Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale, Fla)

The development of an unmanned underwater vehicle at Florida Atlantic
University with onboard optical sensors has prompted the temporal and spatial optical
characterization of Port Everglades, with in-situ measurements of the turbidity,
conductivity, and temperature. Water samples were collected for laboratory analysis
where attenuation and absorption were measured with a bench top spectrometer. All of
the measurements showed a high degree of variability within the port on a temporal and
spatial basis. Correlations were researched between the measured properties as well as
tide and current. Temporal variations showed a high correlation to tidal height but no
relation was found between turbidity and current, or salinity. Spatial variations were
primarily determined by proximity to the port inlet. Proportionality constants were
discovered to relate turbidity to scattering and absorption coefficients. These constants
along with future turbidity measurements will allow the optimization of any underwater
camera system working within these waters.

A methodology for characterizing the acoustical properties of a port environment,
namely Port Everglades, has been proposed and carried out. This approach includes both
a port-wide analysis of how the basic oceanographic features within the port impact the
acoustic properties, and also a more focused sampling methodology within a small region
of Port Everglades, allowing for the acoustic characteristics, including ambient noise, and
an approximate signal absorption to be computed.
The results documented through the duration of this research indicate that the
temperature variation throughout the port is the principal contributor to the characteristics
of the sound velocity profile. Ambient noise measurements have revealed high levels of
background noise within the sub-5 kHz region, owing likely to consistent port traffic.
The calculation of absorption indicates that high frequency systems, i.e. > 100 kHz, may
encounter problems when transmitting over a considerable distance. These are important
factors for consideration when implementing a successful underwater acoustic system.

Available air quality data has been analyzed using the Industrial Source Complex Dispersion Model (ISC3). The FORTRAN program Mobile 5a was utilized to obtain the emission factors. Concerning the toxic volatile organic compounds, the simulations indicate that benzene exceeded the previous permissible air quality standard. Toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene values remained within allowable concentration levels. Long-term annual benzene emissions from stationary sources exceeded the former reference concentration of 0.12 mug/m 3 about five times per year, whereas the data for 8 and 24 hours were relatively low. Simulation results for the mobile sources demonstrated that the emission factor is a highly sensitive parameter. Possible realistic scenarios at Port Everglades were obtained through varying benzene concentrations. The results are plotted as concentration contours, in order to visualize areas of suspected health risk associated to air pollution. Compared to the Reference Concentration for Chronic Inhalation Exposure, EPA, the modeled results appear significantly less.