Application of Remote Sensing Techniques for Monitoring the Thermal Pollution of Cooling-Water Discharge from Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract

This article introduces a practical method to investigate thermal pollution in coastal water from satellite data. The intensity and distribution areas of thermal pollution by the heated effluent discharge from the nuclear power plant on Daya Bay, southern China were investigated by using Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) thermal band data from 1994 to 2001. A local algorithm was developed, based on sea-truth data of water surface temperature measured when the satellite passed over the study area. The local algorithm was then applied to estimate water temperature from TM data. It shows that the remote sensing technique provides an effective means to quantitatively monitor the intensity of thermal pollution and to retrieve a very detailed distribution pattern of thermal pollution in coastal waters. The remotely-sensed results of the thermal pollution can be used for environmental management of coastal waters.

Assessment of extreme hydrological conditions in the Bothnian Bay, Baltic Sea, and the impact of the nuclear power plant “Hanhikivi-1” on the local thermal regime

“…In Hong and Guixiang (2012), a significant negative impact of the warm cooling water ejection of the coastal power plant located in the tidal Xiangshan Bay (China) on phytoplankton was shown. Similar conclusions are given in Chuang et al (2009) after the assessment of the impact of discharged water from a coastal nuclear power plant located in Taiwan. Also, the impact assessment of the discharged water from a NPP located on the Atlantic coast in Brazil (Ilha Grande Bay) has shown the changes in the composition and structure of marine fish species as it was shown by Teixeira et al (2009).…”

“…In addition to field observations and numerical modeling, the usage of satellite data can also be useful in such assessments, as it was shown, for example, in the work of Chen et al (2003), which presents the analysis of thermal pollution from a nuclear power plant located on the shores of the tidal South China Sea. The paper noted that it is more difficult to evaluate the effect of thermal pollution from a power plant in tidal seas than in non-tidal seas.…”

“…However, during the construction of these power plants, it is absolutely necessary to carry out a preliminary examination, including the assessment of risks associated with extreme natural conditions that may lead to technogenic disasters, as recently happened at the Japanese NPP in Fukushima, which was damaged during the earthquake and subsequent tsunami (see Acton and Hibbs, 2012;Buesseler et al, 2011;Srinivasan and Gopi Rethinaraj, 2013). There exists a twofold oppositely directed influence: (1) NPPs are affected by the environment and (2) NPPs impact the environment with possible negative effects manifested, in particular, in the release of warm cooling water (Chuang et al, 2009; Thermal standards for cooling water . .…”

Application of Landsat 8 for Monitoring Impacts of Wastewater Discharge on Coastal Water Quality

“…(TM), Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Terra ASTER, have high spatial resolutions of 120, 60, and 90 m, respectively, and have been adapted for use in coastal SST retrievals (Gibbons et al, 1989;Mustard et al, 1999;Chen et al, 2003;Suga et al, 2003;Gierach et al, 2017). Landsat 8 TIRS is the latest high-resolution thermal sensor for use in coastal monitoring.…”

Retrieval of Sea Surface Temperature Over Poteran Island Water of Indonesia With Landsat 8 Tirs Image: A Preliminary Algorithm

“…The difficulty of atmospheric correction limits the use of TM/ETM + TIR bands in coastal and inland water (Ritchie and Cooper, 2001;Schott et al, 2001). Some researchers have established SST inversion models depending on the correlation between the TM/ETM + TIR radiance and the in-situ SST data (Chen et al, 2003). Ahn et al (2006) applied the algorithm by the NASA to the coastal SST retrieval without consideration of the atmospheric effects.…”