Ocean dye to help Rutgers scientists trace Hudson River's path miles into th...( echnologies. It is funded through a $4....)

As the study progresses, Rutgers scientists will add the data to computer models for predicting plume behavior and content under a wide range of conditions. Such information will be useful, for example, in predicting potentially dangerous algae blooms along the coast and making decisions about sewage disposal.

Chant is the principal investigator on the study. He is working along with fellow IMCS scientists Scott M. Glenn, Oscar Schofield and John L. Wilkin, and John R. Reinfelder of Rutgers' environmental sciences department.

FACTS

• The dye consists of about 100 gallons of Rhodamine WT, a nontoxic liquid red dye commonly used in water-tracing studies. It is detected optically by monitoring a characteristic reflection. Rhodamine can be detected down to 10 parts per trillion, or the equivalent of 1/50th of an ounce dropped in an Olympic-size swimming pool.

• While following the dye patches, researchers will run many tests to evaluate how nitrogen, lead, cadmium, mercury and other substances are transported by the plume at different depths and under different conditions. They will study microscopic phytoplankton and zooplankton, and research how metals and nutrients enter the base of the food chain.

• "Lagrangian" in the title of the study comes from Joseph-Louis Lagrange, an 18th century French mathematician who developed formulas for studying the motion of fluids while following their flow.

• The LaTTE acronym will have special meaning for coffee lovers. One of the chemicals to be monitored in the Hudson River Plume is caffeine. It passes though sewage treatment plants unchanged, and because it has no oceanic source, it can be used as an additional tracer.

• Shipboard testing will provide real-time results, allowing scientist
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