Application of Landsat Thematic Mapper data for coastal thermal plume analysis at Diablo Canyon

Journal Article · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; (USA)

OSTI ID:5602246

Gibbons, D E; Wukelic, G E; Leighton, J P; Doyle, M J ^[1]

---

1. Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, WA (USA)

The possibility of using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) thermal data to derive absolute temperature distributions in coastal waters that receive cooling effluent from a power plant is demonstrated. Landsat TM band 6 (thermal) data acquired on June 18, 1986, for the Diablo Canyon power plant in California were compared to ground truth temperatures measured at the same time. Higher-resolution band 5 (reflectance) data were used to locate power plant discharge and intake positions and identify locations of thermal pixels containing only water, no land. Local radiosonde measurements, used in LOWTRAN 6 adjustments for atmospheric effects, produced corrected ocean surface radiances that, when converted to temperatures, gave values within approximately 0.6 C of ground truth. A contour plot was produced that compared power plant plume temperatures with those of the ocean and coastal environment. It is concluded that Landsat can provide good estimates of absolute temperatures of the coastal power plant thermal plume. Moreover, quantitative information on ambient ocean surface temperature conditions (e.g., upwelling) may enhance interpretation of numerical model prediction. 12 refs.

• OSTI ID: 5602246
• Journal Information: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; (USA), Journal Name: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; (USA) Vol. 55; ISSN PERSD; ISSN 0099-1112
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

520400* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Thermal Effluents Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COASTAL WATERS
DISTRIBUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GROUND TRUTH
LANDSAT SATELLITES
MONITORING
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PLUMES
POLLUTION
POWER PLANTS
SATELLITES
SEAS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SURFACE WATERS
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
THERMAL EFFLUENTS
THERMAL POLLUTION
THERMAL POWER PLANTS