within a few kilometers from large heat releases. Heat and moisture released from cooling towers have been shown to increase the occurrence of fog, clouds, and precipitation. The extent of these impacts depends on the amount of heat released, how much heat is released in the sensible and latent forms, the height of release, and the ambient meteorological conditions. A comparison of the heat released per unit of energy produced by each technology appears in Table 1. Although the figures in this table do not represent the comparative magnitudes of impacts, it is apparent that coal and nuclear technologies are the most likely to produce noticeable impacts, particularly because of unit capacity. Atmospheric Particles The climatic effect of changes in atmospheric particulate loading has not been clearly established. Emissions of primary particles as well as of gases such as sulfur oxides (S0x) and nitrogen oxides (N0x), which are converted to particles in the atmosphere (secondary particles) are responsible for the increases in the anthropogenic input to particulate levels. An increased particulate loading in the atmosphere affects the climate by changing the radiative properties of the atmosphere. However, whether an increase or decrease in global temperature will occur depends on the optical properties of the particles emitted as well as on their vertical distribution. Particulate emissions can also affect regional climate by contributing to the number of condensation and freezing nuclei in the atmosphere, thus influencing clouding and precipitation processes. In addition, an abundance of particles can block solar radiation. Table 1. Energy Released per Unit of Useful Energy Produced by Different Technologies3^
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==