THERMAL

POLLUTION
By:
NIKHIL PAKWANNE

What is Thermal
Pollution?

Increase in the normal temperatures

of natural waters caused by
intervention of human activities.
Temperature is a physical
characteristic of water which is
characteristic of water which is
regulated under the Clean Water
Act.

Thermal Pollution

Major Causes

Nuclear power
plants
Deforestation
Soil erosion

Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power plants use water as a

cooling agent.
After the water is used, it is put back
into a water supply at 9-20oC
warmer

This 1988 thermal image of the

Hudson River highlights
temperature changes caused by
discharge of 2.5 billion gallons of
water each day from the Indian
Point power plant. The plant sits in
the upper right of the photo hot
water in the discharge canal is
visible in yellow and red, spreading
and cooling across the entire width
of the river. Two additional outflows
from the Lovett coal-fired power
plant are also clearly visible against
the natural temperature of the
water, in green and blue.

Waste Heat from Power

Plants

Deforestation

The decrease in vegetation increases

the amount of light that hits the
water, which increases the
temperature of the water
Deforestation also increases erosion

Soil Erosion

Erosion makes the water muddy,

which increases the light absorbed

Effects of Increased Water

Temperature

Thermal shock aquatic life adapted to a

certain water temperature can go into
shock when the temp is changed even 1 or
2 degrees.
Oxygen dissolved in water decreases
Increases the rate of photosynthesis, which
increases the amount of plant growth
Increases the metabolic rate of fish, which
increases their need for oxygen

Biotic Effects of Thermal

Pollution
Changes in the environment may also result in
amigration of organisms to another, more suitable
environment, and to in-migration of organisms that
normally only live in warmer waters elsewhere. As
a result one has the problem of compromising food
chains of the old and new environments.
Biodiversity can be decreased as a result.

 Changes of even one to two degrees

Celsius can
cause significant changes in organism
metabolism
and other adverse cellular biology
effects.
Principal adverse changes can include
rendering
cell walls less permeable to necessary
osmosis,
coagulation of cell proteins, and
alteration of enzyme metabolism. These
cellular level effects can adversely affect
mortality and reproduction.

Dissolved
Oxygen

v Tem
s p

Control of thermal
pollution

Cooling ponds, man-made bodies of

water designed for cooling
byevaporation,convection, and
radiation
Cooling towers, which transfer waste
heat to theatmospherethrough
evaporation and/orheat transfer
Cogeneration, a process where waste
heat is recycled for domestic and/or
industrial heating purposes

References:
http://thermal.unl.edu/dm
www.thermaleffects.com
www.google.com
http://thermalpollution.usda.edu/dt