Monitoring estuarine circulation and ocean waste dispersion using an integrated satellite-aircraft-drogue approach

The mounting economic pressure to extract oil and other resources from the Continental Shelf and to continue using the Shelf for waste disposal is creating a need for cost-effective synoptic means of determining currents in this area. An integrated satellite-aircraft-drogue approach has been developed which employs remotely tracked expendable drogues together with satellite and aircraft observations of waste plumes and tracers, such as dyes or suspended sediment. Tests conducted on the Continental Shelf and in Delaware Bay indicate that the system provides a cost-effective means of studying current circulation, oil slick movement, and ocean waste dispersion even under severe environmental conditions.