Mapping and initial dilution estimation of an ocean outfall plume using an autonomous underwater vehicle

Ramos, Patrícia; Neves, Mário V.; Pereira, Fernando Lobo

doi:10.1016/j.csr.2006.11.017

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Several authors have acknowledged the challenge of plume tracing given the highly complex and patchy structure of plumes. 23, 24 The full horizontal extent of the plume remains unknown but past and present data provide evidence that the wastewater plume is not merely a local issue above the WWTP outfall. On one occasion, during the April sampling campaign, the plume was detected as far as the reference point 1.5 km downstream of the WWTP discharge ( Figure S4 of the Supporting Information).…”

Section: ' Experimental Sectionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Spatial and Temporal Presence of a Wastewater-Derived Micropollutant Plume in Lake Geneva

Bonvin

Rutler

Chèvre

et al. 2011

Environ. Sci. Technol.

100

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This study discusses the occurrence and environmental risk associated with a micropollutant plume originating from the direct discharge of treated wastewater into the Vidy Bay of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The temporal variations and spatial extent of the plume and its effect on the presence of 39 pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants in the Vidy Bay were assessed over a 10 month period. A pronounced plume was observed from April to October, leading to locally elevated (up to 70-fold) pharmaceutical concentrations compared to the surrounding water column. For three of the measured substances, these plume-associated concentrations were sufficiently high to pose an ecotoxicological risk. The plume depth followed the thermal lake stratification, which moved to lower depths over the course of the warm seasons. Pharmaceutical hotspots associated with the plume were detected as far as 1.5 km downstream of the effluent wastewater outfall, but concentrations typically decreased with increasing distance from the wastewater outfall as a result of dilution and photodegradation. From November to January, when uniform temperature prevailed throughout the water column, no micropollutant plumes were detected. In contrast to pharmaceuticals, most pesticides showed homogeneous concentrations throughout the Vidy Bay during the whole study period, indicating that the effluent wastewater was not their dominant source. A strong linear correlation between electrical conductivity and concentrations of wastewater-derived micropollutants was identified. This relation will allow future estimates of wastewater-derived micropollutant concentrations via simple conductivity measurements.

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Section: ' Experimental Sectionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Spatial and Temporal Presence of a Wastewater-Derived Micropollutant Plume in Lake Geneva

Bonvin

Rutler

Chèvre

et al. 2011

Environ. Sci. Technol.

100

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“…Examples are Faisst et al (1990), Roberts and Wilson (1990), Davison et al (1993), Wu et al (1994), Petrenko et al (1998), and Carvalho et al (2002), Parnell (2003), Li and Hodgins (2004), and Ramos et al (2007). This is because of the difficulty and expense of mapping a plume in the ocean over a wide spatial area with changing conditions, particularly when the plume is trapped below the ocean surface by density stratification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plume tracking and dilution of effluent from the Boston sewage outfall

Hunt

Mansfield

Mickelson

et al. 2010

Marine Environmental Research

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“…Sampling) AUV has been successfully used to monitor sea outfalls discharges ( [2] [3]) (see Fig. 1).…”

Section: Mares (Modular Autonomous Robot For Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental impact assessment of Foz do Arelho sewage plume using MARES AUV

Ramos

Abreu

2011

OCEANS 2011 IEEE - Spain

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Ocean sewage outfalls are major sources of contaminants to coastal ocean ecosystems. This method of disposal has advantages in terms of economy and relative societal impact, but it also raises important concerns about public health and ecosystem preservation. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles have already been shown to be very useful for monitoring routine of ocean outfalls. The major advantage of this technology over traditional methods is the ability to collect high-resolution data which can be very valuable for environmental impact assessment and comparison with plume prediction models. Once the data has been collected in the field it is necessary to extrapolate from monitoring samples to unsampled locations. Geostatistics has been successfully used to obtain information, for example, regarding the spatial distribution of soil properties. In this work geostatistics is used to model and map the spatial distribution of temperature and salinity measurements gathered by MARES AUV in a monitoring campaign to Foz do Arelho outfall, with the aim of distinguishing the effluent plume from the receiving waters and characterizing its spatial variability in the vicinity of the discharge. The results demonstrate that this methodology provides good estimates of the dispersion of effluent and it is therefore very valuable in assessing the environmental impact and managing sea outfalls.

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Mapping and initial dilution estimation of an ocean outfall plume using an autonomous underwater vehicle

Cited by 25 publications

References 11 publications

Spatial and Temporal Presence of a Wastewater-Derived Micropollutant Plume in Lake Geneva

Spatial and Temporal Presence of a Wastewater-Derived Micropollutant Plume in Lake Geneva

Plume tracking and dilution of effluent from the Boston sewage outfall

Environmental impact assessment of Foz do Arelho sewage plume using MARES AUV

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