OTEC physical and climatic environmental impacts

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:5908901

Ditmars, J. D.; Paddock, R. A.

Assessment of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) environmental impacts and resource utilization requires an understanding of the physical processes underlying the interactions between an OTEC plant or plants and the ocean. An overview of the US Department of Energy program for the development and application of analyses and models for the prediction of the physical aspects of OTEC impacts is presented. Predictive tools are necessary to address problems at different site areas, scales of OTEC deployment, and time horizons. The effects of intake/discharge designs and of ambient ocean conditions on recirculation and near-field effluent plume behavior have been investigated by means of physical models. Further study of the intake flow fields may be necessary to make estimates of intake impingement and entrainment effects. Mathematical analysis of intermediate-field mixing of plant effluents has shown that effluent plumes may have vertical dimensions on the order of meters and lateral dimensions on the order of kilometers. Models of oceanic regional and island coastal circulation are required to investigate far-field effects on the scale of tens of kilometers. Basin-wide resource renewal and physical environmental effects are being studied by means of a numerical model of the Gulf of Mexico with detailed vertical resolution. Concerns regarding climatic impacts presently are focused on atmospheric CO/sub 2/ loading and modification of air--sea heat exchange processes due to OTEC operation.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Solar Energy
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5908901
• Report Number(s): CONF-790631--11
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140800* -- Solar Energy-- Ocean Energy Systems
520400 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Thermal Effluents Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CARIBBEAN SEA
CHALCOGENIDES
CLIMATES
CONVERSION
CURRENTS
ENERGY CONVERSION
ENTRAINMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GULF OF MEXICO
IMPINGEMENT
INTAKE STRUCTURES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
MIXING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
OUTLET STRUCTURES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SEAS
SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION
SURFACE WATERS
THERMAL EFFLUENTS
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WATER CURRENTS