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Abstract

Circulation and hydrographic variations in the inner shelf of a semi-enclosed bay adjacent to a nuclear power plant of the southernmost Taiwan were analyzed using intensive observation data from 2003-2004. The dominant tide in the bay is a mixture of diurnal and semidiurnal components. Currents are dominated by tidal forcing which flows southwestward during flood and northeastward during ebb. The amplitudes of tidal currents range from 0.2 to 0.4 m/s. A persistent southwestward subtidal flow is present with a mean velocity of 0.15 m/s. The upwelled cold deep water in the central bay can intrude to the inner reach near the outlet, causing sudden temperature drops. Thermal discharge from the power plant creates a buoyant plume near the sea surface, which is the most prominent feature in the receiving water around the outlet. The thermal plume is 5-7 m thick just outside the outlet and shoals to less than 1 m near the sea surface as it disperses seaward. The thermal plume is usually restricted to within a 1000 m radius around the outlet; tidal currents substantially modulated its shape, stretching it out as a tongue towards the southwest during flood but fanning it out towards the northeast during ebb. The thermal discharge does not recirculate back to the intake.

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