Dissolved oxygen profile in the vicinity of thermal out fall of Madras Atomic Power Station, Kalpakkam, east coast of India

摘要: [en] The dissolved oxygen (DO) is a fundamental requirement for the maintenance of life of aquatic organisms. The present investigation reports the spatial distribution of dissolved oxygen in Kalpakkam coast where Madras Atomic Power Plant (MAPS) discharges the thermal effluent. Monthly boat cruise were undertaken from August 2001 to March 2002 and sampling stations were marked using the Global Positioning System (GPS). Fifteen stations were fixed of which 12 were North of the MAPS intake jetty and 3 south of the jetty. The boat cruises covered an area of 2.5 km 2. The DO concentration measured in surface water ranged from 5.22 mg/L to 6.89 mg/L. The DO concentration was higher (5.52-6.89 mg/L) during Northeast monsoon (October to January) as compared to Southwest monsoon (June to September; 5.49-6.59 mg/L). Further, measurement of DO levels at different depth indicated a higher level (5.76 to 6.58 mg/L) in shallow region (2 m depth) than deeper region (10 m depth)(3.79 to 5.57 mg/L). It is observed that stations near to the mixing point recorded dissolved oxygen concentration ranging from 5.60 to 6.30 mg/L indicating no adverse impact of thermal discharge on the DO level and consequently on living organisms.(author)