ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT
REMOTE SENSING REPORT
GALVESTON BAY, HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
TRINITY BAY
HOUSTON, TEXAS
NATIONAL FIELD INVESTIGATIONS C E N TE R-D E N V E R
DENVER.COLORADO
AND
REGION VI DALLAS, TEXAS
APRIL 1972
tLEAl
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT
REMOTE SENSING REPORT
GALVESTON BAY
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
TRINITY BAY
HOUSTON, TEXAS
FEBRUARY 1972
Prepared by
NATIONAL FIELD INVESTIGATIONS CENTER - DENVER
DENVER, COLORADO
and
REGION VI DALLAS, TEXAS
APRIL 1972
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REMOTE SENSING REPORT
GALVESTON BAY
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
TRINITY BAY
HOUSTON. TEXAS
FEBRUARY 1972
INTRODUCTION
An aerial remote sensing program, requested by EPA Region VI, is
being conducted approximately twice every month from February 1972 to
January 1973. The report contained herein establishes the intelligence
obtained from the first mission. The areas covered during this mission
are given as follows:
a) Houston Ship Channel - from the Turning Basin, at Buffalo
Bayou, to Morgan Point;
b) Galveston Bay - from Morgan Point along the Houston Ship
Channel to the Gulf of Mexico; and
c) Trinity Bay - in the vicinity of the Houston Lighting and
Power Company cooling water canal discharge.
MISSION PURPOSE
The expressed purpose of this aerial reconnaissance program was to
fulfill the following objectives:
a) provide industrial outfall trend data;
b) provide data regarding the presence and the sources of oil
pollution especially in the Houston Ship Channel; and
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c) provide data regarding the presence of thermal pollution in
Trinity Bay.
BACKGROUND
Three previous missions were flown over the Houston Ship Channel
and Galveston Bay during July 1971. Nearly all of the industrial dis-
charges into the Channel were documented during that effort.
CHRONOLOGICAL DATA
This mission was conducted on 18 February 1972. The time over
target was 1100 to 1230 hours CST. The flight altitudes were maintained
at 3,400 feet and 2,250 feet MSL (above-mean-sea level).
AIRCRAFT SENSOR DATA
The reconnaissance data were recorded aboard two high performance
aircraft. Each aircraft contained three framing cameras and an Infrared
Line Scanner (IRLS). All cameras were mounted in the tri-vertical array,
i.e., mounted in their respective vertical positions coincident with
the nadir of the aircraft. Each of the cameras was uploaded with different
film/optical filter combinations. They were capable of recording the
presence of optical energy within the following bands of the optical spec-
trum:
(a) Near ultraviolet, resulting in a 4.5" X 4.5" negative -
Kodak 2403 recording film with a Wratten 47A gelatin optical
filter;
(b) Visible region of the optical spectrum, resulting in a true
color 4.5" X 4.5" positive aerographic ektachrome transparency -
Kodak S0-397 aerographic ektachrome film with a Wratten HF-3/HF-5
optical filter combination; and
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(c) Near infrared region of the optical spectrum which was over-
lapped with a portion of the visible spectrum (red, orange),
resulting in an aerographic ektachrome 4.5" X 4.5" false color
(rendition) transparency - Kodak 2443 aerographic film with a
Wratten 16 gelatin optical filter.
This viewing angle of each camera was 41° about the aircraft's
nadir as shown below:
AIICIAFT
ALTITUDE
GROUND LEVEL
The IRLS is a cryogenic device (optical and electronic) capable of
detecting passive electromagnetic energy resulting from target thermal
emissions in the infrared band from 8 to 14 microns (1 micron=10 meters)
It has a cross-track scan angle of 120 about the aircraft's nadir, as
shown below:
i • •
1
AIRCRAFT
ALTITUDE
i
GROUND LEVEL
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The first two photographic media discussed above were chosen expressly
for their capability of recording the presence of oil/grease. Oils
are known to be fluorescent compounds (a fluorescent compound absorbs
incident radiation and re-emits energy at a longer wavelength than that
of the incident. If the re-emitted energy wavelength is equal to that
of the incident radiation, this is called resonance or resonant fluores-
cence.) and have a characteristic wavelength, in the near ultraviolet
region, of approximately 0.38 microns. The black-and-white film is
capable of recording this fluorescent radiation in the near ultraviolet
band. The true-color transparencies are used to provide correct color
rendition(s) of targets in question and are extensively used in location
and target identification work.
