Quantitative estimation of sea surface temperature increases resulting from the thermal discharge of coastal power plants in China

Lin, Jie; Zou, Xinqing; Huang, Faming; Yao, Yulong

Quantitative estimation of sea surface temperature increases resulting from the thermal discharge of coastal power plants in China

2021

Lin, Jie | Zou, Xinqing | Huang, Faming | Yao, Yulong

The operation of coastal nuclear power plants and thermal power plants (CNATPPs) can cause regional sea surface temperature (SST) increases. To assess their effects on coastal ecosystems, the scope and extent of their impacts must be understood. We aimed to quantitatively assess the SST increases caused by thermal discharge under climate warming by comparing SSTs between control and test groups and among different offshore buffer zones based on daily MODIS SST data from 2002 to 2017. The results showed that (1) a good correlation occurred between the CNATPP installed capacity and SST increase in the 0–2 km offshore waters; (2) the SST increase caused by thermal discharge was the largest in summer and the smallest in winter; and (3) the effect of thermal discharge occurred within 2 km offshore when the installed capacity exceeded 2000 MW and extended to 5 km when it reaches more than 4000 MW.

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