Evaporation from Lakes and Large Bodies of Water = John Borrelli

The conversion of water from liquid state to vapor state is called evaporation. Evaporation requires energy-approximately 540 cal/cm3 of water (2.45 MJ/kg). Research has shown that the rate of evaporation is primarily a function of temperature, solar energy, wind velocity, vapor pressure deficit, and advected energy. The energy for evaporation comes predominately from solar radiation and wind. Evaporation is a major component of the hydrologic cycle, second only to precipitation. As such, precise documentation of evaporation from lakes and other water bodies is required for wise management of our water resources.