Thermal Regime Of Rivers Research Articles

The effect of varied dam release mechanisms and storage volume on downstream river thermal regimes

Temperature plays an essential role in the ecology and biology of aquatic ecosystems. The use of dams to store and subsequently re-regulate river flows can have a negative impact on the natural thermal regime of rivers, causing thermal pollution of downstream river ecosystems. Autonomous thermal loggers were used to measure temperature changes downstream of a large dam on the Macquarie River, in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin to quantify the effect of release mechanisms and dam storage volume on the downstream thermal regime. The magnitude of thermal pollution in the downstream river was affected by different release mechanisms, including bottom-level outlet releases, a thermal curtain (which draws water from above the hypolimnion), and spill-way release. Dam storage volume was linked to the magnitude of thermal pollution downstream; high storage volumes were related to severe thermal suppressions, with an approximate 10 °C difference occurring when water originated from high and low storage volumes. Downstream temperatures were 8 ̶ 10 °C higher when surface releases were used via a thermal curtain and the spillway to mitigate cold water pollution that frequently occurs in the river. Demonstrating the effectiveness of engineering and operational strategies used to mitigate cold water pollution highlight their potential contribution to fish conservation, threatened species recovery and environmental remediation of aquatic ecosystems.

Modelling the impacts of climate change on riverine thermal regimes in western Canada\u2019s largest Pacific watershed

Quantification of climate change impacts on the thermal regimes of rivers in British Columbia (BC) is crucial given their importance to aquatic ecosystems. Using the Air2Stream model, we investigate the impact of both air temperature and streamflow changes on river water temperatures from 1950 to 2015 across BC’s 234,000 km2 Fraser River Basin (FRB). Model results show the FRB’s summer water temperatures rose by nearly 1.0 °C during 1950–2015 with 0.47 °C spread across 17 river sites. For most of these sites, such increases in average summer water temperature have doubled the number of days exceeding 20 °C, the water temperature that, if exceeded, potentially increases the physiological stress of salmon during migration. Furthermore, river sites, especially those in the upper and middle FRB, show significant associations between Pacific Ocean teleconnections and regional water temperatures. A multivariate linear regression analysis reveals that air temperature primarily controls simulated water temperatures in the FRB by capturing ~80% of its explained variance with secondary impacts through river discharge. Given such increases in river water temperature, salmon returning to spawn in the Fraser River and its tributaries are facing continued and increasing physical challenges now and potentially into the future.

A standardized characterization of river thermal regimes in Québec (Canada)

The availability of Québec (Canada) river temperature data has improved significantly in recent years, with increased monitoring effort and sharing of existing data. Although it is now recognized that this variable is of central interest in a variety of instream habitat issues, the actual interpretation and use of the data by managers and researchers can be challenging, due to the spatial sparsity of the measurement sites and to the unevenness of the length of the temperature time series. In this paper, we propose a model for all Québec rivers thermal regimes, as a means to interpret and exploit the available river temperature data. The model, based on fitting a Gaussian function to time series of interannual mean daily temperatures, was used to characterize the thermal regime at more than 400 locations in Québec rivers. The three parameters of the model (annual maximum, date of annual maximum and length of the warm season) allowed to produce a first map of Québec river thermal regimes. A method to quantify the uncertainty on the parameters estimation, taking into account the length of the time series and the interannual variability of the river temperature, is presented. Finally, stepwise regressions were used to investigate the relationships between the model parameters and the physioclimatic characteristics of the basins upstream of the measurement sites.

Summertime thermal regime of water downstream of the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power plant

Summertime hydrothermal regime of the Yenisei River downstream of the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power plant is modeled based on a deterministic approach. To that end, the Fourier equation is used and the following physical processes contributing to the heat exchange between water and the surroundings are taken into consideration: absorption of direct and scattered solar radiation by water, absorption of downwelling thermal infrared radiation from the atmosphere by water surface, thermal infrared radiation back from the water surface, convection of heat and heat loss due to evaporation of water. A clearskies river thermal regime under no wind is studied in a 124-km stream reach below the power plant and the obtained results are compared against temperatures recorded at gauging stations.

