In Los Angeles they just dumped 96 million of them into one reservoir for Los Angeles, California. It appears they reduce algae and other problems and prevent evaporation in the present drought California is in.
They appear from the video to be 3 to 5 inches in diameter balls made of Black Plastic and filled with air so they float on top of the water. The heat of the black balls absorbing sunlight likely kills algae from the warmth of the water while preventing evaporation by covering the water with each black plastic ball next to the next 96 million balls on the reservoir.
I'm thinking this also prevents sunlight from entering the water so only on the very surface of the water would it be hot from the sunlight absorbed as heat into the ball. This would insulate lower water levels just below the surface where no sunlight would occur or penetrate because of the black balls on top of the surface of the water.
However, I'm not sure what this would do to any lifeforms in the reservoir. Whether it was plants or fresh water creatures likely they wouldn't want to be there but only where there were no shade balls near them or over them because I'm not sure there would be enough oxygen in the water where the black balls are to sustain any forms of life there under them.
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