The false color infrared film was used for the documentation of
effluent dispersion patterns in water, which was due to the wider color
separation in the false color rendition. It is also used for the detection
and identification of shrouded or masked (due to color likeness or foliage)
waterways. This film provides information for the documentation of re-
lative turbidity/DO levels in addition to biological growth detection and
identification.
DESCRIPTION OF DATA REDUCTIONS
The results of the interpretation of the airborne reconnaissance
data are presented with respect to each target area (items a,b, and c of the
Introduction) in the following paragraphs:
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I. Houston Ship Channel
1. Buffalo Bayou - A great part of the dark yellowish-brown sub-
stance seen on the surface of the Ship Channel water was coming
from Buffalo Bayou upstream of the Turning Basin.
2. A reddish-brown substance was being discharged from the Armour
Fertilizer Company complex. The outfall was located on the
southern bank of the Ship Channel approximately 1,600 feet
downstream of the mouth of the Turning Basin. The discharge
plume extended downstream, along the Channel's bank, 125 feet
before dispersing.
3. Bray's Bayou - The water, which was slowly flowing into the Ship
Channel from Bray's Bayou, was extremely dark in color exhibiting
septic tendencies. The mixing of these two waters was quite
slow to the point of well defined boundaries existing between
them. This is shown in Figure 1.
4. A yellowish-gray substance was being discharged at a point in
the waterway commonly known as Harrisburg Bend adjacent to the
southernmost tip of Brady Island. The discharge point appeared
to be submerged. The substance could be traced 223 feet out into
the waterway before dispersing.
5. A black substance was being discharged into the Harrisburg Bend
waterway from a cove or indentation located on the southern tip
of Brady Island, as shown in Figure 1. This cove was 160 feet
wide at its mouth and extends 208 feet inland from the loading
dock. The plume extended 97 feet into the above mentioned water-
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BRAY'S BAYOU
EXTREMELY
DARK WATERS
HOUSTON SHIP
CHANNEL
BLACK SUBSTANCE
BEING DISCHARGED
SCALE IS APPROXIMATELY 1:7,000.
Figure
I B r a d v Island Area
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way from the same loading dock. The discharge was definitely
not oil.
6. A small oil slick was harboring adjacent to a ship docked at
Building 31 within the Navigational District Complex. The
surface area of this slick was 14,700 feet2 (140' X 105').
7. An outfall was located on the Ship Channel's southern bank,
within the Charter International Company's complex. It was
1,600 feet upstream from their main dock (adjacent to Manchester
Terminal). The content of the discharge was, for the most
part, water whose temperature was warmer than the ambient
receiving water temperature. A small quanitity of oil was
also being discharged from this respective point. The result-
ing slick measured 173 feet at its widest point and 835 feet
downstream from the outfall position. The slick was extremely
thin.
8. Small, scattered oil slicks were observed in the Channel water
adjacent to the Manchester Terminal Corporation's docking area
located immediately upstream from Simms Bayou. The slicks were
extremely thin. The source of the oil could not be established.
9. The water from Simms Bayou, which was flowing into the Ship
Channel, was extremely dark indicating septic tendencies.
10. At the time of flight, the Simms Bayou Turning Basin contained
several small oil slicks. They covered approximately one-fourth
the total area of the Turning Basin. The source of the oil
could not be established.
