Study Looks at Currents, Wind Impact on Pollution

Rutgers University and Monmouth County, NJ, experts are looking at the links between winds, currents and water cleanliness. 

The researchers are hoping that learning more about wind and currents will eventually help to forecast beach water quality. The Rutgers' Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (COOL) study of waters off Monmouth County will involve atmospheric and ocean surface current data, as well as information on sea surface temperatures and colored dissolved organic matter, which is a tracer for fresh water. 

Initial results show that winds from the southwest or west and a current heading north tend to be good for water quality. During southwesterly winds, the surface water, including floating debris, gets blown offshore and is diluted. When winds were southwesterly last year, resulting in an upwelling of cooler water, the water temperature dropped 10 degrees and water samples taken at beaches had very low levels of fecal bacteria. A current heading south and winds from the northeast or east tend to result in more floating debris, and more bacteria. 

A much larger effort to set up a mid-Atlantic coastal ocean observing system, which would include 30 investigators from 20 institutions, has been recommended for $8.7 million in federal funding over three years. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007707290404 

Asbury Park Press, Sunday, July 29, 2007