Thermal Pollution is unfavorable
change in the temperature of water.
Thermal pollution can lead to the death of aquatic wild life. This
affects the ecosystem and the fishing economy due o fish kill by temperature changes.
Thermal pollution is caused by a number of sources including, nuclear power
plants, urban runoff, soil erosion, shoreline deforestation, and by natural
causes. However there are measures of prevention and alternative methods to
prevent this cause of destruction of the ecosystem. This blog is dedicated to
providing information on all of the affects, causes, and solutions to thermal
pollution.
P4RG JW JR NV TC
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Soulutions to Thermal Pollution
Thermal
pollution is devastating to the wildlife surrounding the pollution hotspot. The
creatures’ lives can only be saved by enacting solutions that can fix the issue
of thermal pollution. Some issues are more easily resolved than others. We
sometimes ignore the problem and instead focus solely on the positive outcomes
that the system produces. Other causes
can easily be substituted to prevent further pollution, and these alternatives
need to be enacted.
-
Deforestation
of Shoreline: This source is a cause of pollution that can be resolved much
more efficiently than many other causes. We simply need to look for other
sources of lumber. Shoreline-specific lumber may have to be substituted for other
types of wood. If the trees along the shoreline are simply left alone, the
light rays will continue to be blocked and the temperature will not change.
-
Nuclear
Power Plants: Nuclear power must not be seen as a primary source of energy.
Cooling the plants with the surrounding water is the chief cause of thermal
pollution. The power plants must be cooled to operate efficiently, but other
methods should be considered. Moving towards other sources of energy, such as
hydroelectric power, wind power, or solar power, will prevent wasting water on
nuclear power plants. The transition will be difficult because nuclear power
plants produce much more energy then their environmental-friendly counterparts.
If enough alternate power sources are constructed, power plants may be able to
generate energy levels nearly equal to that of nuclear power plants.
-
Soil
Erosion: Stronger soil will prevent erosion. Plowing fields in circular or
wavy pattern will prevent the soil from eroding as quickly. The wind does not
affect circular and wavy paths as much as straight-line paths. Soil will always
erode due to the vast amount of land, which is untouched by humans but causes
the erosion cycle. We can lessen the level of the thermal pollution by erosion
but completely eliminating it would be near impossible.
-
Urban
Runoff: Redirecting water flow away from the hot surfaces in the urban
environment will prevent the water from making any drastic changes in
temperature. The water could also be collected and brought to an environment
where the temperatures are identical to each other.
-
Natural
Causes: Natural
causes are caused by nature. Scientists have yet to find any real solutions
that can prevent nature from thermally polluting our environment. Perhaps in
the future, man-made structures will be constructed to limit the effect natural
causes have on the pollution of the environment.
Thermal pollution
results from numerous man-made causes. Humans simply neglect the environmental
issues and allow them to build up. To most humans, the benefits outweigh the
costs. If nothing is done to prevent pollution from entering the environment,
the costs will outweigh the benefits. People will have no environment to worry
about. To prevent all wildlife from ending, actions must be taken to alleviate
thermal pollution, as well as other pollution sources, from the environment.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thermal Pollution: Causes
Thermal Pollution: Causes
According
to the Encyclopedia of Earth, thermal pollution is the act of altering the
temperature of a body of water, such as a river, lake or ocean setting. Thermal pollution is chiefly discussed
in the sense of raising the water temperature but can also be referred to as
releasing cold reservoir water into a warmer aquatic environment. This concept is primarily caused by
wastewater released from power generation plants into surrounding bodies of
water, but other sources also contribute to thermal pollution.
-
Nuclear
Power Plants: These plants are usually constructed near large bodies of
water in which the plants could extract water to cool down the systems. After the water runs through the plant,
the water is recycled and returned to the reservoirs of water. The temperature remains significantly
high and has severe ecological impacts, such as decreasing dissolved oxygen
levels.
-
Urban
Runoff: Runoff contributes to thermal pollution as water from smaller
streams passes over hot surfaces (i.e. parking lots) and enters a variety of
aquatic environments.
-
Soil
Erosion: Soil erosion on the shore results in muddy waters. The darker color increases light
absorption, which causes the water temperature to rise.
-
Deforestation
of Shoreline: Deforestation further contributes to thermal pollution by
encouraging soil erosion and increasing the amount of light that shines on the
water. The increase in light rays
causes an increase in water temperature.
-
Natural
Causes: Geothermal and volcanic activity underneath the ocean surface is
known to cause thermal pollution. Lightning strikes and a ground flow of lava
also introduce excessive amounts of heat to water reservoirs, while the flow of
warmer currents into colder environments fosters thermal pollution as well. The
drastic temperature increase resulting from these natural causes can damage
fish eggs and larvae thus disrupting the food chain balance within the
ecosystem.
Thermal pollution
is defined as the discharge of water into aquatic biomes that causes an unfavorable
change in temperature. Whether this
change is caused by natural or man-made sources, thermal pollution severely
affects the organisms living in the regions where the pollution is
present.
Thermal Pollution
Thermal
pollution is a result of great inputs of heated water entering aquatic
ecosystems via power plant drains.
The power plants release wastewater into nearby streams and lakes
causing harmful effects on marine species. Not only do power plants return the heated water to these
bodies of water, but also the plants receive about half of the necessary water
for cooling the plant from these nearby streams. The increase in temperature lowers the solubility of oxygen
in water decreasing the level of dissolved oxygen. This decrease makes it difficult for organisms to “breathe”,
or remove oxygen from the water.
At the same time, the warmer water causes these same species to respire
faster and require more oxygen at a quicker rate. This combination of effects has detrimental outcomes
on the aquatic life’s population levels.
Though this process has detrimental effects on the environment, this
method is the cheapest and easiest process to cool the power plant.
Thermal
pollution is also caused by other secondary sources. Deforestation along
shorelines increases water’s exposure to light. The added heat warms and pollutes the water. Soil erosion on
shore can cause cloudy waters. The
turned up sediment reduces the water’s clarity and increases light absorption,
which heats the water. This
warm water can have drastic effects on the affected ecosystem. The plants in
the biome will grow at a faster rate using more oxygen than the environment can
provide. Thermal pollution reduces
dissolved oxygen, which prevents plant life from receiving the necessary
amounts of oxygen. Additionally,
this occurrence can cause an algal bloom, a natural phenomenon that witnesses a
rapid increase in algae [population within a given body of water. The algae die
at a similar time thus further decreasing the levels of dissolved oxygen. The increase in plant populations
combined with the low levels of dissolved oxygen can kill fish and other living
organisms in the water.
Organisms
can also go into thermal shock. This result occurs when the temperature of an
ecosystem changes too quickly before the organisms can adapt to the change. The
thermal shock causes all functions of the species’ bodies to operate
differently. The organisms begin
to operate in a way unfit to the environment, which results in the animals’
deaths. Many animals, mainly marine life, have been killed due to thermal
shock.
Only
a few possible solutions exist for thermal pollution. First, nuclear power
plants should perfect any machinery that creates thermal pollution. The systems should strive for maximum
efficiency, which would cause the plants to use less water and to recycle any
water used at a lower temperature.
Unnecessary amounts of friction in the machinery will cause the system
to run less efficiently. The plant
can see small problems adding up to a significantly increased amount of cooling
water needed. We can also minimize factory hours in order to produce less pollution. Unfortunately, this solution can face
much legal, governmental and industrial opposition. Factories need to keep up
with the market and that demand cannot necessarily be controlled.
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