Offshore Oceanographic and Environmental Monitoring Services for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Response to Decision Makers' Questions: Brine Plume

For the specific area associated with the brine plume, the decision maker questions are: 1. Determine areal extent for +5, +10 and +15 o/oo above ambient salinity contours for various brine discharges rates and environmental conditions. 2. How much brine can be discharged into the northwestern Gulf (single or multi-site) before measurable changes are made to the salinity of the area? How much in the western Gulf? 3. Within the observed operating characteristics of the diffuser, define an envelope of boundaries of plume characteristics. The objective of this report is to answer these questions based upon the knowledge gained from the various studies over the past five years.