Enhancing the retrieval of stream surface temperature from Landsat data

Thermal images of water bodies often show a radiance gradient perpendicular to the banks. This effect is frequently due to mixed land and water thermal pixels. In the case of the Landsat images, radiance mixing can also affect pure water pixels due the cubic convolution resampling of the native thermal measurements. Some authors recommended a general-purpose margin of two thermal pixels to the banks or a minimum river width of three pixels, to avoid near bank effects in water temperature retrievals. Given the relatively course spatial resolution of satellite thermal sensors, the three pixel margin severely restricts their application to temperature mapping in many rivers. This study proposes a new algorithm to enhance the retrieval of stream surface temperature using Landsat 8 thermal data, although it is also applicable to Landsat 7 and Landsat 5. The aim is not to perform a subpixel radiance unmixing but to refine the selection of unmixed, reliable pixels for temperature mapping. For this purpose, the spatial arrangement of native Landsat thermal pixels is approximated, and pure water pixels in the downscaled thermal band are selected accordingly. The least-favourable cubic convolution near-bank radiance mixing is simulated on image basis. Only pure thermal water pixels unaffected by the simulated worst-case resampling are selected. The algorithm allowed retrieving water surface temperature in reaches down to 120 m wide, clearly improving the existing three pixel, i.e. 300 m for Landsat 8, recommendation. The enhancing algorithm was applied to a reach in the Ebro River reach, Spain. It provided spatially distributed temperatures in narrow parts, upstream and downstream of a wide reservoir, offering new insight of the overall impact of the reservoir over the river thermal regime.

Modelling summer water temperature on the Yenisei river

A summertime hydrothermal regime of the Yenisei River downstream of the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power plant is modeled based on a deterministic approach. To that end, the Fourier equation is used and the following physical processes contributing to the heat exchange between water and the surroundings are taken into consideration: absorption of direct and scattered solar radiation by water, absorption of downwelling thermal infrared radiation from the atmosphere by water surface, thermal infrared radiation back from the water surface, convection of heat and heat loss due to evaporation of water. A clear-skies river thermal regime under no wind is studied in a 124-km stream reach below the power plant and the obtained results are compared against temperatures recorded at gauging stations.

Modelling and remote sensing of water temperature of the Yenisei river (Russia)

The summertime hydrothermal regime of the Yenisei River downstream of the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power plant is modeled using a remote sensing and deterministic approach. The Fourier equation is used, and the following physical processes contributing to the heat exchange between the water and the surroundings are taken into consideration: the absorption of direct and scattered solar radiation by water, the absorption of downwelling thermal infrared radiation (TIR) from the atmosphere by water surface, TIR back from the water surface, the convection of heat and the heat loss due to evaporation of water. A clear-skies river thermal regime under no wind condition is studied at 32-km downstream the power plant, and the obtained results are compared against remote sensing data.

Exploring and Quantifying River Thermal Response to Heatwaves

Most of the existing literature on river water temperature focuseds on river thermal sensitivity to long-term trends of climate variables, whereas how river water temperature responds to extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, still requires in-depth analysis. Research in this direction is particularly relevant in that heatwaves are expected to increase in intensity, frequency, and duration in the coming decades, with likely consequences on river thermal regimes and ecology. In this study we analyzed the long-term temperature and streamflow series of 19 Swiss rivers with different hydrological regime (regulated, low-land, and snow-fed), and characterized how concurrent changes in air temperature and streamflow concurred to affect their thermal dynamics. We focused on quantifying the thermal response to the three most significant heatwave events that occurred in Central Europe since 1950 (July–August 2003, July 2006, and July 2015). We found that the thermal response of the analyzed rivers contrasted strongly depending on the river hydrological regime, confirming the behavior observed under typical weather conditions. Low-land rivers were extremely sensitive to heatwaves. In sharp contrast, high-altitude snow-fed rivers and regulated rivers receiving cold water from higher altitude hydropower reservoirs or diversions showed a damped thermal response. The results presented in this study suggest that water resource managers should be aware of the multiple consequences of heatwave events on river water temperature and incorporate expected thermal responses in adaptive management policy. In this respect, additional efforts and dedicated studies are required to deepen our knowledge on how extreme heatwave events can affect river ecosystems.

