Meghatározása:

thermal plume -- The hot water discharged from a power generating facility or other industrial plant. When the water at elevated temperature enters a receiving stream or body of water, it is not immediately dispersed and mixed with the cooler waters . The warmer water moves as a single mass (plume) downstream from the discharge point until it cools and gradually mixes with that of the receiving stream. (Also see Thermal Pollution.)
http://www.aces.edu/waterquality/glossary/glossary_results.p...

Thermal plumes are generated because of the particular power plant’s use of river water as a cooling agent. In this process, river water is up taken and transferred to the cooling system. Here, the water is exposed to high temperatures so it may act as a cooling mechanism (Choi et al. 2002).
At Brunner’s Island, the water at a temperature of 90 °F is then released into a discharge channel. The channel then leads back into the river creating areas of high temperature (Klimanis 2005). In the Susquehanna River, the thermal plume is seen on the west bank, adjacent to the power plant (Figure).
http://faculty.ycp.edu/~brehnber/THESIS PROPOSAL example_fil...

The results show a seasonal pattern of thermal plumes in Daya Bay. During the winter months (December to March), the thermal plume is localized to an area within a few km of the power plant, and the temperature difference between the plume and non-plume areas is about 1.5 C. During the summer and fall months (May to November), there is a larger thermal plume extending 8 – 10 km south along the coast from DNPS, and the temperature change is about 1.0 C. Monthly variation of SST in the thermal plume is analyzed. AVHRR SST is higher in daytime than in nighttime in the bay during the whole year. The strong seasonal difference in the thermal plume is related to vertical mixing of the water column in winter and to stratification in summer. Further investigations are needed to determine any other ecological effects of the Daya Bay thermal plume.
http://lingzis.51.net/papers/5. Daya-science.pdf

The data collected for the “Thermal Mixing Zone Study” indicates that beyond the northeast end of the CDF, the diffusion and dispersion (or distribution) of the thermal plume tends to be much more random and widespread. As the thermal plume extends beyond the CDF another one-half to one mile, temperatures generally decrease to the ambient Maumee Bay temperatures as defined by the intake temperatures for the Bayshore Plant.

• For sources discharging to Lake Erie or other non-flowing waters, define the location where discharge-induced mixing ceases.

Discharge-induced mixing is generally defined as the area where active mixing of the discharge plume and dilution water is occurring. The area where discharge-induced mixing ceases can be characterized as the location where mixing becomes more passive or random while the plume becomes much more disperse. Given these characterizations, the data collected for the “Thermal Mixing Zone Study” suggests that discharge-induced mixing generally ceases just beyond the northeast end of the CDF.
http://www.westernlakeerie.org/bayshore_thermal_fish_3163b_e...

Thermal plume behaviour in the Kadra reservoir at Kaiga atomic power station –
http://www.nuclear-engineering-journal.com/web/o_archiv.asp?...

Predicting effects of power plant once-through cooling on aquatic systems
http://hydrologie.org/BIB/Publ_UNESCO/TP_020_E.pdf
172 oldalas UNESCO tanulmány, a 32. oldal alján szerepel először a "thermal plume"

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Note added at 1 day9 hrs (2012-05-27 08:35:06 GMT)
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Nem tagadom, korábbi válaszomban sok minden volt, csak éppen a "hőcsóva" angol megfelelője nem. :) Első kísérletem során megosztottam a linket egy hasznosnak ígérkező magyar anyaghoz is, ezt felteszem még egyszer. Remélem, hasznát tudod venni.

A hőszennyezés hidrobiológiai hatásai
Dr. Szilágyi Ferenc egyetemi docens,
BME Vízi Közmű és Környezetmérnöki Tanszék
http://www.vkkt.bme.hu/feltoltesek/2012/02/a_hoszennyezes_hi...