Methane levels in the atmosphere have been steadily increasing since 2006 after a period of relative stability between the late 1990s and the mid 2000s. The reason for the increase is a current hot topic of debate between the importance of variation in natural sources, related to climate, versus emissions from human activities.
From Fram Forum 2017: Environmental contaminants can travel with the wind from the equator to the Arctic, and the longer such contaminants survive in the environment, the greater their potential to cause unwanted effects on people, animals, and nature. Scientists from NILU have recently criss-crossed Norway, using “UFOs” to search for airborne organic contaminants.
Our search for new environmental compounds never stops. However, with NILU’s new mass spectrometer, able to identify chemicals at extremely low levels, the job just got easier.
While electricity produced from hydropower is the primary means of residential heating in Norway, wood burning stoves are the second most important source of heating. The consequences are significant emissions of particulate matter (PM) and other compounds with negative effects on human health.
Cristina de Brito Beirão Guerreiro is appointed Research Director of NILU’s Department for Industry and Environmental Economics
Air pollution has significant impacts on the health of Europeans, particularly in urban areas, according to the new “Air quality in Europe — 2016” report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). Harmful particulate matter causes the premature deaths of ca 467,000 Europeans each year, of which nearly 1600 Norwegians.
12 October 2016: China is today the largest emitter of certain toxic fluorinated chemicals in the world, as presented in a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology.
Household combustion and agriculture are key emission sectors in future air quality management aiming at the reduction of health effects from exposure to PM, including BaP.
From the NILU annual report 2015: Air pollution knows no borders. Particles emitted from sources far from Norway are transported through the atmosphere and deposited in Norwegian mountains and forests. Moss have proven to be especially useful when scientists want to map the atmospheric
deposition of heavy metals in the environment.
In a new article published in Nature, the team behind the «Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector – AVOID» system report the results of an experiment conducted over the Atlantic Ocean. It confirmed the ability of the device to detect and quantify volcanic ash in an artificial ash cloud.
Sofia Eirini Chatoutsidou defended her PhD thesis at the Technical University of Crete on May 20 this year. The title of the thesis was “Physical processes of indoor aerosols in modern microenvironments”.
From the NILU annual report: NILU owns and operates a wide range of ‘background’ stations around Norway. Situated slightly off the beaten track, these stations measure atmospheric composition and deposition, contaminants, climate forcers, the ozone layer and UV radiation.
From the NILU annual report 2015: Although European air quality has improved considerably during the last decades, it is still estimated that more than 1,500 deaths each year in Norway can be connected to bad air quality.
From the NILU annual report: New technology and new portable sensors makes it possible to monitor air quality in new ways and to a far greater extent than before. It also makes it easier to invite the general public to contribute to the research.
Methane gas released from the Arctic seabed during the summer months leads to an increased methane concentration in the ocean. Surprisingly, very little of the methane gas rising up through the sea appears to reach the atmosphere in the summer, Norwegian scientists conclude in a new study.
As part of a consortium of universities and research institutions, lead by Trinomics from The Netherlands, NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research has won a €6,7 million EU funded project to actively engage European citizens in 6 countries to research their personal impact on air quality and CO2 emissions, using specially made apps and games for smart phones.
Chernobyl, April 26 1986: At 01.24 AM a steam explosion destroys the 2000 tonne graphite cover of NO. 4, the newest reactor at the Chernobyl power plant. The explosion ejects parts of the reactor 1000 meters into the air. The atmospheric oxygen then ignites the graphite and three seconds later, a thermal explosion ejects radioactive fuel.
The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the town of Pripyat, Ukraine. Soon after, the Norwegian network for monitoring radioactivity was established, where NILU played a preliminary role.
How do we dispose our wastes in the context of protecting the environment? This issue has now become a part of educational programme at university level in Latvia, with the support from NILU scientists.
The new tool is called NEAT, which stands for Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas driving climate change. Asia contains four of the world’s ten largest national emitters of CO2, and China is currently number one.
Contrary to previous belief, new research from NILU and NINA has shown that microplastics are not a significant source of environmental pollutants in fulmars. Seabirds ingest most of these pollutants through food, the researchers concluded.
KJELLER/SAN FRANCISCO, December 16th — Climate change is rapidly warming lakes around the world, threatening freshwater supplies, ecosystems and fish, according to a new study spanning six continents.
From 2010 onwards, the climate debate occupies more and more space in our everyday life. Flood disasters and heat waves seem to constantly fill our TV screens, and countless readers discuss in the online newspapers’ comment feeds whether global warming is a fact or not.