Evaporation suppression and solar energy collection in a salt-gradient solar pond.

Highlights: [•] Evaporation, temperature, and heat content for a covered solar pond were monitored. [•] Floating discs decrease evaporation and increase temperature and heat content. [•] Reduced evaporation enables operation where water supply is limited. [•] Increased heat content significantly improves solar pond thermal efficiencies. [•] A buoyant, transparent disc is recommended for large scale solar ponds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]