Sensitivity analysis of the pond heating and temperature regulation (PHATR) model

The PHATR model was designed to determine: (1) the temperature and (2) the size of the energy transfer mechanisms for research-sized (400 m3) outdoor aquaculture ponds in Louisiana. Because various environmental parameters affect the model's output, a sensitivity analysis was used to identify which factors had a greater affect on the pond temperature. Four environmental parameters (air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and flow rate of water used to control the pond temperature) were varied one at a time. The temperature for 1 m3 ponds was modeled for 48 h. The output (pond temperature) for each trial model run was compared to the output of a standard model run. The model's sensitivity to air temperature varied linearly (r = 0.999) from 0.10 to 0.35 °C/°C. The model's sensitivity to solar radiation ranged from 0.04 to 0.14 °C/W. The model's sensitivity to wind speed (dependent on wind speed) ranged from −0.003 to −1.64 °C/(m/s). The model's sensitivity to the flow of warm water (dependent on the flow of warm water) ranged from 158,074 to 620,845 °C/(m3/s)/m3. The model's sensitivity to the flow of cool water (dependent on the flow of cool water) ranged from 46,375 to 844,873 °C/(m3/s)/m3. For all cases, time was found to have an effect on the model's sensitivity. Ultimately, this data is useful for the design and management of outdoor earthen aquaculture ponds in the Southeastern United States or similar areas.