Tidal Flow Dynamics and Background Fluorescence of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the Vicinity of Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, 2011-12.

摘要

Proposed changes in water-quality limits for fecal coliform may have potential effects on the open shellfish beds (those beds where harvesting is allowed) near the effluent outfalls of the Sullivans Island and the Isle of Palms wastewater treatment plants. A number of alternative study approaches can be used to better understand the potential connections between wastewater effluent and the shellfish bed, including dye-tracer studies, sediment sampling for wastewater indicators, and thermal plume tracking. To effectively plan such studies, data are needed concerning the flow dynamics and background fluorescence of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway near the effluent outfalls on Sullivans Island and the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. Tidal flow dynamics of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located on the landward side of the barrier islands along the South Carolina coast, are quite complex because of reversing tidal flows, interconnected tidal creeks, multiple connections between barrier islands and the Atlantic Ocean, wetting and drying of extensive tidal marshes, and semidiurnal tides with a 5- to 7-foot (ft) vertical range. Often, flows in these systems are characterized by large, bidirectional tidal excursions during the flood and ebb tides and by small residual (net) flows over the tidal cycle.