River Water Temperature in Relation to Local Air Temperature in the Mackenzie and Yukon Basins

Water temperature has an important impact on many aspects of basin hydrology and ecology. In the northern regions, investigation of river thermal regimes and their changes over space and time is a challenge because of data limitations. This study determines the water temperature regimes at several locations within the Yukon and Mackenzie River basins and examines their relationship with air temperature. The Yukon and Mackenzie Rivers have distinct water temperature dynamics. They remain near zero from freeze-up in the fall to ice breakup in the spring and reach their peak temperature during mid-summer. For the locations examined, peak mean monthly water temperatures ranged from 9˚ to 15˚C, and mean July air temperatures ranged from 13˚ to 16˚C. The lags between water and air temperatures ranged from 1 to 40 days. The largest lag was found at the Great Bear River monitoring location, since water temperature at this site is strongly influenced by the heat storage of Great Bear Lake. Tests of three models, linear regression, logical regression (s-shape), and the physically based air2stream model, show that the air2stream model provided the best results, followed by logical regression. Linear regression gave the poorest result. Model estimates of water temperature from air temperature were slightly improved by the inclusion of discharge data. The water temperature sampling regimes had a considerable effect on model performance; long-term data provide a more robust test of a model. Comparisons of mean monthly water temperatures suggest significant spatial variability and some inconsistency between upstream and downstream sites that is due mainly to differences in data collection schemes. This study strongly demonstrates the need to improve water temperature monitoring in the northern regions.

Using fish guilds to assess community responses to temperature and flow regimes in unregulated and regulated Canadian rivers

Summary Hydropower currently accounts for 63% of Canada's total electricity generation and is bound to increase with the energy demands of a growing population. With damming and flow regulation known as major threats to aquatic biodiversity and river and floodplain habitats, an improved understanding of the specific impacts of river regulation is needed for the proper management of these systems. Although interactions among river flow and thermal regimes have been described in the literature, their concurrent influence on fish guild responses has yet to be analysed for temperate rivers. Such an analysis may be used to identify the ecological traits linked with the flow and thermal variables reflecting river regulation. Extensive field surveys were conducted across 25 unregulated and regulated rivers to estimate fish species density and biomass. Fish guild models were developed to characterise morphologic, trophic, reproductive, habitat preferences and behavioural traits, as well as phylogenetic associations. To characterise ecologically relevant components of the flow and thermal regimes of rivers, we calculated indices based on the magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change in each driver. Model relationships between fish biomass and density estimates were then run using redundancy analyses (RDA) on each type of guild and dominant patterns of flow and thermal variability. Variables representing the magnitude of summer temperatures and intra‐annual flow variability were consistently selected as independent drivers of fish guild responses (>86% of RDA models), clearly showing the importance of integrating thermal regimes in current river hydro‐ecological studies. Fish guild density and biomass were significantly explained (R2Adj = 25–44%) and predicted (R2CV = 35–76%) by flow and thermal variables characterising regimes across unregulated and regulated rivers, whereas total fish density and biomass were not. Fish guild models based on trait–environmental relationships performed better than those based on phylogeny. Our results also showed that the models describing habitat and trophic guilds had the greatest explanatory power (R2Adj = 0.44 and R2Adj = 0.41 respectively). This study identified differences in guild trait–environment relationships across rivers and the guilds most susceptible to changes in flow and temperature conditions resulting from river regulation. In particular, more constant summer temperatures and lower flow variability favoured habitat and trophic guilds over morphologic, reproductive and behavioural guilds. Our results showed that maintaining particular aspects of the flow and thermal regime may be important for ensuring the presence of certain guilds in temperate rivers.

