A technique for measuring industrial waste dispersion resulting from ocean dumping

A measurement technique for collecting detailed information on the dispersion of industrial wastes discharged at sea has been developed and utilized on two studies off the U.S. East Coast. This technique employs a towed hose array capable of drawing water continuously from four depths as a survey vessel moves through a waste plume. In-line instrumentation automatically records seawater pH and fluorescence, a measure of waste concentration when fluorescent dye has been used to tag the waste. Sampling ports in the hose array can be used to collect discrete seawater samples in cases where the waste has not been tagged with dye, or for additional chemical analyses. Basic and acid wastes have been studied using this technique for periods up to 12 hours after discharge. Comprehensive data on short-term oceanic dispersion have resulted.