Evaporation Suppression from Water Surfaces

Abstract—Techniques used for measuring the effect of monomolecular films to suppress evaporation from water surfaces are reviewed. A brief history of chemical studies and field testing of organic compounds is presented. Research in Illinois by the State Water Survey in-dicates that normal evaporation may be reduced by as much as one-third by efficient use of monolayers. Introduction—Hydrologic phenomena are ex-tremely variable in their intensity, quantity, and time of occurrence. The more apparent factors such as rainfall and runoff have received much study, while equally important phenomena such as evapo