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Thermal Impact from a Thermoelectric Power Plant on a Tropical Coastal Lagoon

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Abstract

Tropical coastal areas are sensitive ecosystems to climate change, mainly due to sea level rise and increasing water temperatures. Furthermore, they may be subject to numerous stresses, including heat releases from energy production. The Urias coastal lagoon (SE Gulf of California), a subtropical tidal estuary, receives cooling water releases from a thermoelectric power plant, urban and industrial wastes, and shrimp farm discharges. In order to evaluate the plant thermal impact, we measured synchronous temperature time series close to and far from the plant. Furthermore, in order to discriminate the thermal pollution impact from natural variability, we used a high-resolution hydrodynamic model forced by, amongst others, cooling water release as a continuous flow (7.78 m3 s−1) at 6 °C overheating temperature. Model results and field data indicated that the main thermal impact was temporally restricted to the warmest months, spatially restricted to the surface layers (above 0.6 m) and distributed along the shoreline within ∼100 m of the release point. The methodology and results of this study can be extrapolated to tropical coastal lagoons that receive heat discharges.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Dirección General de Cómputo y de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) for the use of Miztli Cluster, where simulations were performed. Some preliminary simulations were carried on the supercomputer FinisTerrae hosted at the Centre of Supercomputing of Galicia (CESGA) and financed by the regional government of Galicia and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The authors acknowledge the partial financial support from the projects Observatorio del Cambio Global en la zona costera de Mazatlán, Programa de Apoyos a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (PAPIIT, UNAM, IB201612); Renovación de equipo científico para el fortalecimiento de la investigación regional en Geoquímica Ambiental y Cambio Global (CONACYT INFR-2013-01 204818), Red Contaminación acuática niveles y efectos (PROMEP/103.5/12/4812). JGCM thanks for the financial support from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) through a Doctoral (102137/43055) and a postdoctoral fellowship. We also thank for the technical support provided by Germán Ramírez Reséndiz (bathymetry and data management), Maria Clara Ramírez Jaúregui (bibliography), Onésimo López Ramos (dataloggers) and Paola Rodríguez Reynaga (language usage and editing service).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Procesos Costeros y Oceánicos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México, D.F., Mexico

    J. G. Cardoso-Mohedano & J. A. Sanchez-Cabeza

  2. National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

    R. Bernardello

  3. Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán, 82000, Sinaloa, Mexico

    A. C. Ruiz-Fernández & R. Alonso-Rodriguez

  4. Oceans Catalonia International SL, Anselm Clavé, 8, 17300, Blanes, Spain

    A. Cruzado

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  1. J. G. Cardoso-Mohedano
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  2. R. Bernardello
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  3. J. A. Sanchez-Cabeza
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  4. A. C. Ruiz-Fernández
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  5. R. Alonso-Rodriguez
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  6. A. Cruzado
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Correspondence to J. A. Sanchez-Cabeza.

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Cardoso-Mohedano, J.G., Bernardello, R., Sanchez-Cabeza, J.A. et al. Thermal Impact from a Thermoelectric Power Plant on a Tropical Coastal Lagoon. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 2202 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2202-8

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