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Alternative methods for the reduction of evaporation: practical exercises for the science classroom

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Alternative methods for the reduction of evaporation: practical exercises for the science classroom
Peter Schouten1,2, Sam Putland1, Charles J Lemckert1, Alfio V Parisi3 and Nathan Do ns1,2
1 2

School of Engineering, Griffith University, Gold oast, !ustralia entre for "ural and "e#ote !rea $ealth, University of Southern %ueensland, &oowoo#'a, !ustralia 3 !ustralian entre for Sustaina'le atch#ents, University of Southern %ueensland, &oowoo#'a, !ustralia E(#ail) p.schouten*griffith.edu.au

A!stract !cross the world, freshwater is valued as the #ost critically i#portant natural resource, as it is re+uired to sustain the cycle of life. Evaporation is one of the pri#ary environ#ental processes that can reduce the a#ount of +uality water availa'le for use in industrial, agricultural and household applications. &he effect of evaporation 'eco#es intensified especially during conditions of drought, particularly in traditionally arid and se#i(arid regions, such as those seen in a nu#'er of countries over the past ten years. ,n order to safeguard against the influence of droughts and to save water fro# 'eing lost to the evaporative process, nu#erous water saving #echanis#s have 'een developed and tested over the past century. &wo of the #ost successful and widely used #echanis#s have included floating hard covers and che#ical fil# #onolayers. &his article descri'es a la'oratory 'ased project developed for senior high school and first year university classes, which has 'een designed to introduce students to the concepts of evaporation, evaporation #odelling and water loss #itigation. Specifically, these ideas are delivered 'y si#ulating the large scale deploy#ent of 'oth #onolayers and floating hard covers on a s#all water tan- under nu#erous user defined at#ospheric and hydrodyna#ic conditions, including varying surface wind speeds and underwater 'u''le plu#es set to changing flow rates.

"ntroduction
Evaporation is the process of a su'stance changing fro# a li+uid to a vapour phase at the li+uid surface at a te#perature 'elow its 'oiling point .1/. &he rate of evaporation occurring
222
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across the surface of any given water 'ody is affected 'y various factors, which include relative hu#idity 0at#ospheric water vapour loading1, wind velocity and fetch, solar radiation input, air te#perature, water surface area, surrounding
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%vaporation studies for the science classroom land uses and also the apparent influence of wide scale cli#atological events influenced 'y changes in the glo'al cli#ate .2/. E>isting evaporation #itigation techni+ues are continually 'eing designed, developed and i#ple#ented to 'etter protect water fro# evaporation processes in order to ensure that one of our #ost valua'le natural resources is saved for the 'enefit of future generations. &hree such evaporation #itigation techni+ues that have recently 'een re(evaluated and tested for real(world deploy#ent are 'u''le plu#e syste#s, che#ical fil# #onolayers and floating hard covers. Bubble plumes &he dyna#ics of 'u''le plu#es and the i#( plications of their use have 'een investigated in 'oth controlled and natural environ#ents .3/. Stratification is the ther#al and physical for#ation of layers in a water colu#n. Stratification tends to occur in the war#er #onths of the year, and results in a war#er surface layer that leads to higher evaporation rates .?/. 5estratification 0'y 'u''le plu#e syste#s1 can 'e used as a #ethod for enhancing water +uality 'y reversing the effects of ther#al stratification in la-es and reservoirs and as such #ay 'e utili@ed to reduce evapo( ration. Specifically, destratification 'rea-s up the sta'le layers 'y #echanical #i>ing, resulting in increased water +uality, and reduced surface water te#peratures, ulti#ately leading to lower evaporative rates .A/. Floating hard covers Bloating covers provide a highly effective #eans of evaporation #itigation .C/. Bloating covers are usually #odular in structure allowing the# to #erge together across a water surface to provide near co#plete coverage. Evaporation is suppressed 'y the physical 'arrier 'etween the water surface and the at#osphere. Specifically, studies have shown that evaporative reductions ranging fro# D2 to DAE can 'e delivered 'y floating #odular covers over an e>tended ti#e period .D/. Chemical film monolayers =ono#olecular che#ical co#pounds 0#ost co#( #only referred to as #onolayers1 can 'e used as an effective #ethod to reduce evaporation fro#
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water storages. =onolayer co#pounds wor- 'y for#ing a single rapidly spreading #olecular layer across a water surface for#ing a diffusion 'arrier on the water surface, suppressing evaporation and wave action .F/. &his #olecular layer is generally no #ore than 2 n# thic-. $owever, so#e evaporation reducing che#ical fil#s 0technically not #onolayers1 have 'een developed that spread out in a layer #uch thic-er than this. Bigure 1 displays a series of pictures of three of the #ost co##only used evaporation suppressing fil#s on a water surface. &he fil#s shown are the co##er( cially availa'le GaterSavr 0www.phosloc-.co#. au/watersavr.php1 and !+uatain 0www.a+uatain. co#.au1 products and also octadecanol 0stearyl alcohol1 suspension. Bollowing on fro# the e>peri#ent series detailed 'y Schouten et al .8/, the following article details a la'oratory project designed for senior high school physics, general science classes and first year university environ#ental physics courses, which has 'een developed to introduce students to the concepts of evaporation, evaporation #odelling, at#ospheric #onitoring and water loss #itigation. Specifically, these ideas are delivered 'y perfor#ing a series of si#ple and ine>pensive e>peri#ents si#ulating the large scale deploy#ent of 'oth che#ical fil#s/#onolayers and floating hard covers on a s#all water tanunder user defined at#ospheric and hydrodyna#ic conditions, including varying surface wind speeds and underwater 'u''le plu#es set to changing flow rates. Bollowing e>peri#entation, the results can 'e co#pared to a widely used evaporation #odel and an evaluation of which evaporation #itigation #echanis# will provide the 'est overall perfor#ance in a real(world water reservoir can 'e detailed.

