Seminar :: February 25 :: Irina Rypina

Near-Surface Water Transport in and Around Cape Cod Bay, with Application to the Potential Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Wastewater Release

Irina Rypina

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Abstract

Motivated by the possible release of wastewater into Cape Cod Bay from the recently closed Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, we use available drifter trajectories and the output from a high-resolution numerical model to study near-surface transport in and around the Bay and investigate the fate of the potential wastewater using. Key questions include: what are the dominant spreading pathways, how do they vary in time on seasonal to interannual scales, and what are the primary drivers of variability? Analysis reveals a seasonality in Cape Cod Bay transport patterns, with much weaker out of the Bay transport during winter and fall seasons. Wind induced Ekman currents are identified as a dominant driver of this variability.