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11. Traces of oil were being discharged from two separate locations
along the southern shore bank of the Channel. This area was
within the Atlantic Richfield Refining Company complex. The
discharge positions were 1,280 feet and 2,250 feet respectively
downstream from the crown of Simms Bayou Turning Basin. The
first outfall appeared to be submerged and resulted in a small
oil slick that measured 118 feet by 14 feet. The second outfall
was positioned at the Channel's surface. The width of the out-
fall was 27 feet. This position effected an extremely thin oil
slick that measured 540 feet long and 42 feet at its widest point.
Three known outfall positions, 1,750 feet, 2,400 feet and 3,200
feet, respectively, downstream from Simms Bayou Turning Basin,
were not discharging at the time of flight. The latter connects
two holding ponds to the Ship Channel waters. The ponds contained
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small oil slicks, the largest being 750 feet .
12. A turbid substance was being discharged, at the time of flight,
from a small waterway that entered the Ship Channel on its north-
ern bank approximately 1,695 feet upstream from the Texaco slip.
The source and the chemical nature of the discharge could not
be determined. The complexes of Velsicol Chemical Corporation
and the General American Tank Storage Terminal Company are adjacent
to this respective waterway.
13. Houston Lighting and Power Company's outfall was discharging water
at the time of flight. The water was not warmer than the ambient
temperature of the Vince Bayou waters. The outfall was located
665 feet upstream, on the western bank of Vince Bayou, from the
southern bank of the Ship Channel.
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14. The U.S. Plywood - Champion Paper Company's submerged outfall
was discharging a reddish-brown substance at the time of flight.
The outfall was located 1,355 feet downstream from the eastern
crown of Vince Bayou and 58 feet into the water from the Channel's
southern bank. The above-mentioned substance floated on the
surface of the Ship Channel waters and could be easily traced
downstream for more than a mile before nearly complete dispersion
had occurred.
15. An oil spill was in progress at the Crown Central Petroleum
Corporation complex. Oil, mixed with a black substance
(probably coke),was being discharged from a chute measuring
10 feet wide and 112 feet in length. The chute was located 87
feet downstream from Crown Central's slip on the Channel's
southern shore. There was a floating type skimmer anchored to
the bank around this outfall. It was containing only a small
portion of the total substance discharged.
Oil was also entering the Ship Channel from Crown Central's slip.
The resulting oil slick could be traced 435 feet downstream from
the above mentioned slip and extended 210 feet into the Channel
from the southern shore.
Another floating skimmer was located 1,140 feet downstream from
Crown Central's slip. It was within their complex. This appara-
tus was containing nearly all of a yellowish-brown substance.
The surface area of the contained substance was approximately
7,580 square feet.
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16. A small oil slick was observed harboring between the Channel's
southern shore and a ship docked at the complex of Horton &
Morton, Incorporated. The ship was washing out at the time
of flight, which produced the slick.
17. Numerous small thin oil slicks were observed on the waters
of Cottonpatch Bayou. They covered nearly one-half of that
water's surface. A portion of the oil was seen emanating from
a barge docked near the apex of the Bayou.
18. An oil slick was observed extending from the Ship Channel's
northern bank, adjacent to the western edge of the mouth of
Hunting Bayou, across the Channel waters to the southern bank.
It then propagated downstream for approximately 1,170 feet.
19. A total of three separate outfalls were observed discharging
into the Houston Ship Channel from the Olin Corporation facility.
The locations of the outflow positions are described as follows:
Note: The point of reference will be the dock that extends out into
the Channel and bisects the large building that lies parallel
to the southern bank.
a) The position furthest upstream was 1,110 feet from the
western edge of the reference point. It was discharging a
yellowish-brown substance whose chemical nature was unknown at
the time of flight. The elevation of the outfall appeared to
be immediately below the water's surface.
b) The second outfall position was located 563 feet upstream
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from the above-mentioned reference point. It was completely
submerged discharging a yellowish-gray substance whose chemical
nature was not known at the time of flight.
c) The third outfall position, the largest, was located in a
shoreline indentation 955 feet downstream from the eastern
side of the reference point. It was discharging a yellowish
substance under considerable pressure. The plume was 28 feet
wide at its source and extended 264 feet out into the Channel
before dispersing.
