Thermal discharges. Ecological effects

Levin, Arthur A.; Birch, Thomas J.; Hillman, Robert E.; Raines, G.E.

doi:10.1021/es60062a009

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…But at 13 C, Lessard and Hayes [2003] observed a decrease in cold water fish species, an increase in total fish species, and shifts in macroinvertebrate community, whereas Prats et al [2010] found no negative effects on aquatic life. However, without exception, all studies observed negative implications at temperature alterations of 4 C [e.g., Levin et al, 1972;Sadler, 1980;Brauer et al, 1974;Neill and Magnuson, 1974].…”

Section: Effects On Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Large lakes as sources and sinks of anthropogenic heat: Capacities and limits

Fink

Schmid

Wüest

2014

Water Resources Research

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The goal of reducing carbon fuel and thereby saving energy will increase the use of lake water for heating and cooling of riparian infrastructures. This raises the question of which heat use designs meet the ecological and technical requirements for lakes, particularly in regard to climate warming. Thus, this study explores heat use effects on the temperature and stratification of a large, deep, temperate lake by applying the one-dimensional k-epsilon model SIMSTRAT to various forcing scenarios. Several design parameters, such as extraction and discharge depth, and their effects were assessed. Additionally, 21st century climate projections were used to evaluate the effects of climate change relative to those of heat use. Generally, the study showed only minor effects for a realistic heat demand of 62 W m 22 quite independent of the heat extraction/discharge modes. Mean water temperature changed less than 60.2 C as long as there was no discharge into the deepest layers. Water extraction and discharge at the surface had the least thermal influence. To relate to climate change, heat use was scaled up to 185 W m 22 . Resultant simulations showed that such (unrealistic) anthropogenic, lake-based ''thermal pollution'' would have a comparable influence to that of climate change. Conversely, heat extraction could damp or even compensate climateinduced warming. The present study concludes that (i) there are minor effects on water temperatures, stratification, and seasonal mixing due to heat use of up to 62 W m 22 and (ii) those influences are insignificant relative to the expected climate change.

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Section: Effects On Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Large lakes as sources and sinks of anthropogenic heat: Capacities and limits

Fink

Schmid

Wüest

2014

Water Resources Research

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“…The thermal impacts of using river water for cooling have been broadly documented (Levin, Birch, Hillman, & Raines, 1972), whereas less information is available for lakes, except for the case of Lake Stechlin in Germany (Koschel, Gonsiorczyk, Krienitz, Padisák, & Scheffler, 2002; Box 2). The majority of studies of thermal use were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s (Souchon & Tissot, 2012) and investigated the ecological impacts of large temperature increases of up to 15 C, typically resulting from power plant cooling (Brezina, Campbell, & Whitley, 1970;Langford, 1990).…”

Section: Current State Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thermal pollution can modify behavior, metabolism, reproduction, growth, as well as community structure and abundance of all groups of aquatic organisms-bacteria, fungi, algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton, invertebrates, and vertebrates (Langford, 1990). Impacts can take place at all levels of biological hierarchy and vary greatly between ecological communities (Levin et al, 1972). Important ecosystem processes may also be affected, such as ecosystem metabolism (e.g., primary production and respiration), nutrient cycling and trophic interactions (i.e., food web).…”

Section: Temperature-related Characteristics Of Aquatic Organismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of using lakes and rivers for extraction and disposal of heat

Gaudard¹,

Weber²,

Alexander

et al. 2018

WIREs Water

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The extraction and disposal of heat from lakes and rivers is a large yet scarcely exploited source of renewable energy, which can partly replace fossil fuel heating and electrical cooling systems. Its use is expected to increase in the near future, which brings attention to the impacts of discharging thermally altered water into aquatic systems. Our review indicates that thermal discharge affects physical and ecological processes, with impacts recorded at all levels of biological organization. Many in situ studies found local effects of thermal discharge (such as attraction or avoidance of mobile organisms), while impacts at the scale of the whole water body were rarely detected. In complex systems, diffuse impacts of thermal discharge are difficult to disentangle from natural variability or other anthropogenic influences. Discharge of warm water in summer is likely to be most critical, especially in the context of climate change. Under this scenario, water temperatures may reach maxima that negatively affect some species. Given the diversity and complexity of the impacts of thermal pollution on aquatic systems, careful planning and judicious management is required when using lakes and rivers for extraction and disposal of heat. We discuss the drivers that influence the severity of potential impacts of such thermal use, and the options available to avoid or mitigate these impacts (such as adapting the operating conditions). This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Water Quality Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water

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“…Large power plants combined with new combustion/gasification technology [1][2][3] are often built in coastal areas and use the sea as cooling water, discharging a large amount of waste heat into the nearby seas [4]. The rise in water temperature and the water stratification caused by thermal discharge [5][6][7] have adverse impacts on the marine ecological environment [8][9][10][11]. Thermal pollution caused mainly by industrial use of water as a cooling agent has been regarded as a severe threat to ecological composition in coastal waters [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Study on the Effect of Heat-Retaining and Diversion Facilities on Thermal Discharge from a Power Plant

Hao

Qiao

Han

et al. 2020

Water

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In order to reduce the influence of thermal discharge from the power plant on the surrounding water environment and the operation efficiency of the power plant, a distorted physical model was presented and applied to Huadian Kemen Power Plant for studying heat transport and analyzing the effects of heat-retaining and diversion facilities near the intake/outlet on the thermal discharge for six scenarios. Field investigations were also used to validate the model. This study is unique as it is the first to elaborate on the impact of heat-retaining and diversion facilities on thermal discharge. The results indicate that the construction of heat-retaining and diversion facilities can decrease the excess temperature at intake to meet the intake requirement and improve the distribution of low temperature rise, but the area of high temperature rise has an increase. When the heat-retaining wall and diversion dike were constructed, the maximum intake temperature rise of Phase III decreased significantly by 1.0–1.3 °C with an average decrease of 0.2 °C, and the maximum value of Phase I and II was reduced by 0.3 °C with little mean change. A comparative experiment with different construction heights was also conducted. Result analysis shows that when the crest elevation was reduced from 3 to 2 m, the influence on the intake temperature rise of Phase I and II could be ignored, and the average temperature rise of Phase III only had an increase of 0.1 °C, suggesting that constructions with 2 m play an effective role in reducing heat return to the intake.

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Thermal discharges. Ecological effects

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Large lakes as sources and sinks of anthropogenic heat: Capacities and limits

Large lakes as sources and sinks of anthropogenic heat: Capacities and limits

Impacts of using lakes and rivers for extraction and disposal of heat

Experimental Study on the Effect of Heat-Retaining and Diversion Facilities on Thermal Discharge from a Power Plant

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