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Thermal pollution, sometimes called "thermal enrichment", is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. Thermal pollution is the rise or drop in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence .
Plumes are of considerable importance in the atmospheric dispersion modelling of air pollution. A classic work on the subject of air pollution plumes is that by Gary Briggs. [4] [5] A thermal plume is one which is generated by gas rising above a heat source. The gas rises because thermal expansion makes warm gas less dense than the surrounding ...
An inversion traps air pollution, such as smog, near the ground. An inversion can also suppress convection by acting as a "cap". If this cap is broken for any of several reasons, convection of any humidity can then erupt into violent thunderstorms. Temperature inversion can cause freezing rain in cold climates.
A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometrics (such as nonpoint source or area source ).
Air pollution control system, known as a thermal oxidizer, decomposes hazard gases from industrial air streams at a factory in the United States. A dust collector in Pristina, Kosovo. Pollution control is a term used in environmental management. It refers to the control of emissions and effluents into air, water or soil.
Thermal pollution—discharges of water at elevated temperature after being used for cooling—can also lead to polluted water. Elevated water temperatures decrease oxygen levels, which can kill fish and alter food chain composition, reduce species biodiversity , and foster invasion by new thermophilic species.
In the context of a thermal power station and other industrial facilities, the output of the cooling system may be referred to as the effluent cooling water, which is noticeably warmer than the environment and is called thermal pollution. [9]: 375 In chemical engineering practice, effluent is the stream exiting a chemical reactor. [10]
The Act also requires use of best management practices for a wide range of other water discharges including nonpoint source pollution. [20] Thermal pollution discharges are regulated under section 316(a) of the CWA. [21] NPDES permits include effluent limitations on water temperature to protect the biotic life supported by a water body. A ...