THERMAL IMPACTS OF A COAL POWER PLANT ON THE PLANKTON IN AN OPEN COASTAL WATER ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Over a five-year period, this study examined the overall impact of coal power plant cooling processes on entrained copepods and the local plankton community on the west coast of Korea. Mortality differences between the intake and discharge water of the single most dominant copepod, Acartia hongi, were positively correlated with temperature differences between the two locations. Laboratory tests showed copepod sensitivity to temperature increase, and with very low chlorine concentration applied, thermal stress was the major source of copepod mortality. Chlorophyll a concentration, ciliate abundance, and total copepod abundance at the intake showed no discernable differences from the values at the discharge. Most likely, this was due to rapid mixing of the population in the discharge water with adjacent populations in the macrotidal open coastal water environment.