20. Three outfalls located 1,190, 1,870 and 2,395 feet,respectively,
upstream in a small waterway that separates the Armco Steel
Corporation and the Hess Oil and Chemical Corporation facilities,
were observed discharging a yellowish-brown substance of un-
known chemical constituency. The source(s) of the discharged
substance could not be definitely established but adjacent to
each discharge point or location was a holding pond, whose con-
tents were of an identical color, within the Hess Oil facility.
Likewise, Armco Steel Corporation had a holding pond, nearly
rectangular in shape, whose contents displayed the same color.
21. A small waterway, projecting southward from the Channel, was
located between the facilities of Phosphate Chemical Corporation
and Phillips Chemical Corporation. An overhead pipeline passed
over this waterway near its mouth and connected Phosphate Chemi-
cal's complex to Adams Terminal. A yellowish-brown substance was
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present in the lower reaches of this waterway at the time of
flight. The density of the substance greatly increased at
a point adjacent to Phillip? Chemical's holding pond. The
actual source of the turbid substance could not be determined.
22. There were numerous small oil slicks that extended across the
Ship Channel from Armco Steel Corporation into Adams Terminal.
23. A yellowish-orange substance was being discharged from a sub-
merged outfall about 122 feet into the water of the Adams Ter-
minal Basin from its apex or southernmost point. Nearly all
of the discharged substance remained in this area. A small
amount of the discharge did follow the Basin's shoreline
downstream out into the Ship Channel waters where final dis-
persal was achieved. One of the constituents of this discharge,
in small proportions, was oil.
24. A dark red substance was being discharged from an outfall located
within the Armco Steel Corporation facility. The outfall posi-
tion was established as being in an indentation in the Ship
Channel's northern bank directly opposite the easternmost edge
or point of the Adam?Terminal Basin. The resultant plume was
140 feet wide and extended 313 feet out into the Channel waters
from the northern bank. The plume was dispersing rather quickly.
25. There were numerous small oil slicks in the rather small water-
way located on the eastern boundary of the Phillips Chemical
Corporation facility (east of Adams Terminal and across the
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Ship Channel south from the Todd Ship Yard). There were two
barges and a ship docked in this area at the time of flight.
The ship was in the process of washing out and did appear to
be the source of one of the aforementioned oil slicks.
26. There was a small ditch, which served as a discharge medium for
a quite turbid substance, located on the western boundary of
the Ethyl Corporation facility. The turbid substance entered
the Ship Channel waters and traveled downstream where it mixed
with the turbid waters entering the Channel from Greens Bayou.
This ditch was adjacent to one of the holding ponds within the
complex of the aforementioned corporation. There was no water
observed in the ditch upstream of this holding pond. Seepage
or actual discharge of the liquid within the pond to the ditch
was suspected.
27. A small waterway (large ditch) was discharging a yellowish-
brown substance into Greens Bayou at a point immediately upstream
of the Navigational District docking facility. This water-
way's path was parallel to a quite large holding pond, located
between Greens Bayou and the San Jacinto Ordnance Depot.
This area is within the facilities of Southland Paper Company.
Although a direct water path could not be positively established
between the pond and the ditch, the color of the substances in
the pond and in the ditch was identical.
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28. A large discharge was observed coming from the pond complex
belonging to the Ethyl Corporation. One portion of the dis-
charge was an extremely dark brown substance originating from
the holding pond adjacent to the southern bank of the Ship
Channel. Another holding pond was discharging an orange-
brown substance into a ditch leading to the Channel. The
third outfall, a yellowish-brown substance, had come from an
industrial area within the above-mentioned facility. The tem-
perature of the discharge was warmer than the ambient tempera-
ture of the receiving waters of the Channel. The chemical
nature of these discharges was unknown at the time of flight.