&ethod and implementation

Equipment !ccess to a te#perature and hu#idity controlled roo# or enclosure is re+uired in order to -eep the surrounding at#osphere consistent 'etween each e>peri#ent, which will allow for results fro# each trial to 'e readily co#pared. Specifically, any sufficiently si@ed roo# with an air conditioning syste# coupled with a dehu#idifier will 'e ideal. !lternatively a la'oratory fu#e ca'inet could 'e used as a s#all scale controlled at#osphere environ#ent.
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P Schouten et al

0a1

0'1

0c1

'i(ure )* 0a1 GaterSavr che#ical fil# unevenly spread out over a water surface. 0'1 !+uatain che#ical fil# rando#ly distri'uted over a water surface. 0c1 6ctadecanol #onolayer spread on top of a water surface.

! s#all water tan- filled with clean tap water will 'e needed to test the evaporation #itigation #echanis#s. Bor this, any tan- with di#ensions greater then 322 ## H 222 ## H 222 ## will 'e re+uired. ! deeper tan- #ay 'e necessary if the effect of stratification/destratification is to 'e studied in greater detail, as the effect of water colu#n #i>ing #ay not 'e as apparent at s#aller depths. ,n order to induce #i>ing within the water inside the tan-, a si#ple water aeration/'u''le plu#e syste# #ay 'e used. ,f a water aeration/'u''le plu#e syste# is not availa'le, a si#ple water pu#p device can 'e used as an alternative to recirculate the water instead. &hese syste#s are readily availa'le fro# a+uariu# stores and are ine>pensive. ,f the flow rate delivered 'y the water aeration/'u''le plu#e syste# is not given 'y the #anufacturer, an e>peri#ent to calculate it is defined in the
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I#easure#ent of flow rate fro# the water aeration syste#J section. ! fan capa'le of delivering at least three wind speeds will need to 'e positioned to the side of the water tan- e>tending across the longest fetch. =a-e sure that the air flow provided 'y the fan is not 'loc-ed or restricted 'y the edge of the tan-, as a consistent air flow is re+uired to 'e directed parallel to the water surface throughout each e>peri#ent. Gind speed can 'e #easured using a cheap ane#o#eter. ,f an ane#o#eter is not readily availa'le a si#ple wind speed e>peri#ent can 'e carried out which is further detailed in the I=easure#ent of wind velocityJ section. Gater vapour 0hu#idity1 can 'e #easured with an ine>pensive hygro#eter and local a#'ient and water surface te#peratures can 'e #onitored using a 'ul' ther#o#eter. Gater surface te#perature #easure#ents can 'e appro>i#ated 'y placing
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'i(ure +* !n e>a#ple e>peri#ental setup with the fan positioned close to the surface of a s#all water tan- and a water aeration/'u''ler syste#, with its two air outlets attached at opposite ends of the s#all tan- wall.

