Application of multispectral imagery to assessment of a hydrodynamic simulation of an effluent stream entering the Clinch River

This study investigates the feasibility of using remote sensing systems to estimate and model contaminant transport at known hazardous waste sites. We used airborne (Daedalus) imagery and 3D hydrodynamic simulations to estima te the pow rate of Popular Creek as it enters the Clinch River, located on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Tennesse e. The collection of ground-truth data and the simulations were complicated by the variability of the Clinch River flow, which we attempted to reprodu ce in the simulations. Comparisons of the Daedalus imagery to images create d from the simulations led to the conclusion that the Clinch River/ Poplar Creek system shifts back and forth between three distinct pow regimes that have different pollutant transport patterns. Results of this research sugge st that remote-sensing delta combined with high-resolution numerical modeli ng and limited surface measurements might be able to define pollutant trans port in large bodies of water as well as methods that rely only on more ext ensive surface measurements.