Downstream of the above mentioned industrial area, the presence
of two large holding ponds was recorded. They were within
the Ethyl Corporation facility. At the time of flight, approxi-
mately one-half of the total surface area of these ponds was
covered with liquid. There was a drainage ditch observed that
connected the two ponds directly to the Ship Channel. This
ditch was in such a position that when the liquid level in
the ponds achieved a certain depth the excess would pass directly
to the Channel waters. The chemical constituency of the sub-
stance retained by the ponds was not known at the time of flight,
Along the eastern boundary of Ethyl Corporation's industrial
area were several small ponds or low areas in the terrain.
These ponds contained a dark brownish-gray Substance. At the
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time of flight, the substance was passing from the above-
mentioned ponds into a ditch which provided a direct path
for the same to the Ship Channel waters. The chemical con-
stituency of the drainage was unknown at the time of flight.
29. The Southland Paper Company outfall was discharging an ex-
tremely dark brown (nearly black) substance into the Ship
Channel waters. The location of the discharge was established
as a submerged outfall on a peninsular projection measuring
2,420 feet downstream, on the Channel's northern bank, from
the peninsular tip on the eastern bank of Greens Bayou.
The plume could be easily traced downstream from the outfall
for more than a mile. The Chemical nature of the discharge
had been previously established as a sulfide liquor, in ac-
cordance with information provided by the EPA Galveston Bay
Field Station.
30. An outfall, located at the Channel water's surface, was dis-
charging a dark grayish-brown liquid at the time of flight.
The outfall originated from a pond network adjacent to the
Ship Channel's southern bank within the Tenneco Chemical Com-
pany complex. It was positioned 280 feet downstream from the
dock gangway. The resultant plume could be traced downstream
for approximately 1,570 feet before finally dispersing.
31. There was an outfall present, at the time of flight, from the
westernmost pond on the Boggy Bayou Peninsula (the eastern
pond was dry). This pond contained a dark grayish-brown sub-
stance which was being discharged into the Ship Channel from
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a ditch 1,410 feet upstream, on the southern bank, from
the tip of the above-mentioned peninsula. The plume was
localized with virtually no dispersion evident.
32. A ship was seen washing out while being tied to the Shell Oil
Company dock in the Boggy Bayou Basin. The effluent liquid
appeared to contain suds.
33. There were two definite outfalls that were discharging from
the Shell Oil Company complex. They were located 328 and 805
feet,respectively, downstream from Shell's docking area. The
former outfall was discharging a small volume of a reddish-
brown liquid. The latter outfall was that of Shell's sewage
treatment facility. This respective discharge was producing
no discoloration in the Ship Channel waters.
There was an oil slick clinging along the Channel's southern
bank adjacent to the Shell facility. It began 175 feet upstream
from the sewage treatment outfall and extended downstream
approximately 2,300 feet. The average width of the slick was
170 feet. The source of the oil could not be definitely estab-
lished .
The trickling filter within Shell's sewage treatment facility
had no evidence of surface zoogleal growth. The growth is
usually required for the filter to perform efficiently.
Shell's biological pond, located adjacent to the southern bank
of the Channel and the western bank of Patrick Bayou, contained
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a small amount of algal growth on the water's surface and along
the pond's eastern boundary.
34. Two outfalls and three holding ponds, within the Diamond Sham-
rock Company facility, were seen discharging at the time of
flight. The outfalls were located approximately 2,400 feet
and 3,250 feet, respectively, upstream from a 90° bend in
Patrick Bayou. They were discharging a dark grayish-brown
liquid substance, of unknown chemical constituency, into the
Bayou. The resultant plumes could be traced downstream to
the Ship Channel waters. The temperature of the discharged
liquid increased the water temperature of Patrick Bayou,
making the latter somewhat warmer than the ambient Channel
water temperature.
The three above-mentioned ponds were located immediately to
the east of the 90° bend in Patrick Bayou, extending down-
stream to its confluence with the Ship Channel. The outfall
points of these ponds were 347, 932 and 1,792 feet, respective-
ly, downstream from the aforementioned bend. The first outfall
(from the bend) was discharging a yellowish-brown substance and
the second/third were discharging a dark brown liquid substance
(nearly black in color) into the waters of Patrick Bayou.
