Study On the Coastal Thermal Plume Patterns by the Landbased X-band Radar Images

Study On the Coastal Thermal Plume Patterns by the Landbased X-band Radar Images

An oceanic thermal plume, which is often induced by the discharge of heated wastewater, is unavoidable in the coastal area around a power plant. We studied the patterns of thermal plumes from sea surface images of land-based X-band radar images. By averaging the image sequences, we were able to eliminate the patterns of wave crests and detect a band of strong radar echo intensity in front of the drain outlet of a power station. Field temperature records confirm the relationship between this echo band and the thermal plume. We learned that the movement features of the thermal plume in our study site are often influenced by tidal currents. Air-sea temperature differences and wind both significantly enhance the intensity of the radar echo. However, the influences of strong wind speed and upwind conditions are more sensitive with respect to enhancing the pattern of the thermal plume discharge from the X-band radar sea surface images.