Remote sensing of wetlands at the Savannah River Plant
The Savannah River Plant (SRP) occupies about 300 sq mi along a 10-mile stretch of the Savannah River. Large areas of wetlands cover the site, especially along tributary stream floodplains and the Savannah River. Some of these areas have been altered by cooling water discharges from nuclear production reactors onsite. To assess the effects of current and future plant operations on SRP and regional wetlands, an accurate quantitative survey was needed. Several studies were initiated to provide wetland acreage and distribution information: (1) Regional wetland inventories were provided from an analysis of LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) satellite data. Wetlands were mapped throughout the entire Savannah River watershed and in the Savannah River floodplain. (2) SRP wetlands were identified using a combination of LANDSAT MSS and Thematic Mapper satellite data and aerial photography. (3) Wetlands in the SRP Savannah River swamp and thermally affected areas were mapped using high resolution MSS data collected from a low-flying aircraft. Vegetation communities in areas receiving cooling water discharges were then compared to surface temperatures measured from the airborne scanner at the same time to evaluate plant temperature tolerance. Historic changes to SRP wetlands from cooling water discharges were tabulated using aerial photography. 5 references, 3 figures, 5 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.; South Carolina Univ., Columbia (USA); Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- OSTI ID:
- 6133908
- Report Number(s):
- DP-MS-84-91; CONF-841187-11; ON: DE85003560
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
PRODUCTION REACTORS
REACTORS
REMOTE SENSING
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
THERMAL EFFLUENTS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WETLANDS