The resultant plumes were dispersing quite slowly but could be
traced to the Ship Channel. The temperature of the Bayou waters
in this area was somewhat warmer than the ambient temperature
of the Ship Channel waters. The chemical nature of the above-
mentioned outfalls was unknown at the time of flight.
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A discharge was entering the Ship Channel waters from the
Diamond Shamrock Company complex. It entered from a ditch
that was traced directly south of the Channel's southern bank
for 1,870 feet, where it made a clockwise 90° bend to the
west, entering an industrial area. There were two weirs in
this ditch that were retaining a foamy matter. The waste
water in this conduit carried a yellowish-brown subs-tance
directly to the Channel waters, achieving rapid dispersion.
At a point approximately 1,050 feet upstream in the ditch, on
the western bank, there appeared a dark yellow substance nearly
in a solid state. It was slowly being carried away by the
current in the ditch. The chemical constituency of these
effluents was unknown at the time of flight.
35. An outfall was located downstream 1,430 feet from the penin-
sular tip of Patrick Bayou, on the Ship Channel's southern bank,
and 2,080 feet upstream from the mouth of Tucker Bayou. This
outfall was discharging an extremely dark brown (nearly black)
substance into the Channel waters. The discharge was being
carried by a pipe, four feet in diameter, which was positioned
immediately above the water's surface. The resultant plume
extended out into the Channel 45 feet from the end of the pipe
and measured 28 feet at its widest point. This effluent ap-
peared to disperse quickly. This position was established to
be the main outfall of the Rohm & Haas Company.
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36. There was an oil slick located mid-Channel coincident with the
peninsula tip of Patrick Bayou. The overall length of the
slick was 1,730 feet. Its width was measured to be 210 feet
at the widest point. The source of the oil slick could not
be established.
37. A brownish-gray liquid substance was following the western
bank of Tucker Bayou and subsequently flowed into the Ship
Channel. The source and the chemical nature of this liquid
could not be established due to the lack of imagery In this
area.
38. An oil slick was observed mid-Channel approximately two nau-
tical miles downstream from the Baytown underpass. This slick
was 1,870 feet long and 175 feet wide (at the widest point).
The source of the oil could not be established due to the
remote location of the slick. The type of oil in the slick
was a processed or refined oil as opposed to a crude oil.
II. Galveston Bay
1. A scattered, discontinuous oil slick was observed beginning
at a point approximately six nautical miles into Galveston
Bay from Morgan Point. It propagated in a southeasterly
direction, further into the Bay, along the Houston Ship Channel
for approximately 12.5 nautical miles, from the aforementioned
point, before significant dispersion was taking place. The
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type of oil comprising the overall slick was a crude oil
and not a refined oil. The source of the oil could not
be established as a result of these flights.
2. An area cover (photographic) was carried out along the
Houston Ship Channel in Galveston Bay from Morgan Point to
the Gulf of Mexico just beyond the jetties. The water in
this area was quite turbid. The Bay floor could not be seen
in the imagery to depths as shallow as one foot below the
water's surface. The water in the area of Atkinson Island,
in the upper regions of Galveston Bay, was extremely turbid.
At the time of flight there was a moderate wind blowing from
the southeast. This was causing an up-welling of the bottom
which contributed to the excessive turbidity. Also in this
area, traces of algae were detected through photographic ex-
posure of the presence of chlorophyll. The contour lines in
the water indicating the algae growth conform, for the most
part, to the upwelling contour lines. The algae population
densities were small.
