Observations of pond hydrodynamics

Abstract

This paper provides a detailed observation of pond hydrodynamics. Bathymetry and aerator deployment largely control the hydrodynamic regime. Aerators drive pond circulation, which is resisted by bottom and bank friction. Hydrodynamic friction is characterized by sediment grain size. One particular pond is offered as a proxy representative of Australian mariculture ponds in general: Pond X. The pond had been stocked with P. monodon at densities in the range 25–35 m −2 about ten times during the period from 1989 to 1995. Observations were made in the year 1996. The site was on the east coast of Australia at 18° south latitude. The location was sheltered by a mountainous offshore island, such that winds effecting the pond averaged 2.3 m s −1. Water exchange occurred at a rate of about 8.3% of pond capacity per day. Pond X was found to be rectangular, 120 m long and 87 m wide. The banks were found to slope between 1:1.5 and 1:7.6, with an average slope near 1:3. The pond was shallowest in one corner, where depth was 834 mm, and drained diagonally with 1872-mm maximum water depth. Aeration was provided by a total of six 1.5-kW machines, comprised of two of the paddlewheel type and four of the propeller-aspirator type. Each machine was found to deliver 200 N of horizontal thrust into the pond water column. The combined effect of the aerators created a circulation current averaging about 11 cm s −1 around the pond periphery. The central region of the pond was found to have a fluctuating velocity of less than 1 cm s −1. The mass-average size of pond soil and sediment was found to vary from 25 μm in the central region to 250 μm at the banks and where the bottom was swept by paddlewheels.