Publications

Status report of air quality in Europe for year 2022, using validated data

Targa, Jaume; Colina, María; Banyuls, Lorena; Ortiz, Alberto González; Soares, Joana

ETC/HE

Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) as a Part of Innovation Processes

Hudecova, Alexandra Misci

Trenger Norge et målrettet samfunnsoppdrag for sirkulær økonomi? Utrednings- og medvirkningsfase for et mulig samfunnsoppdrag for sirkulær økonomi

Möller, Charlotta; Guerreiro, Cristina; Tarrasón, Leonor

NILU har i 2024 bistått Klima- og miljødepartementet (KLD) med en utrednings- og medvirkningsprosess for å se på muligheten for etablering av et samfunnsoppdrag for sirkulær økonomi. Dette er et oppdrag under KLDs rammeavtale for klima- og miljøkunnskap. I regjeringens «Handlingsplan for en sirkulær økonomi» er et av handlingspunktene å utrede et samfunnsoppdrag for sirkulær økonomi. Målet med dette oppdraget var å fasilitere en prosess for å identifisere mulige overordnede mål og delmål og etablere rammen for et mulig nasjonalt samfunnsoppdrag. Aktivitetene i denne fasen inkluderte en serie med koordinerte samskapingsmøter for å mobilisere og engasjere relevante samfunnsaktører og komme fram til en felles forståelse av et mulig målrettet samfunnsoppdrag. Prosessen og resultatene er oppsummert i denne rapporten.

NILU

Soil is a potentially important sink for VOCs

Jiao, Yi; Kramshøj, Magnus; Davie-Martin, Cleo Lisa; Albers, Christian Nyrop; Elberling, Bo; Rinnan, Riikka

Ekspert: Slik blir vi skadet av UV-stråling når sola gløder

Svendby, Tove Marit (interview subject); Kristiansen, Martin Næss (journalist)

Analysis and evaluation of genotoxicity and carcinogenicity assessment across legislation towards the regulatory implementation of NAMs

Bossa, Cecilia; Alivernini, Silvia; Andreoli, Cristina; Aquilina, Gabriele; Attias, Leonello; Marcon, Francesca; Russo, Maria Teresa; Dusinska, Maria; Yamani, Naouale El; Rundén-Pran, Elise; Louro, Henriqueta; Silva, Maria João; Benfenati, Emilio; Raitano, Giuseppa; Battistelli, Chiara Laura

Use of a Lagrangian transport model for atmospheric inversions using satellite observations: case study using TROPOMI to estimate CH4 emissions over Europe

Thompson, Rona Louise; Pisso, Ignacio; Schneider, Philipp; Stebel, Kerstin; Krishnankutty, Nalini; Platt, Stephen Matthew

An efficient use of a Lagrangian transport model for atmospheric inversions using satellite observations: case study using TROPOMI to estimate CH4 emissions over Siberia

Krishnankutty, Nalini; Thompson, Rona Louise; Pisso, Ignacio; Schneider, Philipp; Stebel, Kerstin; Sasakawa, Motoki; Platt, Stephen Matthew

Effect of Long-Range Transported Fire Aerosols on Cloud Condensation Nuclei Concentrations and Cloud Properties at High Latitudes

Kommula, Snehitha M.; Buchholz, Angela; Gramlich, Yvette; Mielonen, Tero; Hao, L.; Pullinen, Iida; Vettikkat, Lejish; Ylisirniö, A.; Joutsensaari, J.; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Tiitta, P; Leskinen, Ari; Heslin-Rees, Dominic; Haslett, S. L.; Siegel, Karolina; Lunder, Chris Rene; Zieger, Paul; Krejci, Radovan; Romakkaniemi, Sami; Mohr, C.; Virtanen, Annele

Active vegetation fires in south-eastern (SE) Europe resulted in a notable increase in the number concentration of aerosols and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) particles at two high latitude locations—the SMEAR IV station in Kuopio, Finland, and the Zeppelin Observatory in Svalbard, high Arctic. During the fire episode aerosol hygroscopicity κ slightly increased at SMEAR IV and at the Zeppelin Observatory κ decreased. Despite increased κ in high CCN conditions at SMEAR IV, the aerosol activation diameter increased due to the decreased supersaturation with an increase in aerosol loading. In addition, at SMEAR IV during the fire episode, in situ measured cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) increased by a factor of ∼7 as compared to non-fire periods which was in good agreement with the satellite observations (MODIS, Terra). Results from this study show the importance of SE European fires for cloud properties and radiative forcing in high latitudes.

