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NAL Agricultural Thesaurus
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Concept Breadcrumbs

Fields of Study > environmental science > environmental degradation > pollution > water pollution > thermal pollution
Natural Resources, Conservation, Environment > environmental science > environmental degradation > pollution > water pollution > thermal pollution
Preferred Term:

thermal pollution

Definition:
Altering the amount of energy available in the environment by the addition of heat or cold. Most frequently this occurs in the form of the heat added by returning water which has been used for cooling purposes to a river, lake, estuary, bay or the ocean. However "thermal pollution" may also occur with the release of large volumes of the cold, deep water in reservoirs into warmer bodies of water.
Concept Schemes:
NALT Full
Broader Concept:
water pollution
Related Concepts:
URI:
https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/225125
Download this Concept:
RDF/XMLCreated 2014-08-19, last modified 2014-11-17