Abstract
A very brief review is given of the way in which heated effluents can affect marine and estuarine environments. Some of the effects of the Hunterston Generating Station, Ayrshire, Scotland are described. This station discharges cooling seawater at about 10ºC above ambient at a rate of about 91000 m 3 /h. A prolonged ecological survey of the adjacent sandy beach for several years before and after the power station came into operation suggests that changes in the densities of the commonest organism, the bivalve Tellina tenuis , are not attributable to thermal effects. By contrast, the growth rates of young stages of Tellina appear to have increased. Breeding and growth at Hunterston of the intertidal sand-burrowing amphipod Urothoë brevicornis has been compared with a control population 3 km away, at Millport. Hunterston amphipods show an earlier breeding season and a more prolonged growth period compared with Millport animals. It is suggested that in open sea situations, in temperate waters, present power station effluents have relatively small effects. However, it should not be assumed that the increasing future disposals of waste heat will not have more drastic effects on the environment.
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Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
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