Book Description

Aerial photography provides a method of analyzing dispersion of wastes that are discharged into the ocean. This method is more comprehensive than conventional boat sampling in dispersion studies. The photographic technique permits waste concentrations to be measured throughout the plume in one instant; thereby allowing the diffusion analysis to be based on a nonsteady state model rather than the normally assumed steady state model. Field studies were conducted on the waste plume from an ocean outfall. Waste concentrations were measured by conventional boat sampling while aerial photography was taken of the area. Computerized procedures were developed for computing the water currents, waste concentrations and diffusion coefficients from the photography. Comparisons of waste concentrations indicated that the discrepancies are due primarily to changing and shifting of the waste field in this dynamic environment.