The object of this work was to study the dynamics of evaporation in the Itumbiara reservoir, located in Central Brazil, using MODIS-derived water surface temperature (product MOD11A1) and meteorological data acquired over the water surface. The evaporation rates were derived from latent heat flux, estimated through a mass transfer model. The estimates were carried out for the period between 1/1/2010 and 31/12/2010. The results showed that evaporation rate tends to increase from January to September and then decrease from September to December. The evaporation rate reached values near 20 mm day-1 in Itumbiara reservoir during the dry season in 2010. The mean evaporation rate for the wet season was 3.66 mm day-1 and 8.25 mm day-1 for the dry season. The total water volume evaporated from Itumbiara reservoir during 2010 was estimated at about 1.7 billion m³ (2,300 mm) which represents 10% of total reservoir volume. The results suggest that advection is the main transport mechanism which drives the evaporation in Itumbiara. The convective processes contribute secondarily to evaporation in Itumbiara reservoir.
evaporation; tropical reservoirs; remote sensing; MODIS