'i(ure #* 6utlet 'u''lers fro# the water 'u''ler in operation. &he even outwards circular spread of the capillary waves can 'e clearly seen.

'i(ure ,* 3ing pong 'alls in for#ation across the s#all water tan- used in the e>peri#ents.

the end of the ther#o#eter appro>i#ately 1K 2 ## 'eneath the waterline. Evaporation can 'e #onitored 'y #easuring the water level change in the tan- at the start and at the end of each e>peri#ent with a digital Lernier scale. Bigure 2 displays an e>a#ple e>peri#ental configuration with a dual output water aeration/'u''le plu#e syste# attached to a s#all water tan-, with a fan positioned just a'ove the water surface. 6ne or #ore evaporation suppressing #ono( layers/che#ical fil#s will 'e re+uired to test their perfor#ance properties and also to investigate how they perfor# when used in conjunction with the water aeration/'u''ler syste#. ,n the e>peri#ents detailed in this article, the authors e#ployed the

GaterSavr and !+uatain che#ical fil#s. &hese fil#s can 'e replaced 'y other suita'le evaporation suppressing che#icals such as he>adecanol or octadecanol that can 'e purchased fro# Sig#a !ldrich 0www.sig#aaldrich.co#1. &o si#ulate the deploy#ent of floating hard covers on the water surface, ping pong 'alls can 'e used. Bigure 3 shows an e>a#ple of how a set of ping pong 'alls can 'e positioned across the water surface during an e>peri#ent. 7otice how the ping pong 'alls are tightly pac-ed 0with so#e slac-1 allowing for #ini#al surface water to 'e e>posed to the at#osphere, si#ilar to how floating covers would 'e positioned across a real(world water reservoir. &he outlets fro# the water aeration/'u''ler syste# should 'e attached to the tan- so that they e>tend down to the lowest depth possi'le. !ir flow fro# the outlet should 'e directed upwards perpendicular to the tan- 'ase so that ade+uate #i>ing can ta-e place throughout the water colu#n. Ensure that the 'u''les produced do not create too #uch spray at the water surface, as this can inadvertently increase water loss throughout an e>peri#ent. !lso, as shown in figure ?, the outlet 'u''lers #ay create a capillary wave pattern on top of the water surface, not dissi#ilar to a point source flow regi#e. Modelling !ccurately #easuring and #onitoring evaporation is not a si#ple tas-. ,#portant at#ospheric para#eters such as inco#ing solar radiation,

which is a large influencing factor in deter#ining evaporation rates, are not present in indoor environ#ents. !s such, indoor evaporation #odels are less co#plicated as they generally only re+uire the input of wind speed, te#perature and water vapour pressure data in order to o'tain accurate evaporative esti#ates. "o'ust indoor/controlled environ#ent evaporation #odels can 'e e#ployed and their output0s1 can 'e co#pared to the #easured data if desired. 6ne such #odel that can 'e e#ployed is provided 'y S#ith et al .12/)

M E

(32.C 9 32.1 H U ( !G N !!
011

"

where E is the evaporation rate in -ilogra#s per #etre s+uared per hour, U is the wind speed propagating over the water surface in #etres per second, !G is the saturation vapour pressure at the current water te#perature in units of ## $g, !! is the saturation vapour pressure at the air dew point te#perature in units of ## $g and " is the latent heat of water at the water te#perature in the tan- in units of -O -gN1 . &o calculate the saturation vapour pressure values re+uired in 011 the following for#ula can 'e used .11/)

