Comparison of energy-budget evaporation losses from two morphometrically different Florida seepage lakes

Evaporation was computed by the energy-budget method for two north Florida lakes with similar surface areas but different depths, for the period May 1989 to December 1990. Lake Barco, in north-central Florida, is shallow, with an average depth of 3 m; Lake Five-O, in the Florida panhandle, is considerably deeper, with an average depth of 9.5 m. As a result, the thermal regime and seasonal evaporation rates of the lakes are different. Evaporation from the shallower lake was higher than that from the deeper lake in the winter and spring. In the late summer and autumn, however, the situation is reversed. Evaporation from the shallow lake is directly related to the amount of incoming shortwave radiation because of its limited ability to store energy. The lag in evaporation at the deeper lake is a function of the greater amount of heat that it seasonally stores and releases. The difference in annual evaporation between Lake Barco (151 cm year-1) and Lake Five-O (128 cm year-1) is related to differences in regional climatic conditions between the two sites. Additionally, higher than normal evaporation rates at the two lakes are probably related to drought conditions experienced in north Florida during 1990, which resulted in higher temperatures and more incoming radiation. Monthly evaporation at Lake Barco could usually be estimated within 10% of the energy-budget evaporation using a constant pan coefficient. This lake may be representative of other shallow lakes that do not store considerable heat. Monthly evaporation at Lake Five-O, however, could not be estimated accurately by using an annual pan coefficient because of the large seasonal influence of change in stored heat. Monthly mass-transfer evaporation compared well with energy-budget evaporation at Lake Barco, but did not compare well at Lake Five-O. These errors may also be associated with changes in heat storage. Thus, the thermal regime of the lake must be considered to estimate accurately the seasonal evaporation rates from a deep lake. ?? 1994.