A NEW NUCLEAR DENSITY GAUGE TO MEASURE DIRECTLY HIGH TURBIDITIES IN MUDDY AREAS

A better knowledge of the characteristics of muddy areas, in access fairways and port basins, and of the behaviour of ships during their crossing, presents the double interest of enhancing the navigation possibilities, through a more precise adjustment of the ship draught to the status of the bottoms, and permiting a more rational organization of the maintenance dredging campaigns. Considerable savings will be obtained through the development of such knowledges for harbours management. These improvements imply the use of measuring equipments which must be handy, sturdy, reliable and which give accurate measurements. The JTD3 gauge presented by the Radioisotopes Applications Service of the French Atomic Energy Commission is an important step in the development of such measuring equipments. It is now in running order, and commercially available, after thorough test campaigns, undertaken during many months in different french harbours. New developments are already engaged, namely through the design of a turbidity gauge able to make dynamic measurements.