Behavior of air-water temperature in a primary facultative pond

Abstract

This article presents the analysis of the behavior and correlation between air temperature and water temperature in a pilot primary facultative lagoon designed, built and operated in Guatemala City, applicable to climates with average monthly temperatures between 17 ° C and 23 ° C, in order to provide an equation to predict the temperature of the water as a function of the temperature of the air which is easiest to obtain. For data collection, HOBO MX2201 temperature sensors were installed inside and outside the lagoon, programmed to collect information every 30 minutes; the air temperatures measured with one of the sensors were compared with the temperatures taken simultaneously with an automatic weather station, to verify the reliability of the data. For the analysis and processing of the data, descriptive statistics, correlation and regression studies, and contrast of hypotheses were used. Correlation coefficients were found in a confidence interval of 95% (p value <0.05) between the data of air temperature and the average temperature of the water column (r2 = 0.871), and between the air temperature and the average temperature superficial (r² = 0.879); the linear regression models are: T_{Average-water}=1.4815T_{Average- air} - 8.0929 and T_{s Average-water}=1.4607T_Average-air - 6.4772. The data that served as the basis for studying the behavior of the temperature did not show a significant difference with the historical data of INSIVUMEH (average temperatures registered no higher than 0.80 ° C, test p <0.05), the temperature had a daily cyclical behavior with the maximum monthly average temperatures from 22.46 ° C to 22.75 ° C occurring from 13:00 to 16:00 pm, the water temperature of the lagoon was not always found above the air temperature as it was commonly believed.