! M C.112e1D.C2# $(2?3.129#

021

where ! is pressure in units of h3a and # is the air te#perature in units of degrees elsius. &o evaluate the air dew point te#perature (#5 as re+uired 'y e+uation 011, the following appro>i#ation can 'e e#ployed)

021 =easure the evaporation after a 2?K?F h interval. ,f necessary, this ti#e interval can 'e reduced to AK12 h 0the duration of a wor-ing day1. 7ote that evaporative losses occurring over this short ti#e interval will only 'e detecta'le if the locali@ed air te#perature is relatively high. 031 !fter the fastest wind speed e>peri#ent, #easure the evaporation occurring over the sa#e ti#e interval for the re#ainder of the speed settings on the fan. 0?1 3erfor# a final trial with no wind applied to the water tan- in order to o'tain a 'aseline evaporation value. 0A1 Pegin another series of e>peri#ents 'y separately deploying the #onolayers/che#ical fil#s and the ping pong 'alls to the surface of the water in the tan-. 0C1 ontinue #easuring evaporation occurring over the necessary ti#e interval for each of the different fan wind speed settings. !lso run a 'aseline trial with no wind applied to the water tan- so an evaporation value can 'e o'tained for the #onolayers/che#ical fil#s and the ping pong 'alls. 0D1 "epeat the e>peri#ent series detailed in steps 1KC with the water aeration/'u''ler syste# in operation. ,f ti#e per#its, e>peri#ents can 'e repeated with the water aeration/'u''ler syste# set to a nu#'er of different flow rates. &he authors of this article ran e>peri#ents with the outlet flow rate fi>ed to its a'solute highest and lowest settings 0referred to as I#a>. 'u''leJ and I#in. 'u''leJ respectively in figures A and C1. 0F1 Ensure that at the 'eginning and at the end of

#5 M
where % is given 'y)

23D.D% 1D.2D1 N %

031

each e>peri#ent a value for air te#perature, water surface te#perature and "$ is #easured and recorded.

% M

1D.2D1 # 9 ln 23D.D 9 #

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0?1 Measurement of &ind velocity of the e>peri#ent.

with # 'eing the air te#perature in degrees elsius and "$ is the relative hu#idity. Measurement of evaporation 011 !pply the fastest wind speed to the water tan-. "ecord the e>act water level at the start

,f an ane#o#eter is not availa'le for use the students can perfor# a si#ple la'oratory 'ased activity to evaluate the appro>i#ate wind velocities generated 'y each fan setting. &he #ethodology for this activity is as follows. 011 3lace the fan in an area where it is uno'structed 'y any surrounding o'jects.

2.2C 2.2?

0a1

evaporation saving 0E1

wind only evap.Qno supression wind only evap.QGaterSavr wind only evap.Q!+uatain wind only evap.Qping pong 'alls #odelled evap.

122 F2 C2 ?2 22 2

0a1

2.22 2.22 2.2? evaporation 0-g hr K11

#in. 'u''ler evap.Qno suppression #in. 'u''ler evap.QGaterSavr #in. 'u''ler evap.Q!+uatain #in. 'u''ler evap.Qping pong 'alls

2#

0b1

2.A2 # 2.F2 # wind speed 0# sK11

1.23 #

GaterSavr Qwind only GaterSavr Q#in. 'u''le GaterSavr Q#a>. 'u''le

!+uatainQwind only !+uatainQ#in. 'u''le

!+uatainQ#a>. 'u''le ping pong 'allsQwind only ping pong 'allsQ#in. 'u''le ping pong 'allsQ#a>. 'u''le

2.22 evaporation saving 0E1

122 F2 C2 ?2 22 2

0b1

average savingsQwind only average savingsQ#in. 'u''le average savingsQ#a>. 'u''le

2.22 2.2C 2.2? 2.22

#in. 'u''ler evap.Qno suppression #in. 'u''ler evap.QGaterSavr #in. 'u''ler evap.Q!+uatain #in. 'u''ler evap.Qping pong 'alls

0c1

GaterSavr

!+uatain

ping pong 'alls

2.22 2 2.2 2.? 2.C 2.F 1.2 wind speed 0# sK11 1.2

'i(ure .* Evaporation profiles #easured for the following scenarios. 0a1 Paseline trials with no air flow supplied underneath the water 0the water 'u''ler turned off1. 0b1 &rials perfor#ed with air flow delivered into the water colu#n fro# the water 'u''ler set to its lowest setting 01.2D H 12K2 -g hrK11. 0c1 &rials perfor#ed with air flow delivered into the water colu#n fro# the water 'u''ler set to its highest setting 01.C8 H 12K2 -g hrK11. &he #odelled data shown in 0a1 are fro# the e+uation for evapora( tion in indoor swi##ing pools given 'y .12/ detailed in e+uation 011. ,t appears in this case that the #odel has overesti#ated the evaporation occurring in the tan-.

'i(ure -* 0a1 3ercentage evaporative savings #easured in each particular e>peri#ent provided each of the evaporation reduction syste#s. 0b1 Evaporative savings given 'y each of the evaporation reduction syste#s averaged for each the three hydrodyna#ic settings 0water 'u''ler turned off, water 'u''ler set to #ini#u# setting, water 'u''ler set to #a>i#u# setting1.

s+uare of paper as close as possi'le to the fan propellers. 0C1 "elease the light ite#. 0D1 !s soon as the light ite# is released using a stop watch or a watch ti#er #easure the ti#e ta-en for the light ite# to travel fro# the fan propellers to the end of the 1 # point away fro# the fan. 0F1 !fter the propagation ti#e of the lightweight ite# has 'een #easured the wind velocity generated 'y the fan can 'e calculated 'y using the well -nown e+uation for velocity) velocity M displace#ent . ti#e 0A1

021 Use a #etre ruler and a per#anent pen to #ar- out a distance e>tending fro# the 'ase of the fan to a point e>actly 1 # away fro# the fan. 031 5rop the fan down to its lowest possi'le position. 0?1 Switch the fan on to its #a>i#u# setting. 0A1 3lace a very light ite# with a relatively s#all surface area such as a feather or a s#all

081 !fter the wind velocity has 'een calculated for the #a>i#u# fan setting, continue this #easure#ent process until velocities have 'een evaluated for all of the re#aining fan settings.

Measurement of mass flo& rate from the &ater aeration system ,f the #ass flow rate fro# the water aera( tion/'u''ler syste# has not 'een provided 'y the #anufacturer, it will need to 'e calculated. &his can 'e done 'y co#pleting the following steps. 011 Use an ane#o#eter to #easure the air velocity just outside the opening of the output tu'e. 021 ,f an ane#o#eter is not availa'le, a si#ilar #odified #ethodology to that descri'ed in the I#easure#ent of wind velocityJ section can 'e e#ployed to #easure the air velocity at the outlet tu'e opening. &o do this si#ply set a ruler parallel to the direction of airflow propagating fro# the outlet. ut out a s#all s+uare of paper and press it against the end of the outlet tu'ing. &urn on the water aeration/'u''ler syste# and release the s#all s+uare of paper. =easure the distance travelled 'y the paper and record its ti#e of travel with a stop watch. Bro# these #easure#ents e+uation 0A1 can 'e used to provide an esti#ate of outlet velocity. 031 !fter #easuring the outlet velocity, the following e+uation can 'e used to esti#ate the #ass flow rate delivered 'y the water aeration/'u''ler syste#)