Understanding the Thermal Regime of Rivers Influenced by Small and Medium Size Dams in Eastern Canada

Although small and medium-size dams are prevalent in North America, few studies have described their year-round impacts on the thermal regime of rivers. The objective of this study was to quantify the impacts of two types of dams (run-of-river, storage with shallow reservoirs) on the thermal regime of rivers in eastern Canada. Thermal impacts of dams were assessed (i) for the open water period by evaluating their influence on the annual cycle in daily mean water temperature and residual variability and (ii) for the ice-covered winter period by evaluating their influence on water temperature duration curves. Overall, results showed that the run-of-river dam (with limited storage capacity) did not have a significant effect on the thermal regime of the regulated river. At the two rivers regulated by storage dams with shallow reservoirs (mean depth < 6 m), the annual cycle in daily mean water temperature was significantly modified which led to warmer water temperatures in summer and autumn. From August to October, the monthly mean water temperature at rivers regulated by storage dams was 1.4 to 3.9°C warmer than at their respective reference sites. During the open water period, the two storage dams also reduced water temperature variability at a daily timescale while increased variability was observed in regulated rivers during the winter. Storage dams also had a warming effect during the winter and the winter median water temperature ranged between 1.0 and 2.1°C downstream of the two storage dams whereas water temperature remained stable and close to 0°C in unregulated rivers. The biological implications of the altered thermal regimes at rivers regulated by storage dams are discussed, in particular for salmonids. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characterization of sub‐daily thermal regime in alpine rivers: quantification of alterations induced by hydropeaking

AbstractThe thermal regime of rivers is threatened by anthropogenic stresses at a large variety of timescales. We focus on sub‐daily thermal alterations induced by the release of hypolimnetic water for hydropower production (thermopeaking). We analyse the thermal signal focusing on the following characteristics that are potentially affected by hypolimnetic releases: (i) sub‐daily thermal rate of change and (ii) oscillation frequencies contained in the thermal signal. Through a proper scaling, we derive two dimensionless at‐a‐station indicators to compare alterations among stations with different locations and physiographic characteristics of the basins. Then we analyse the data from two different thermal datasets (Italy/Switzerland) for a total of 48 stations with 10 min time resolution of temperature data. The stations are grouped according to the absence of upstream hydropeaking releases (29 stations, reference group) and the existence of upstream hydropeaking, hence potentially impacted by thermopeaking (19 stations, altered group). Using a simple statistical approach, based on a non‐parametric definition of outliers, we identify the range of variability of the two indicators for the reference, unaltered group. This range measures the ‘natural’ sub‐daily thermal variability of the proposed indicators.Finally, we investigate the seasonality effects on the two proposed indicators and it results, that sub‐daily alterations mostly occur during summer. The two indicators represent a novel tool for the assessment of river thermal regime alterations and can be easily included in existing methodologies to assess river quality. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Heat exchange processes and thermal dynamics of a glacier‐fed alpine stream

AbstractGlacier‐fed river thermal regimes vary markedly in space and time; however, knowledge is limited on the fundamental processes controlling alpine stream temperature dynamics. To address the research gap, this study quantified heat exchanges at the water surface and bed of the Taillon glacier‐fed stream, French Pyrénées. Hydro‐meteorological observations were recorded at 15‐min intervals across two summer melt seasons (2010 and 2011), and energy balance components were measured or estimated based on site‐specific data. Averaged over both seasons, net radiation was the largest heat source (~80% of total flux); sensible heat (~13%) and friction (~3%) were also sources, while heat exchange across the channel–streambed interface was negligible (&lt;1%). Latent heat displayed distinct interannual variability and contributed 5% in 2010 compared with 0.03% in 2011. At the sub‐seasonal scale, latent heat shifted from source to sink, possibly linked to the retreating valley snowline that changed temperature and humidity gradients. These findings represent the first, multiyear study of the heat exchange processes operating in a glacier‐fed stream, providing fundamental process understanding; the research highlights the direct control antecedent (winter) conditions that have on energy exchange and stream temperature during summer months. In particular, the timing and volume of snowfall/snowmelt can drive thermal dynamics by the following: (1) altering the length of the stream network exposed to the atmosphere and (2) controlling the volume and timing of cold water advection downstream. Finally, this study highlights the need to develop long‐term hydro‐meteorological monitoring stations to improve the understanding of these highly dynamic, climatically sensitive systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Predicting Hourly Stream Temperatures Using the Equilibrium Temperature Model

