RT journal article
T1 Estimation of evaporation in Andalusian reservoirs: Proposal of an index for the assessment and classification of dams
A1 García López, Santiago
A1 Salazar Rojas, Marcia Carolina
A1 Vélez Nicolás, María de las Mercedes
A1 M.G.P. Isidoro, Jorge
A1 Ruiz Ortiz, Verónica
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
A2 Ingeniería Industrial e Ingeniería Civil
K1 Reservoir Evaporation
K1 Large Dams
K1 Classification Index
K1 Andalusian Reservoirs
K1 Reservoir Efficiency
AB Study region: This study focuses on Andalusia (Southern Spain), a mediterranean region of87,270 km2. Andalusia experiences significant water stress, making effective water managementcrucial.Study focus: Evaporation is a key element of the water budget, particularly in arid and semi-aridclimates, where losses from reservoirs represent a significant fraction of the volume annuallyregulated and compromise the efficiency of these infrastructures. This study aims to (i) estimatethe annual volume of water evaporated from large dams (> 5 hm³) in Andalusia and (ii) proposean index to classify reservoirs based on evaporative losses.New hydrological insights for the region: Data from 76 large dams in Andalusia, including theirdescriptive characteristics, morphometric details, and hydrological information, were retrievedfrom institutional sources. The monthly average flooded area was calculated from the Area-Volume-Elevation (AVE) curve, while monthly average evaporation rate was calculatedthrough the FAO Penman-Monteith equation using meteorological data. The combination of bothvariables has allowed to estimate the mean monthly volume of water evaporated in each reservoir.Results were validated with isotopic content (¹⁸O and ²H) from selected reservoirs. Theannual average volume evaporated from Andalusian reservoirs was estimated at 547 hm3/year(8.0 % of the inflows). Evaporative losses represent 1.1 % of inflows in the most efficient reservoirs,while in others, losses exceed 30 %, reaching 54 % in the most extreme case.
PB Elsevier
SN 2214-5818
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/36767
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/36767
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 10-may-2026