From monitoring stations to microsensors – air and health
From the NILU Annual Report 2016: New technology brings new opportunities. So why haven’t we discarded those large monitoring stations and started using microsensors yet?
Scientists met to discuss CO2-monitoring system
9. and 10. May 2017: While climate negotiators from almost 200 countries met in Bonn to hammer out a “rule book” for putting the Paris Agreement into practice, more than 30 scientists gathered in Oslo to discuss how to build an observation system that can monitor the nations’ pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr. Elisabeth Pacyna is “Outstanding Pole in Norway 2017”
Oslo Concert Hall, May 13. 2017: Dr. Elisabeth Pacyna from NILU’s Department for Environmental Impacts and Solutions has been honoured with the award of “Outstanding Pole in Norway 2017” for her work in science.
Britt Ann Høiskar new Research Director at NILU
Britt Ann Kåstad Høiskar is employed as Research Director at NILU’s Urban Environment and Industry Department (INBY) from June 1, 2017.
Are methane emissions increasing in the Arctic?
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.
Searching for environmental contaminants using UFOs
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.
NILU ready to detect new and “unknown” chemicals
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.
Wood burning pollutes the urban air in Norway
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 Guerreiro new Research Director at NILU
Cristina de Brito Beirão Guerreiro is appointed Research Director of NILU’s Department for Industry and Environmental Economics
Harmful air pollution requires innovative changes
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.
China’s emission of toxic fluorinated chemicals highest in the world
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.
Particulate matter affect human health
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.
Moss and metals
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.
Detects ash in the atmosphere
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.
New PhD at NILU: Sofia Eirini Chatoutsidou
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”.
Monitoring the air all over Norway
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.
Revolutionizing car technology through smart sensing
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.
NILU invites citizens to monitor 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 not escaping the Arctic Ocean in summer
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.
CLAiR-City project kicks off May 25th
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 30 years after: Researching a disaster
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.
A look back at history: NILU’s monitoring of radioactive radiation in Norway
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.
Waste management and climate change
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.
NEAT new software developed by European researchers, to assess the environmental status of marine ecosystems
The new tool is called NEAT, which stands for Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool.