Thin-Layer Gravity Current with Implications for Desalination Brine Disposal

Autor:	Paula S. Kulis, Ben R. Hodges, Jordan Ernest Furnans
Rok vydání:	2011
Předmět:	Hydrology geography Arithmetic underflow geography.geographical_feature_category Mechanical Engineering Stratification (water) Hypoxia (environmental) Estuary Desalination Gravity current Water column Benthic zone Environmental science Water Science and Technology Civil and Structural Engineering
Zdroj:	Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. 137:356-371
ISSN:	1943-7900 0733-9429
DOI:	10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000310
Popis:	Measurements of stratification and dissolved oxygen (DO) illustrate a hypersaline gravity current with salt loads similar to a desalination plant brine discharge. Over a 48-h sampling period in August 2005, alternating cycles of high- and low-temperature hypersaline water were observed along the bottom of Corpus Christi Bay in Texas, coincident with low benthic DO and tidal flushing from an adjacent smaller bay. The gravity current underflow was typically less than 10% of the overall water depth. Strong salinity gradients prevented wind-mixing of the entire water column. Hypoxic and near-hypoxic conditions were associated with limited DO replenishment from the ambient water. High DO levels in the underflow source water did not deter the development of offshore benthic hypoxia. A quasi-Lagrangian analysis is used to evaluate the relationship between ambient mixing and lateral mixing within the underflow. The analysis is further applied to estimating DO demand rates in the hypersaline plume. Mixing between ...
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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