Simulation of temperature and salinity in a fully mixed pond

Abstract

A mathematical model to simulate hourly water temperature and salinity of a well-mixed marine aquaculture pond has been developed. Energy exchanges between the pond's surface and atmosphere are calculated with theoretical and empirical relationships. Water exchange is considered significant and is included in the model. The model can predict water temperature accurately and salinity reasonably well for a period of one month. Water exchange causes significant heat change, but the inflow and outflow heat approximately cancel out, so the net effect of water exchange on pond temperature is not significant. Water exchange is dominant in causing variations in pond salinity. Sensitivity analysis shows that cloud cover and relative humidity affect water temperature significantly. PEST, a parameter estimation model, has proved useful in providing best estimations of parameters that quantify simultaneous processes.