A Simple Model for Shallow Lake Evaporation

Abstract

Abstract By combining the empirical model of Priestley and Taylor (1972) and the well-known Penman equation, a simple expression is obtained for evaporation from a shallow lake. This model is tested for a large lake in the Netherlands with an area of about 460 km2 and an average depth of 3 m. The estimated values of evaporation of 1, 5, 10 and 20 days are compared with energy-budget measurements. The comparison indicates that the proposed model gives good results for periods of 10 days or more.