cover research and setting the agenda for later field work.
- Field 1959 Open access
Evaporation Control Research, 1955–58
Gordon E. Koberg, M.E. Ford Jr. · USGS Water Supply Paper 1480
Early federal program that screened roughly 150 candidate compounds for retarding reservoir evaporation and found straight-chain fatty alcohols (e.g. cetyl/octadecanol) the most effective. Large-scale field tests, however, achieved only modest reductions (on the order of 20% or less) on bigger reservoirs, with wind dispersion of the film identified as the limiting factor.
- Lab 1955
The Rate of Evaporation of Water through Fatty Acid Monolayers
Robert J. Archer, Victor K. La Mer · The Journal of Physical Chemistry
Measures how fatty-acid monolayers slow the evaporation of water under controlled conditions, quantifying the resistance a single molecular layer adds.
- Lab 1955
Influence of Monolayers on the Natural Rate of Evaporation of Water
W. W. Mansfield · Nature
Reports the influence of monolayers on the natural evaporation rate of water, an early demonstration that surface films can measurably cut loss.
Looking for the foundational citations behind our pages? See the Resources page. Want a live, multi-method calculator? Try the calculation guide.