Transport and Dispersion of a Conservative Tracer in Coastal Waters with Large Intertidal Areas |
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Authors: | J O Blanton A J Garrett J S Bollinger D W Hayes L D Koffman J Amft |
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Institution: | (1) Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411, USA;(2) Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29808, USA |
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Abstract: | In late December 1991, an accidental release of 5,700 CI of tritiated water (HTO) from the Savannah River Site was transported
via site streams into the Savannah River where it was carried downstream to the coastal zone. HTO released into a semitropical
Georgia estuary was forced into the tidal marshes surrounding the estuary as well as discharged directly into the Atlantic
Ocean. The spreading of HTO was studied with a 3D hydrodynamic model (ALGE) that includes flooding and draining of intertidal
areas. Comparisons of model simulations to measured HTO concentration showed that ALGE simulated well the general increase
and decrease of HTO as its plume passed a given area. The “sheet flow” approximation for marsh and small tidal creek flow
largely compensated for lack of model resolution and accurate bathymetry in areas with numerous small to medium-sized tidal
creeks. The water volume of the unresolved tidal creeks had to be accounted for in the simulations by increasing the initial
water depth over the marshes. ALGE and a simple box model both reproduced the trapping of HTO in intertidal areas. The time
scale over which intertidal areas import and export HTO back to the tidal channels varies between 10 and 30 days. |
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