Transient heat and mass transfer of a salt-gradient solar pond

The problem of the heat and mass transfer in a solar pond has been studied with a 3D-transient model and variable fluid properties. The results have shown that the solar radiation has a great effect on the temperature field. It is observed, with regard to the stability criteria, that both the regions near the water free surface and the pond bottom appear to be critical while the large central region is rather stable. The heat losses through the water surface tend to rend unstable the immediate region beneath it. The water transparency seems to have no significant effect on the pond stability.