Ocean current and temperature analysis using satellite data for the effective operation of SWRO desalination plant in Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea

Abstract

The salt concentration of seawater is a significantly sensitive factor in the seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant that applies different pressures in freshwater production, depending on the salinity of the seawater. For the efficient operation of the plant, it needs to be grounded on investigations and analyses of seawater salt concentration and water temperature distribution and change. The conventional research methods, however, have temporal and spatial limitations. This research uses the latest satellite data to analyze the flows and the seasonal temperature distributions of ocean currents that affect mostly the changes in the seawater salt concentration in the neighboring waters of the seawater desalination plant that is being built in Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea. The results of this research showed that the ocean current in the neighboring waters of Gijang-gun, Busan had a relatively slow velocity (average: 0.05 m/s) but formed very comprehensive flow shapes as the warm and cold currents met and that the degree of the salinity change was significant because the temperatures of the sea surface differed considerably in summer unlike in the other seasons.

Keywords:

• Ocean current
• Geostrophic current
• Ocean temperature
• Sea surface topography
• Desalination plant

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011-0006866).

Notes

Presented at The Fifth Desalination Workshop (IDW 2012), October 28–31, 2012, Jeju, Korea