)ata analysis Students can co#plete the graphing and #odelling wor- re+uired for this e>ercise on paper or 'y using =icrosoft E>cel. &he data analysis phase #ay 'e co#pleted in the following order. 011 !verage air, "$ and water te#perature values for each e>peri#ent can 'e plotted on separate graphs if desired. 021 o#plete a series of regression line graphs displaying the evaporation #easure#ents o'tained in the tan- after the application of different wind speeds and #ass flow rates for each evaporation #itigation #echanis# for each separate trial 0 y a>is M evaporation rateS * a>is M wind speed1. Bigures A0a1K0c1 display a series of evaporation profiles with each evaporation #easure#ent #ade corresponding to each particular wind speed. alculate the + 2 value for each regression line in order to deter#ine the correlation 'etween wind velocity and evaporation. 031 E#ploy one or #ore of the #odels to calculate synthetic evaporation values for each of the wind speeds #easured in the e>peri#ents. ,nclude these #odelled evaporation profiles in the graph0s1 produced in step 2. &o #a-e calculations easier, students can average out the #easured te#perature and hu#idity data and in turn the calculated saturation vapour pressure and air dew point te#perature over the entire e>peri#ental ti#e interval 'efore insertion into the #odel0s1. 0?1 &he students can discuss reasons why their #easured evaporation data differed fro# or corro'orated the #odelled evaporation data 'y o'taining the original journal articles descri'ing the evaporation #odels. Bro# this the student will 'e a'le to gain an increased understanding 'ehind the develop#ent of each particular #odel and as a result will 'e a'le to 'etter detail why they #ay or #ay not have predicted the levels of evaporation. ! discussion should also 'e had detailing reasons why one che#ical fil#/#onolayer perfor#ed 'etter than the other and why the water 'u''ler/aeration syste# did or did not inhi'it the evaporative process. 0A1 3lot the calculated evaporation percentage savings for each of the evaporation #itigation

mR M 'v (
0C1 where mR is the #ass flow rate in units of -g hN1 , ' is the density of air at the current roo# te#perature given in -g #N3 and ( is the cross(sectional area of the tu'e fro# which the air e>its in units of #2 . &he density of air at a given te#perature can 'e o'tained fro# loo-up ta'les found in the #ajority of senior school and first year physics and che#istry te>t 'oo-s. &his #ethod can 'e replaced 'y another if needed. Students could 'e as-ed to develop their own #ass flow rate #easure#ent techni+ue. ,f a water pu#p is 'eing used, one such alternative could 'e to #easure the ti#e it ta-es to half fill an e#pty polythene 'ag with the water e>iting fro# the water pu#p. Bollowing this the 'ag can 'e placed in a tu' of water of -nown volu#e, fro# which a volu#e displace#ent esti#ate can 'e #ade. !s a result the volu#etric flow rate can 'e readily calculated and converted to #ass flow rate if re+uired.

syste#s under each particular wind speed on the sa#e graph 0 y a>is M evaporation percentage savingS * a>is M wind speed1. !n e>a#ple of this type of graph is shown in figure C0a1. 0C1 !s shown in figure C0'1, students can analyse the data in further detail 'y plotting another 'ar graph of the averaged evaporation percentage savings for each of the evaporation #itigation syste#s in relation to each of the water aeration/'u''ler syste# settings analysed throughout the e>peri#ent series 0 y a>is M evaporation percentage savingS * a>is M type of evaporation #itigation #echanis#1. Bro# this analysis the #ost successful evaporation #itigation #echanis# will 'e readily deduced.

e>ercise can 'e perfor#ed in an at#ospherically uncontrolled environ#ent. $owever, for this local wind speed, air te#perature, water te#perature and hu#idity #ust 'e #easured on a consistent 'asis throughout each e>peri#ent in order to ensure that these para#eters, after averaging, are as accurate as possi'le when they are input into the evaporation #odel.

Ackno led(ment
&he authors of the article would li-e to thanthe Ur'an Gater Security "esearch !lliance for funding this project.
+eceived , (ugust -.//, in final form -0 1eptember -.// doi2/../.33$..0/45/-.$,6$-$-.-

