Thermal pollution is generally defined as the discharge of heated water into aquatic biomes. But thermal pollution also covers releases of colder than normal water into the aquatic biomes. The general effect is to raise or lower the temperature of the aquatic biome in ways that kill off life that is sensitive to higher temperatures. If the heated water from industrial operations contains chemicals or radiation that is toxic to life in aquatic biomes, then the problem is compounded.
The most common human, or anthropogenic, causes of thermal pollution are coolant release frompower production and manufacturing plants, urban runoff from storm drains that carry surface runoff from roads and warmer surfaces, and releases of colder than normal water from reservoirs into rivers and waterways.
In the industrial area, petroleum refineries, pulp/paper mills, chemical plants, steel mills and smelters are the big contributors to thermal heat pollution.
Natural causes include geothermal and volcanic activity, either under the oceans and seas or from above ground lava flow. Lightening strikes can also introduce massive amounts of heat, and the natural progress of warmer currents into colder biomes occur.
The effects of thermal pollution include damage to larvae and eggs of fish in rivers where there is a limited tolerance for temperature change. The other effects are on the biodiversity of aquatic biomes due to killing off of some species that are not resistant to temperature change, which disrupts the balance of the food and light chains for plants, fish, bacteria, and microscopic life forms. Fish and macroinvertibrates are most susceptible to temperature changes, as they have the most limited tolerance for sudden excessive heat and cold.
Heat affects the metabolic rate and enzymatic activity of aquatic animals, leading to more eating, which can upset the balance in food availability.
Dissolved oxygen and other chemical changes to the structure of the water are another effect of heat thermal pollution. The heat tends to decrease the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.Another effect is that living entities attempt to migrate when their environment is untenable. The increased migration of life forms to areas that had a perfect balance can create a fight for limited resources, once the population increases.
What can be done about anthropogenic thermal pollution? There are cooling ponds and towers that store and transition the water to more acceptable temperatures before release. There is also recycling of the heated water to direct it to areas where heat is needed.
CITATION
