Coastal Meteorological Networks to Determine Effects of Nuclear Plant Cooling Systems

Abstract

Twenty-five meteorological stations are in operation inland from two nuclear power plants located on the Lake Michigan shoreline in southwestern lower Michigan. Their purpose is to provide data to enable meteorological effects of mechanical-draft cooling towers at the Palisades Nuclear Plant and a once-through cooling system at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant to be evaluated. Temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation are measured at all stations, total solar radiation and wind velocity at four, and visibility at three. The stations, equipment, and calibration methods are described, and examples of types of meteorological analyses are presented.

Characteristics of true lake breezes along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan

“…1 along with locations of a special 25 station meteorological network which was installed for the study in 1972-1973. As described in Ryznar, et al (1976), each station was equipped with a hygrothermograph and a recording precipitation guage. The principal stations, denoted by numbers 3 and 7 in the Palisades network and by 3 and 10 in the Cook network had, in addition, equipment for recording visibility, wind speed and direction and solar irradiance.…”

An observation of cooling tower plume effects on total solar radiation

“…As part of a study of the meteorological impact of mechanical-draft cooling towers at the Palisades Nuclear Plant, total solar radiation (direct plus diffuse) on a horizontal surface is measured with pyranometers at stations 0.9 km east-southeast of the cooling towers and 19 km east of them. The nuclear plant is located on the southeast shore of Lake Michigan and the pyranometers are at stations 3 and 7 of a 13 station meteorological network (Ryznar et al, 1976). With a west-northwest wind direction, the cooling tower plume passes over the nearer station.…”