Free Software Helps Map Dye Dispersion

Marine scientists are studying the dispersion and dilution of sewage in coastal waters. They release a stable, non-toxic, dye immediately downstream of the effluent outfall pump, then use a GPS receiver and fluorometer to monitor: the position of the boat they are in, dye fluorescence and temperature. To capture this data to the PC they are using Windmill 4.3 software, which is now free from http://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html.

Marine scientists are studying the dispersion and dilution of sewage in coastal waters. They release a stable, non-toxic, dye immediately downstream of the effluent outfall pump, then use a GPS receiver and fluorometer to monitor: the position of the boat they are in, dye fluorescence and temperature. To capture this data to the PC they are using Windmill 4.3 software, which is now free from http://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html.

The GPS and fluorometer are connected to a Notebook computer's RS232 (COM) port. Windmill saves all the readings to a single text file, time stamping each data set. The sampling interval varies depending on location, and ranges from one reading per second to one reading every five seconds. This system enables real-time measurement of the position, fluorescence and temperature in the receiving water. After collecting the data, they develop a map of dilution within the effluent plume using a Geographic Information System software package (Arcview 3.2).

The scientists have used the system on other outfalls, and for other applications. For example, using the same setup but with the fluorometer calibrated to a different wavelength, they've measured the in-situ depletion of chlorophyll-a in the water column downstream of mussel farms.

For more information on this system see http://www.windmill.co.uk/fluorescence.html
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