Hydroelectric dam in the context of "Dam failure"

An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or human causes. The term aerosol commonly refers to the mixture of particulates in air, and not to the particulate matter alone. Examples of natural aerosols are fog, mist or dust. Examples of human caused aerosols include particulate air pollutants, mist from the discharge at hydroelectric dams, irrigation mist, perfume from atomizers, smoke, dust, sprayed pesticides, and medical treatments for respiratory illnesses.

Several types of atmospheric aerosol have a significant effect on Earth's climate: volcanic, desert dust, sea-salt, that originating from biogenic sources and human-made. Volcanic aerosol forms in the stratosphere after an eruption as droplets of sulfuric acid that can prevail for up to two years, and reflect sunlight, lowering temperature. Desert dust, mineral particles blown to high altitudes, absorb heat and may be responsible for inhibiting storm cloud formation. Human-made sulfate aerosols, primarily from burning oil and coal, affect the behavior of clouds. When aerosols absorb pollutants, it facilitates the deposition of pollutants to the surface of the earth as well as to bodies of water. This has the potential to be damaging to both the environment and human health.

The Mekong or Mekong River (UK: /miːˈkɒŋ/ mee-KONG, US: /ˌmeɪˈkɔːŋ/ may-KAWNG) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of 4,909 km (3,050 mi) and a drainage area of 795,000 km (307,000 sq mi), discharging 475 km (114 cu mi) of water annually. From its headwaters in the Tibetan Plateau, the river runs through Southwest China (where it is officially called the Lancang River), Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam. The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult, though the river remains a major trade route between Tibet and Southeast Asia. The construction of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong in the 2000s through the 2020s has caused serious problems for the river's ecosystem, including the exacerbation of drought.

The Itaipu Dam (Guarani: Yjoko Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Portuguese: Barragem de Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Spanish: Represa de Itaipú [itajˈpu]) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It is the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world in terms of produced energy.

The name "Itaipu" was taken from an island that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means "the sounding stone." As of 2020, the Itaipu Dam's hydroelectric power plant produced the second-largest amount of electricity of any hydroelectric power plant in the world, with its electricity production being only surpassed by the Three Gorges Dam plant in China. Additionally, Itaipu also holds the 45th largest reservoir in the world.

The Baihetan Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m, and a width of 72 m at the base and 13 m at the crest. It is considered to be the last large hydropower project in China after a series of projects starting with the Three Gorges Dam. It is also the second largest hydropower plant in the world. The hydropower station is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units each having a capacity of 1 gigawatt, the world's largest turbines. All hydro-generating units of the Baihetan hydropower station became fully operational on 20 December 2022.

The dam is also part of the “world’s largest clean energy corridor”, where it joins other mega hydropower projects like the Three Gorges Dam, Wudongde Dam, Xiluodu Dam, and Xiangjiaba Dam, all located on the same river system, to produce and transmit renewable energy from the resource-rich western region to the cities in the east. In addition to power generation, the hydropower project also provides flood control, improved navigation, and sand blocking.

The McAlpine Locks and Dam are a set of locks and a hydroelectric dam at the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. They are located at mile point 606.8, and control a 72.9-mile-long (117.3 km) navigation pool. The locks and their associated canal were the first major engineering project on the Ohio River, completed in 1830 as the 1.9-mile Louisville and Portland Canal, designed to allow shipping traffic to navigate through the Falls of the Ohio. The locks system is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

At present, the normal pool elevation is 420 feet (130 m) above sea level and the drainage area above the dam is 91,170 square miles (236,100 km). The average daily flow at McAlpine is 118,000 cubic feet per second (3,340 m/s). The lock chambers are located at the dam on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River and are capable of a normal lift of 37 feet (11 m) between the McAlpine pool upstream and the Cannelton pool downstream.

Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a measurement related to liquid pressure (normalized by specific weight) and the liquid elevation above a vertical datum.It is usually measured as an equivalent liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, at the entrance (or bottom) of a piezometer. In an aquifer, it can be calculated from the depth to water in a piezometric well (a specialized water well), and given information of the piezometer's elevation and screen depth. Hydraulic head can similarly be measured in a column of water using a standpipe piezometer by measuring the height of the water surface in the tube relative to a common datum. The hydraulic head can be used to determine a hydraulic gradient between two or more points.

The Podkumok (Russian: Подку́мок) is a river in Stavropol Krai, Russia, right tributary of the Kuma. The length of the river is 160 km (99 mi). The area of its basin is 2,220 km (857 mi).

Originating in the Greater Caucasus, the Podkumok is widely used for irrigation. The biggest hydroelectric dam in Imperial Russia Water-powers Белые угли, built in 1903, was located on the Podkumok near Yessentuki.

Saint Croix Falls Dam, also known as St. Croix Falls Dam, is a hydroelectric dam on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin and Taylors Falls, Minnesota. The only hydroelectric dam on the St. Croix River, it is operated by Xcel Energy.