III. Trinity Bay
The area in the vicinity of the Houston Lighting and Power Company's
cooling water discharge canal was covered photographically and with the
Infrared Line Scanner. The water being discharged from the above-mentioned
location was a relatively dark grayish-green color. The resultant plume
shape is shown in Figure 2. This figure was derived from the respective
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WIND
DIRECTION
SHORELINE
TRINITY BAY
CROSS-HATCHED AREA IMPLIES
LANDMASS IMMEDIATELY UNDER
THE WATER'S SURFACE
SCALE IS APPROXIMATELY 1:5,000
Figure 2 Optical Imagery of H.L. & P. Canal
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photographic imagery. The shape of the discharge plume and its dis-
persion traits, as derived from the thermal data (IRLS), is shown in
Figure 3. It is easily seen that the plume entered Trinity Bay and
drifted to the northeast. The sharp boundary, on the plume's south-
eastern side, was due to the wind present at the time of flight. The
entire Houston Lighting and Power Company discharge canal is sketched
in Figure 3. As indicated by the crosshatched areas in the composite
figure, the warmer water appeared at the canal's surface (waterline) over
only a fraction of the total surface area. (Only temperature variations
at the water's surface are recorded by the IRLS. Water is opaque to
this band within the intermediate infrared spectrum. The spectral re-
flectance or radiance of water is determined entirely by its surface which
has been established as 0.01 cm. There is a negligible difference between
the radiance characteristics of fresh and salt water in the applicable
portion of the intermediate infrared spectrum which is 8 to 14 microns.)
The reason for the warmer water not remaining on the surface, as indicated
by the non-crosshatched area, was most probably the following:
The warmer water contained a constituent^ likely in a dissolved state,
that rendered the overall substance's specific gravity greater than that
of the ambient salt water. This would cause the former to sink forming
a density layer current along the bottom of the canal. Then, approximately
800 feet upstream in the canal from the trap flume, the warmer water began
to surface. As it went over the flume with the cooler water, a complete
thorough mixing was achieved as indicated by the crosshatched area adjacent
to the shoreline in the canal.
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DIGITALLY
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In order to document the dispersion patterns or characteristics of
the aforementioned thermal plume, a specialized flight regime was utilized
in obtaining the required IRLS imagery. The regime is shown in Figure 4.
The imagery obtained is included as Figures 5 through 10. Figure 5 is a
print of the imagery of the main body of the plume. Figures 6, 7 and 8
represent the imagery obtained from flight lines 1, 2, 3, respectively,
in Figure A. Figure 9 represents the imagery obtained from flight line
4, and Figure 10, that obtained from flight line 5. It was mentioned
in the paragraph above that the thermal plume was drifting to the northeast
as shown in Figure 3. By placing Figures 6, 7 and 8 side by side, forming
a mosaic, it can easily be seen that the current patterns in Trinity Bay
were in a clockwise spiral from the western shoreline across the bay to
the eastern shoreline and then on into Calveston Bay.
The thermal plume, for the most part, had cooled to a temperature
nearly equal to the receiving water ambient temperature at a point ap-
proximately 1 1/2 nautical miles northeast of the H. L. & P. canal dis-
charge.
Within the area of the thermal plume the photographic imagery re-
vealed the presence of an algae colony approximately 1/2 nautical mile
due east of the canal discharge. This is indicated by the double cross-
hatched area in Figure 3.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
All industrial discharges present at the time of flight were recorded
and identified to the extent possible. The presence of oil, during this
mission, on the Channel waters was significantly less than that recorded
during the July 1971 effort. Many industrial outfalls have been pre-
sent during the total of four missions. As always, the discharges of
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U.S. Plywood-Champion Paper Company, Crown Central Petroleum Corporation,
Armco Steel Corporation, Ethyl Corporation, Southland Paper Company,
Diamond Shamrock Company, and Rohm and Haas Company were present. The
septic tendencies of the Channel waters had improved negligibly from
last summer's flights.
The turbidity levels in the upper reaches of Galveston Bay were
quite high at the time of flight. This is felt to have been partially
caused by the southeasterly winds present at that time.
The behavior of the Houston Lighting and Power Company's thermal
discharge was effectively documented, showing relative temperature levels
and plume dispersion patterns.
GPO 841 -BZ6
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