Abstract:
Horizontal diffusion coefficient indicates how fast the dissolved or suspended substances disperse in the water. In this study, the horizontal dispersion coefficient for the upper layer of 5 locations in the Upper Gulf of Thailand was estimated using floating buoys. At each experiment, 4-8 buoys in different arrangements were deployed covering the area of about 0.2 km[superscript 2] or about 500 m wide. The experiments lasted for about 1-2 hr. Each buoy was equipped with a small GPS which was set to record the buoy position every 5 min. The horizontal dispersion coefficient was then computed from the buoy positions using Richardson and mean trajectory methods. Then, the dispersion coefficient values were verified by using the Hiranos and Sugiuras empirical formula. In addition, this study tried to delineate diffusion from the dispersion processes using the ratio of the turbulent scale and the size of the group of buoys. The mean diffusion coefficient computed from the experiment was 2.09 m[superscript 2]/s and the mean dispersion coefficient was 0.32 m[superscript 2]/s. Diffusion process occurred when the ratio of the size of the group of buoys over the turbulent scale was over 30, and dispersion process occurred when the ratio was less than 30.