Water temperature is a key physical habitat determinant in lotic ecosystems as it influences many physical, chemical and biological properties of rivers. Hence, a good understanding of the thermal regime of rivers is essential for effective management of water and fisheries resources. This study deals with the modeling of hourly stream water temperature using the equilibrium temperature model. This water temperature model was applied on two thermally different watercourses, namely, the Little Southwest Miramichi River (LSWM) and Catamaran Brook (CatBk; New Brunswick). The equilibrium temperature model is a simplified version of a deterministic model. As such, in the equilibrium temperature model the total heat flux at the surface is assumed proportional to the difference between the water temperature and an equilibrium temperature. In the present study, the equilibrium temperature was assumed to vary linearly with hourly air temperature. This study showed that there was a good relationship between the equilibrium and air temperature at the hourly time scale. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) obtained with the hourly equilibrium tem- perature model was similar to results reported in previous studies with values of 1.05˚C (CatBk) and 1.36˚C (LSWM). The model's performance was best in late summer and autumn when water levels were low. In contrast, the presence of snowmelt in the spring resulted in poorer performances. This study also showed good results in estimating the daily mean (Tmean) and maximum (Tmax) wa- ter temperatures from the predicted hourly water temperatures, which were often required in fi- shery management.

Modeling of hourly river water temperatures using artificial neural networks

Water temperature is an important component for water quality and biotic conditions in rivers. A good knowledge of river thermal regime is critical for the management of aquatic resources and environmental impact studies. The objective of the present study was to develop a water temperature model as a function of air temperatures, water temperatures and water level data using artificial neural network (ANN) techniques for two thermally different streams. This model was applied on an hourly basis. The results showed that ANN models are an effective modeling tool with overall root-mean-square-error of 0.94 and 1.23 °C, coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.967 and 0.962 and bias of −0.13 and 0.02 °C, for Catamaran Brook and the Little Southwest Miramichi River, respectively. The ANN model performed best in summer and autumn and showed a poorer performance in spring. Results of the present study showed similar or better results to those of deterministic and stochastic models. The present study shows that the predicted hourly water temperatures can also be used to estimate the mean and maximum daily water temperatures. The many advantages of ANN models are their simplicity, low data requirements, their capability of modeling long-term time series as well as having an overall good performance.

Water Quality Index Assessment under Climate Change

Surface water quality may change in the future due to climatic variability as natural processes will most likely be modified by anthropogenic activities. As such, stream temperature is very likely to change as well which will impact on surface water quality and aquatic ecosystem dynamics. The present study focused on improving modelling of surface water quality indices and water quality parameters under various climate change scenarios in relationship with stream temperature. Future climate data were extracted from the Canadian Coupled General Climate Model (CGCM 3.1/ T63) under the greenhouse emission scenarios B1 and A2, as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This study illustrates the usefulness of the stream temperature models, coupled with Climate Change Scenarios to predict the evolution of future stream water temperature regimes and associated biogeochemical water quality parameters pertaining to drinking water quality. The specific objectives of the present study were to analyze the surface water quality of 15 rivers in New Brunswick (Canada) on the basis of 9 parameters under climate change. A Weighed Method and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Method were used to assess the water quality for each river under present and future climate. The knowledge gained from this study will enable engineers and water resources managers to better understand river thermal regimes and climate change impact on water quality related to Drinking Surface Water.

Global streamflow and thermal habitats of freshwater fishes under climate change

Climate change will affect future flow and thermal regimes of rivers. This will directly affect freshwater habitats and ecosystem health. In particular fish species, which are strongly adapted to a certain level of flow variability will be sensitive to future changes in flow regime. In addition, all freshwater fish species are exotherms, and increasing water temperatures will therefore directly affect fishes’ biochemical reaction rates and physiology. To assess climate change impacts on large-scale freshwater fish habitats we used a physically-based hydrological and water temperature modelling framework forced with an ensemble of climate model output. Future projections on global river flow and water temperature were used in combination with current spatial distributions of several fish species and their maximum thermal tolerances to explore impacts on fish habitats in different regions around the world. Results indicate that climate change will affect seasonal flow amplitudes, magnitude and timing of high and low flow events for large fractions of the global land surface area. Also, significant increases in both the frequency and magnitude of exceeding maximum temperature tolerances for selected fish species are found. Although the adaptive capacity of fish species to changing hydrologic regimes and rising water temperatures could be variable, our global results show that fish habitats are likely to change in the near future, and this is expected to affect species distributions.

