Search Results (5)

Radionuclides and heavy metals pose potential risks to marine ecosystems and human health. Daya Bay, the site of China’s first commercial nuclear power plant, has experienced significant anthropogenic impacts, yet the extent of radionuclide and heavy metal contamination remains unclear. Nineteen surface sediment samples were collected in January 2024 and analyzed for natural (²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁸Th, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra, and ⁴⁰K) and anthropogenic (¹³⁷Cs) radionuclides, heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Mn, Hg, and As), grain size, and total organic carbon (TOC). The surface sediments of Daya Bay were predominantly fine-grained, with TOC levels ranging from 0.41% to 1.83%, influenced significantly by riverine input from the Dan’ao River. Natural radionuclides exhibited distinct spatial patterns: ²¹⁰Pb and ²²⁸Th activity levels were higher in fine-grained sediments, and correlated with TOC, indicating adsorption and sedimentation controls. In contrast, anthropogenic ¹³⁷Cs activity was low and showed no significant impact from the nuclear power plant. Notably, the absence in the samples of key anthropogenic radionuclides typically associated with nuclear power plant operations further confirmed the negligible impact of the power plant on local sediment contamination. The results indicated that the baseline levels of both natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and heavy metals were predominantly influenced by natural processes and local anthropogenic activities rather than the operation of the nuclear power plant. This study establishes critical baselines for radioactivity and heavy metals in Daya Bay, underscoring effective pollution control measures and the resilience of local ecosystems despite anthropogenic pressures. Full article

The sustainable development of society depends on the reliable supply of electricity while keeping impacts on the environment to a minimum. A 951 MWe nuclear power plant in the semi-enclosed Nanwan Bay at the southern tip of Taiwan began operating in May 1984. Part of the bay is in Kenting National Park, which is known for its coral reefs and abundant marine life; thus, thermal pollution from the cooling water discharge is a great concern. Fortunately, the bay opens south to face the Luzon Strait, where the world’s strongest internal tides are generated. Because the bay is deep enough, internal waves bring up cold deep water and reduce the surface temperature by as much as 10 °C for a few hours every day. These internal waves and topographically generated upwelling also bring nutrients to the euphotic layer from the depths, but the upwelled waters quickly leave the bay along with the cooling water. As a result, a thermal plume with a temperature of 1 °C or higher than the ambient temperature only covers 1 km. By way of comparison, El Niño—Southern Oscillation- or Pacific Decadal Oscillation-related interannual variations in temperature are as high as 5 °C. The rapid turnover of the upwelled waters also helps to prevent heat released by the power plant from accumulating and diminishes the thermal stress, thus sustaining corals and other marine life forms. Typhoons, even hundreds of kilometers away, could also induce the upwelling of cold subsurface water. Consecutive typhoons have been observed to reduce the water surface temperature by up to 10 °C for two weeks or longer. Furthermore, the currents are such that the thermal plume flows out of the bay most of the time. All of these factors make the surface waters in the bay about 0.5 °C cooler than the waters outside of the bay, despite the operation of a nearby nuclear power plant. Full article

The invasions of marine organisms into the intake of nuclear power plants threaten the normal operation of such plants. Most published numerical models assumed that marine organisms passively follow the current, but such models neglected their biological swimming ability. In this work, adopting a hydrodynamic mathematical model to replicate the flow around the Daya Bay nuclear power base, the invasion characteristics of Acetes were explored by considering the behavior of biological movement. A concept of biological residual current was introduced to describe biological movements that were dominated by both tidal current and biological swimming ability. The biological residual currents near the nuclear power plant were obtained for cases with different nocturnal migration periods (12 h, 13 h, 14 h, 15 h, and 16 h). Using the Lagrangian particle-tracking method, the primary invasion paths of Acetes were obtained, as well as the travel time of Acetes to the intake, based on the biological residual current along monitoring points. The results showed that the invading time for Acetes reaching the water intake of the nuclear power base was significantly decreased when biological migration behavior was considered. When the nocturnal active period was over 13 h, it took only 10 days for Acetes to enter the western waters of Daya Bay from the southwest of Da Lajia Island and then continue migrating to the water intake in the nuclear power base. When the nocturnal active period was less than 13 h, it took more than 20 days for Acetes to travel the same distance. The present work provides a new methodology for the simulation and prediction of the migration of marine organisms. Full article

Thermal discharge (i.e., warm water) from nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Daya Bay, China, was analyzed in this study. To determine temporal and spatial patterns as well as factors affecting thermal discharge, data were acquired by the Landsat series of remote-sensing satellites for the period 1993–2020. First, sea surface temperature (SST) data for waters off NPPs were retrieved from Landsat imagery using a radiative transfer equation in conjunction with a split-window algorithm. Then, retrieved SST data were used to analyze seasonal and interannual changes in areas affected by NPP thermal discharge, as well as the effects of NPP installed capacity, tides, and wind field on the diffusion of thermal discharge. Analysis of interannual changes revealed an increase in SST with an increase in NPP installed capacity, with the area affected by increased drainage outlet temperature increasing to different degrees. Sea surface temperature and NPP installed capacity were significantly linearly related. Both flood tides (peak spring and neap) and ebb tides (peak spring and neap) affected areas of warming zones, with ebb tides having greater effects. The total area of all warming zones in summer was approximately twice that in spring, regardless of whether winds were favorable (i.e., westerly) or adverse (i.e., easterly). The effects of tides on areas of warming zones exceeded those of winds. Full article

Data collected from 12 stations in Daya Bay in different seasons in 2002 revealed the relation between water quality and phytoplankton response patterns. The results showed that Daya Bay could be divided into wet and dry seasons by multivariate statistical analysis. Principal component analysis indicated that temperature, chlorophyll a and nutrients were important components during the wet season (summer and autumn). The salinity and dissolved oxygen were the main environmental factors in the dry season (winter and spring). According to non-metric multidimensional scaling, there was a shift from the large diatoms in the dry season to the smaller line-chain taxa in the wet season with the condition of a high dissolved inorganic nitrogen and nitrogen to phosphorous concentration ratio. Nutrient changes can thus alter the phytoplankton community composition and biomass, especially near the aquaculture farm areas. There was no evidence of an effect of thermal water from the nearby nuclear power plants on the observed changes in phytoplankton community and biomass in 2002. Full article