Marine Radioactivity Studies in the Suez Canal, Part II: Field Experiments and a Modelling Study of Dispersion

Abstract

In this paper we take advantage of the two field tracing experiments carried out under the IAEA project EGY/07/002, to develop a modelling study on the dispersion of radioactive pollution in the Suez Canal. The experiments were accomplished by using rhodamine B as a tracer, and water samples were measured by luminescence spectrometry. The presence of natural luminescent particles in the canal waters limited the use of some field data. During experiments, water levels, velocities, wind and other physical parameters were recorded to supply appropriate information for the modelling work. From this data set, the hydrodynamics of the studied area has been reasonably described. We apply a 1-D-Gaussian and 2-D modelling approaches to predict the position and the spatial shape of the plume. The use of different formulations for dispersion coefficients is studied. These dispersion coefficients are then applied in a 2-D-hydrodynamic and dispersion model for the Bitter Lake to investigate different scenarios of accidental discharges.