River evaporation and corresponding heat fluxes in forested catchments

AbstractRiver water temperature is a very important variable in ecological studies, especially for the management of fisheries and aquatic resources. Temperature can impact on fish distribution, growth, mortality and community dynamics. River evaporation has been identified as an important heat loss and a key process in the thermal regime of rivers. However, its quantification remains a challenge, mainly because of the difficulty of making direct measurements. The objectives of this study were to characterize the evaporative heat flux at different scales (brook vs river) and to improve the estimation of the evaporative heat flux in a stream temperature model at the hourly timescale. Using a mass balance approach with floating minipans, we measured river evaporation at an hourly timescale in a medium‐sized river (Little Southwest Miramichi) and a small brook (Catamaran Brook) in New Brunswick, Canada. With these direct measurements of evaporation, we developed mass transfer equations to estimate hourly evaporation rates from microclimate conditions measured 2 m above the stream. During the summer 2012, river evaporation was more important for the medium‐sized river with a mean daily evaporation rate of 3.0 mm day−1 in the Little Southwest Miramichi River compared with that of 1.0 mm day−1 in Catamaran Brook. Evaporation was the main heat loss mechanism in the two studied streams and was responsible for 42% of heat losses in the Little Southwest Miramichi River and 34% of heat losses in Catamaran Brook during the summer. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

The importance of thermal conditions to recruitment success in stream-breeding frog populations distributed across a productivity gradient

Predicting the vulnerability of species to environmental change requires integrating observations of individual ecophysiological and behavioral responses with community level constraints. To assess the response of stream-breeding frogs (Rana boylii) to thermal stressors, such as cold water released from the depths of upstream reservoirs or warm water that results from climate change, we combined field manipulations with population censuses and environmental correlations. These frogs migrate between shaded tributaries and open canopy mainstem channels to oviposit where algal food is abundant for tadpoles. Within this context of spatial variation in aquatic primary productivity, we evaluated whether tadpole thermoregulatory behavior is a useful indicator of survival to metamorphosis and adult distribution. In a thermal gradient, tadpoles selected temperatures between 16.5–22.2°C (mean, 19.60±0.6°C). We reared tadpoles in streams colder, warmer, or close to thermal preference. Temperature effects were mediated through algal quantity and quality. Mortality increased with increasing deviation from preferred temperatures, but the effects were ameliorated when tadpole diet was supplemented with algae (Cladophora glomerata with epiphytic nitrogen-rich diatoms, Epithemia spp.) harvested from sun-lit channels. Distribution of frogs in free-flowing and dammed reaches within a northern California watershed was in equilibrium with tadpole thermal preference. Populations were dense (⩾125 breeding females/km) where July water temperatures averaged 17.5–19°C in 2010, a relatively cool summer. Below 16°C, frogs were sparse with open canopy and absent under closed canopy. Integration of thermoregulatory behavior with ecological context can thus be useful to forecast recruitment when the thermal regimes of rivers are altered by anthropogenic factors.

Towards setting environmental water temperature guidelines: A South African example

Water temperature is a primary factor affecting the number and kinds of species in a stream. A key step towards including water temperatures in environmental flow assessments is to develop metrics which describe natural variability in a river's thermal regime. This is best achieved using time series analyses, where metrics are defined based either on time series disaggregation, or shapes of regimes defined using agglomerative techniques. The aim of this paper was to refine approaches in setting environmental water temperature guidelines for inclusion in defining environmental flows assessments. Annual water temperature series from 82 sites sampled across 48 rivers (mainstems and tributaries) in ten catchments in the southern Cape region of South Africa were described using 39 metrics based on the magnitude, frequency, duration and timing of thermal events. Sites were classified into thermal groups using their similarity in multivariate temperature regime and variation amongst groups along important temperature gradients examined. Deviation from a natural range of variability using a thermal confidence envelope is a suitable approach for broad evaluation of thermal guidelines. The approach presented can be applied at multiple levels of complexity to assess which elements of a thermal time series fall outside of reference conditions. Further steps in this approach are to link thermal patterns to biotic metrics, and gain a clearer understanding of interactions between flows, temperatures and biota, particularly below impoundments. Research on improving approaches in defining thermal regions is recommended.