{"id":19415,"date":"2026-09-02T14:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=19415"},"modified":"2026-09-02T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:45:13","slug":"in-2019-us-researchers-added-fluorescent-dye-to-a-pennsylvania-mine-water-wetland-and-flew-12-drone-missions-a-system-designed-for-29-hour-retention-held-water-for-only-4-65-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=19415","title":{"rendered":"In 2019, US researchers added fluorescent dye to a Pennsylvania mine-water wetland and flew 12 drone missions; a system designed for 29-hour retention held water for only 4.65 hours"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-articlebody=\"1\"><video-embed value=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ihgno clearfix  \">\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133711897,imgsize-452394,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell-4.jpg\" alt=\"In 2019, US researchers added fluorescent dye to a Pennsylvania mine-water wetland and flew 12 drone missions; a system designed for 29-hour retention held water for only 4.65 hours\" title=\"Visual observations indicated a retention time of about 61 minutes in Cell 3 and 66 minutes in Cell 4.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Visual observations indicated a retention time of about 61 minutes in Cell 3 and 66 minutes in Cell 4.\">Visual observations indicated a retention time of about 61 minutes in Cell 3 and 66 minutes in Cell 4.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Monastery Run Wetland 1, near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was built in 1997-1998 as a passive treatment system for several discharges from an abandoned underground mine. Adequate retention time for iron removal from mine water before discharge to Four Mile Run is provided by the use of settling ponds and wetlands.<!-- --> The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) investigated the system to identify reasons for enhancing its treatment performance. Scroll down for the details of the findings.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Fluorescent dye reveals water flow<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>In July 2019, scientists injected Cell 1 with a fluorescent yellow-green Xanthene dye and followed its passage through the first two cells. The test did successfully establish retention times in those areas but the dye became very diluted in Cells 3 and 4 after another large mine-water source entered Cell 2.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>A second test was therefore carried out in August, this time using an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). To track the movement of dye through Cells 3 and 4, researchers injected dye at the outlet of Cell 2, and used a 3DR Solo drone equipped with a GoPro Hero4 Black camera to follow the dye.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Drone data shows low retention<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Due to the battery limitations of the drone, the researchers conducted 12 flights of approximately 8-10 minutes each at altitudes up to 200 feet. Visual observations indicated a retention time of about 61 minutes in Cell 3 and 66 minutes in Cell 4. Aerial video estimates were similar at approximately 64 and 66 minutes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>The total hydraulic retention time of the wetland, when the results from all four cells were combined, was approximately 4.65 hours. This was well under the 29 hours anticipated at the design flow of 1,710 gallons per minute.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Needs major upgrades<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The results show that Wetland 1 needs a lot of modification to increase its water retention and aeration capacity. These changes are deemed necessary to improve dissolved iron removal and to reestablish the treatment system&#8217;s efficacy.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/science\/in-2019-us-researchers-added-fluorescent-dye-to-a-pennsylvania-mine-water-wetland-and-flew-12-drone-missions-a-system-designed-for-29-hour-retention-held-water-for-only-4-65-hours\/articleshow\/133711795.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Visual observations indicated a retention time of about 61 minutes in Cell 3 and 66 minutes in Cell 4. Monastery Run Wetland 1, near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was built in 1997-1998 as a passive treatment system for several discharges from an abandoned underground mine. Adequate retention time for iron removal from mine water before discharge to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Visual observations indicated a retention time of about 61 minutes in Cell 3 and 66 minutes in Cell 4. Monastery Run Wetland 1, near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was built in 1997-1998 as a passive treatment system for several discharges from an abandoned underground mine. Adequate retention time for iron removal from mine water before discharge to [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/visual-observations-indicated-a-retention-time-of-about-61-minutes-in-cell-3-and-66-minutes-in-cell-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}