Thursday, March 22, 2012

Research on Thermal Pollution



            Thermal pollution is the change in the temperature of water due to the addition of warmer water into a source of cooler water. This is often the result of industrial plants and factories, typically plans the generate electricity, pumping the water used to cool down their machinery into a near by body of water. Increases in the temperature of the water also occur in streams where shading vegetation along the banks has been removed or where turned up sediments have made the water cloudier. Both the addition of the hot water, lack of shading vegetation, and turned up bottom sediments, makes the water absorb more sunlight, also heating the water.
            The most thermally efficient machines are the one where their input water temperature and the output water temperature vary drastically. To do this cool water from a surrounding area is pumped into a factory or plant. Half the water is left at the normal temperature and the other half is heated so the two temperatures vary greatly. When the water is done being used it is all pumped back into the original water source. Over time, the heated water will change the temperature of the body of water.
            Effects of thermal pollution are thermal shock, changes in dissolved oxygen, and the redistribution of organisms in the body of water being used. Stenothermic organisms adapt to the water temperature and even small changes can ruin the metabolic processes, as well as their reproductive systems, and kill them.
            One of the ways to avoid this is gradually adding the warmer water to a water source. This give the organisms time to either adapt of move away from the source of the heat.

1 comment:

  1. This was quite an informative blog post. I really appreciate the well thought out and concise facts on thermal pollution. I feel this is overlooked often when dealing with global issues.

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