0eferences
.1/ Pritannica 2211 Evaporation www.'ritannica. co#/EPchec-ed/topic/1A1CD31/evaporation .2/ %ueensland 5epart#ent of 7atural "esources and =ines 2222 urrent -nowledge and developing technology for controlling evaporation fro# on(far# storage 7ational !rogram for 8rrigation +esearch and )evelopment #echnical +eport .3/ <e#c-ert O and ,#'erger O 1883 Energetic 'u''le plu#es in ar'itrary stratification 9. "ydraul. Eng. ))1 CF2KD23 .?/ $elfer B, Thang $ and <e#c-ert 2228 Enhancing reservoir #anage#ent through the use of #echanical evaporation reduction techni+ues !roc. -..5 11EE 8nt. Conf.2 1olutions for a 1ustainable !lanet (Melbourne pp 22K? .A/ van 5ij- = and van Luuren S O 2228 5estratification induced 'y 'u''le plu#es as a #eans to reduce evaporation fro# open i#pound#ents :ater 1( ,. 1AFKCD .C/ raig , 222D <oss of storage water through evaporation with particular reference to arid and se#i(arid @one pastoralis# in !ustralia );C+C :or<ing !aper /5 &he GaterS#art <iterature "eviews 5esert Unowledge " .D/ Oennison , 2223 =ethods for reducing evaporation fro# storages used for ur'an water supplies =") )epartment of 7atural +esources and Mines >ueensland #echnical +eport .F/ Schouten 3 G, 3alada , <e#c-ert O, Sunartio 5 and Solo#on 5 $ 2211 !nalysis of che#ical fil# #onolayers under wind and wave conditions !roc. 0,th 8("+ :orld Congr. -.// (Brisbane .8/ Schouten 3 G, <e#c-ert O, 3arisi ! L, 5owns 7, Underhill , and &urner G 2211 Laria'le wind speed and evaporation rates) a practical and #odelling e>ercise for high school physics and #ulti(strand science classes #each. 1ci. .$ ?DKA1

Summar/
Bro# the results o'tained fro# the e>peri#ents it is clear to see that under al#ost all conditions the floating hard covers 0#odelled 'y the ping pong 'alls1 provide on average the #ost su'stantial evaporative savings in co#parison to the two che#ical fil#s tested. 6ut of the two che#ical fil#s, !+uatain generally perfor#ed 'etter than GaterSavr, due to its increased coverage thic-ness. !lso, it was found that the synergistic use of the evaporation reduction #echanis#s and the water aeration/'u''ler syste# did not reduce evaporation rates, and #ay have had the reverse effect 'y gradually enhancing water loss. Students should o'tain results si#ilar to these. $owever, the effect of the water aeration/'u''ler syste# on evaporation patterns #ay 'e dependent upon the flow rate produced and also the depth of the water tan-. &he dependence of evaporation on water depth can 'e further investigated in e>tended e>peri#ents. &he article has provided 'oth physics and general science educators an e>ercise fro# which they can teach students the 'asic principles 'ehind concepts such as the process of evaporation, evaporation reduction techni+ues, water colu#n #i>ing and destratification along with ena'ling students to further strengthen their #athe#atical s-ill set 'y perfor#ing calculations with physical e+uations and carrying out data analysis tech( ni+ues. ,f de#onstrators cannot get access to a te#perature and hu#idity controlled roo#, the

.12/ S#ith , <of G and Oones " 188? =easure#ent and analysis of evaporation fro# an outdoor swi##ing pool 1ol. Energy ., 3KD .11/ Gorld =eteorological 6rgani@ation 222F Guide to =eteorological ,nstru#ents and =ethods of 6'servation :M?47o. 3 #echnical +eport

Charles J Lemckert is the 5eputy $ead of School at Griffith University, !ustralia. $e has over 22 years e>perience in environ#ental fluid #echanics research.

Peter Schouten is postdoctoral research fellow wor-ing on a nu#'er of environ#ental and at#ospheric physics projects. $e has an interest in developing practical classroo# e>ercises for physics classes.

Alfio V Parisi is an !ssociate 5ean at the University of Southern %ueensland in !ustralia. $e has over 22 years e>perience in a wide variety of disciplines including at#ospheric radiation, physics education and #edical physics.

Sam Putland is currently wor-ing as a professional environ#ental engineer in the private sector. $e has recently 'een involved in a long(ter# evaporation #easure#ent and #odelling project.

Nathan Do ns is a research scientist specialising in at#ospheric, #edical and #arine physics with over 12 years e>perience. $e has also wor-ed as a high school #athe#atics and physics teacher.