Evaporation of Brine: A Field Study on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Evaporation rates were determined for seven brines whose average specific gravities varied from 1.207 to 1.333. Evaporation of the brines ranged from 70% to 9.5%, respectively, of the freshwater evaporation rate. The field data agree exceptionally well with differential vapor pressures over Great Salt Lake brine, measured in the laboratory by Dickson et al. [1965]. Water occasionally condenses on the heavier brines because of an inverted vapor pressure gradient.