WRC have contracted NIWA study using the monitoring buoy data from Lake Taupo - Jan 2021

Common methods for estimating evaporation (e.g. Penman-Monteith) can give the wrong answers if applied to lakes. For example, the bulk of the sun's energy may go into heating the lake, when the water is cooler than the air, rather than evaporation. The buoy also better represents wind and temperature above the lake itself, compared to using land-based data from the airport to estimate evaporation from the lake.

Waikato Regional Council see use for this data, with evaporation and groundwater inflows the two missing pieces of the puzzle for Taupo's water balance. And these are potentially big pieces. This will also help inform management of water resources for the Waikato River." Thomas Wilding, Team Leader WRC Water, Science and Strategy