Validation and automatic detection of the dispersive transport of the submarine outfall of Mar del Plata, Argentina

ISLA FEDERICO; CORTIZO L C; BLOTTA EDUARDO; PASTORE JUAN IGNACIO; BALLARIN VIRGINIA; CUELLO, GRACIELA

Marine and fishery sciences

Inidep

Lugar: Mar del PLata; Año: 2024 vol. 37 p. 1 - 17

2683-7951

The submarine outfall of Mar del Plata city at Camet was projected considering the mean and maximum of forecasted sewage discharges, the inner-shelf depth, coliform concentration and its decay (T90) mainly induced by sunlight eff ect and costal salinity. In 2016 the outfall was operating with a length of 3,810 m and diff users in the last 526 m. An economical method to mon-itor its performance in relation to the surroundings, is remote-sensing techniques, applying either visible or radar images. Tidal currents parallel to the coast are responsible for the transport of the sedimentary plume in the far fi eld, after a primary dilution from a depth of 11 m. Visible images (1.5 to 6 m spatial resolution) are eff ective in monitoring the plume entrained in the upper portion of the water column. These analyses led to study the interaction between waves and coastal currents. Radar images (30 m resolution X and C bands) permit to survey the slick-alike plume that diff ers from the environment water by the surface roughness. Comparing both techniques visible images can distinguish the diff erent colours of the plume; instead, the radar images are showing the surface roughness from the slick-alike plume. The main advantage of active sensors is that they can map the plume during a cloudy weather and even during night time.