A cost-effective sattellite-aircraft-drogue approach for studying estuarine circulation and shelf waste dispersion

The mounting economic pressure to extract oil and other resources from the Continental Shelf and to continue using it for waste disposal is creating a need for cost-effective, synoptic means of determining currents in this area. An integrated satellite-aircraft-drogue approach has been developed which employs remotely tracked expendable drogues together with satellite observations of waste plumes and natural tracers, such as suspended sediment. Tests conducted on the Continental Shelf and in Delaware Bay indicate that the system provides a cost-effective means of monitoring current circulation and ocean waste dispersion even under severe environmental conditions.