Objective
The objectives of the XTRANS project are:
1) to determine the dispersal of Rhine water and of other
major European rivers discharging in the North Sea and
the N.E. Atlantic;
2) to provide accurate data for calibration and verification of mathematical flow and transport models at North Sea
and continental shelf scales; and
3) to obtain calibrated and verified 3-D dynamic models of flows and transports. The idea is to use the continuous
flux of xenobiotic fluorescing substances present as
contaminants in river water. The determination of the
photolysis rate gives the possibility to determine the
ages of river water.
In this project a quasi synoptic survey of the Rhine plume
between Dover Straits and Skagerrak will be carried out. Dye experiments will be conducted in order to determine
dispersion, residual flow, and photolysis rate. The measuring techniques of fluorescent substances will be improved. High
Performance Liquid Chromatography with fluorometric detection (HPLC) will be used and Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with
Laser Induced Fluorescence (CZELIF) will be further developed. Inverse modelling will be applied to the observed distribution pattern of the photolytic fluorescent river substances in
order to obtain ages and fractions of identified river water. The observed dispersion and residual displacements of the dye patches will be used as a first calibration and for
verification of an improved 3-D dynamic flow and transport
model of the Eastern part of the North Sea.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
2628 EB DELFT
Netherlands