Modeling Outfall Plume Behavior Using Far Field Circulation Model
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 122, Issue 11
Abstract
The near field behavior of the new Boston sewage outfall plume, as simulated by a far field circulation model of Massachusetts Bay, has been compared with similar predictions from a well-known and often-used near field plume model (ULINE). The three-dimensional circulation model applied to Massachusetts Bay is based upon far field physical processes that may or may not apply to the near field plume physics. An accurate characterization of initial mixing is important for reliable prediction of the environmental impact of the new outfall's discharge. Two parameters predicted by both models, plume rise (or trap) height and dilution, have been compared to determine how well the circulation model represents near field behavior. The comparison indicates that the Massachusetts Bay far field model predicts trap heights and initial dilutions that are surprisingly similar to those generated by the near field model. The parameterization of the horizontal and vertical mixing processes in the far field circulation model, together with appropriate numerical grid resolution and a good prediction of three-dimensional currents and vertical mixing near the new outfall, apparently simulates the small scale and very near field entrainment processes sufficiently well to provide confidence that far field results are not biased due to poorly simulated initial dilution and trap height.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Adams, E., Kossik, R., Cosler, D., MacFarlane, J., and Gschwend, P. (1990). “Calibration of a transport model using halocarabons.”Estuarine and coastal modelling, M. L. Spaulding, ed., ASCE, New York, N.Y., 380–389.
2.
Baumgartner, D. J., Frick, W. E., and Roberts, P. J. W. (1994). “Dilution models for effluent discharges (3rd Ed.).”EPA/600/R-94/086, Ofc. of Res. and Devel., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
3.
Blumberg, A. F. (1994). “A primer for ECOMsi.”HydroQual Rep., HydroQual, Inc., Mahwah, N.J.
4.
Blumberg, A. F., and Goodrich, D. M.(1990). “Modeling of wind-induced destratification in Chesapeake Bay.”Estuaries, 13(3), 236–249.
5.
Blumberg, A. F., and Mellor, G. L. (1987). “A description of three-dimensional coastal ocean circulation model.”Three-dimensional coastal ocean models, Vol. 4, N. Heaps, ed., Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D.C., 1–16.
6.
Blumberg, A. F., Signell, R. P., and Jenter, H. L.(1993). “Modeling transport processes in the coastal ocean.”J. Marine Envir. Engrg., 1(1), 31–52.
7.
Chen, C., and Beardsley, R. C.(1995). “A numerical study of stratified tidal rectification over finite-amplitude banks.”J. Phys. Oceanography, 25(9), 2090–2128.
8.
Ezer, T., and Mellor, G. L. (1992). “A numerical study of the variability and the separation of the Gulf Stream, induced by surface atmosphere forcing and lateral boundary flows.”J. Phys. Oceanography, 22, 660–682.
9.
Galperin, B., Kantha, L. H., Hassid, S., and Rosati, A.(1988). “A quasi-equilibrium turbulent energy model for geophysical flows.”J. Atmospheric Sci., 45(1), 55–62.
10.
Geyer, W., Gardner, G., Brown, W., Irish, J., Butman, B., Loder, T., and Signell, R. (1992). “Physical oceanographic investigation of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays.”Tech. Rep. WHOI-92, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., Woods Hole, Mass.
11.
HydroQual, Inc. (1995). “A water quality model for Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays: calibration of the bays eutrophication model (BEM).”Rep. #NAICO103, Mahwah, N.J.
12.
Jenter, H. L., Signell, R. P., and Blumberg, A. F. (1993). “Modeling the tides of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays.”Hydr. Engrg. '93, ASCE, New York, N.Y., 2323–2332.
13.
Jirka, G. H., and Akar, P. J.(1991). “Hydrodynamic classification of submerged multiport diffuser discharges.”J. Hydr. Engrg., 117(9), 1113–1128.
14.
King, I. P., Peirson, W. L., and Cathers, B. A. (1994). “Modeling of deep water outfall plumes in the East Australian coastal ocean.”Estuarine and coastal modeling III, M. L. Spaulding et al. eds., ASCE, New York, N.Y., 71–85.
15.
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). (1988). Secondary Treatment Fac. Rep., Appendix A to Volume V.
16.
Mellor, G. L., and Yamada, T.(1974). “A hierarchy of turbulence closure models for planetary boundary layers.”J. Atmospheric Sci., 31(17), 1791–1806.
17.
Muellenhoff, W. P., Soldate, A. M., Baumgartner, D. J., Schuldt, M. D., Davis, L. R., and Frick, W. W. (1985). “Initial mixing characteristics of municipal ocean discharges.”Rep. No. EPA-600/3-85-073a, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
18.
Okubo, A. “Oceanic diffusion diagrams.”Deep-Sea Res., 18, 789–802.
19.
Roberts, P. J. W.(1979). “Line plume and ocean outfall dispersion.”J. Hydr. Div., ASCE, 105(4), 313–330.
20.
Roberts, P. J. W., Snyder, W. H., and Baumgartner, D. J.(1989a). “Ocean outfalls. I: submerged wastefield formation.”J. Hydr. Engrg., 115(1), 1–25.
21.
Roberts, P. J. W., Snyder, W. H., and Baumgartner, D. J.(1989b). “Ocean outfalls. II: spatial evolution of submerged wastefield.”J. Hydr. Engrg., 115, 26–48.
22.
Roberts, P. J. W., Snyder, W. H., and Baumgartner, D. J.(1989c). “Ocean outfalls. III: effect of diffuser design on submerged wastefield.”J. Hydr. Engrg., 115, 49–70.
23.
Roberts, P. J. W., and Snyder, W. H.(1993). “Hydraulic model study for Boston outfall. II: environmental performance.”J. Hydr. Engrg., 119(9), 988–1002.
24.
Signell, R. P., Jenter, H. L., and Blumberg, A. F. (1994). “Modeling the seasonal circulation in Massachusetts Bay.”Estuarine and coastal modeling III, M. L. Spaulding et al., ed., ASCE, New York, N.Y., 578–590.
25.
Walton, R., Kossik, R., and Kapner, R. “Bay-wide model studies for the Boston ocean outfall.”Estuarine and coastal modeling, M. L. Spaulding, ed., ASCE, New York, N.Y., 390–399.
26.
Washburn, L., Jones, B. H., Brakovich, A. B., Dickey, T. D., and Chen, M. S.(1992). “Mixing dispersion, and resuspension in vicinity of ocean wastewater plume.”J. Hydr. Engrg., 118(1), 38–58.
27.
Wu, Y., Washburn, L., and Jones, B. H.(1994). “Buoyant plume dispersion in a coastal environment: evolving plume structure and dynamics.”Continental Shelf Res., 14(9), 1001–1023.
28.
Zhang, X. -Y. (1995). “Ocean outfall modeling—interfacing near and far field models with particle tracking method,” PhD thesis, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge, Mass.
29.
Zhang, X. -Y., Adams, E. E., Blumberg, A. F., Ji, Z. -G., and Ziegler, C. K. (1994). “Near field behavior of a far field circulation model.”Hydr. Engrg. '94, ASCE, New York, N.Y., 155–159.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 1, 1996
Published in print: Nov 1996
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.