Revisiting the strategy for marine litter monitoring within the european marine strategy framework directive (MSFD)

Galgani, François; Lusher, Amy L; Strand, Jakob; Haarr, Marthe Larsen; Vinci, Matteo; Jack, Maria Eugenia Molina; Kagi, Ralf; Aliani, Stefano; Herzke, Dorte; Nikiforov, Vladimir; Primpke, Sebastian; Schmidt, Natascha; Fabres, Joan; Witte, Bavo P. De; Solbakken, Vilde Sørnes; Bavel, Bert van

Marine litter and non-degradable plastic pollution is of global concern. Regular monitoring programs are being established to assess and understand the scale of this pollution. In Europe, the goal of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is to assess trends in Good Environmental Status and support large-scale actions at the regional level. Marine litter monitoring requires tailored sampling strategies, protocols and indicators, that align with specific objectives and are tailored for local or regional needs. In addition, the uneven spatial and temporal distributions of marine litter present a challenge when designing a statistically powerful monitoring program. In this paper, we critically review the existing marine litter monitoring programs in Europe. We discuss the main constraints, including environmental, logistical, scientific, and ethical factors. Additionally, we outline the critical gaps and shortcomings in monitoring MSFD beaches/shorelines, floating litter, seafloor litter, microplastics, and harm. Several priorities must be established to shape the future of monitoring within the MSFD. Recent developments in analytical approaches, including optimizing protocols and sampling strategies, gaining a better understanding of the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of litter and its implications for survey design and replication, and the inclusion of newly validated methodologies that have achieved sufficient technical readiness, must be considered. Although there are well-established methods for assessing beaches, floating and seafloor litter, it will be necessary to implement monitoring schemes for microplastics in sediments and invertebrates as robust analytical methods become available for targeting smaller particle size classes. Furthermore, the inclusion of indicators for entanglement and injury to marine organisms will have to be considered in the near future. Moreover, the following actions will enhance the effectiveness of monitoring efforts: (1) creating an inventory of accumulation areas and sources of specific types of litter (e.g., fishing gear), (2) monitoring riverine inputs of litter, (3) monitoring atmospheric inputs including microplastics, (4) accidental inputs during extreme weather events, and (5) studying how species at risk may be transported by litter. We provide recommendations to support long-term, effective, and well-coordinated marine litter monitoring within the MSFD to achieve a comprehensive and accurate understanding of marine litter in EU waters. This will allow the development of measures to mitigate the impacts of marine pollution and eventually to evaluate the success of the respective measures.

Må ta til takke med helsefarlig luft

Høiskar, Britt Ann Kåstad (interview subject); Sandberg, Tor (journalist)

Exploring the connection between COVID19, the energy crisis and PM2.5 emissions from residential heating

Lopez-Aparicio, Susana; Grythe, Henrik; Markelj, Miha; Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Walker, Sam-Erik

Geopolitical events have shown to threaten European energy security in 2022. In Norway, accustomed to low energy prices, the southern part saw 4 times higher electricity prices in 2022 than long term average, whereas in the north, energy prices remained stable. This offers an opportunity to examine the effect of price on household energy consumption and PM2.5 emissions from the residential sector. In the south, electricity consumption went down by 10% while in the north it remained unchanged relative to expected values. While the documented correlation between increased electricity prices and reduced consumption is well-established, our study uniquely captures a substantial shift towards wood as an alternative energy source. In the south, wood for heating increased by approximately 40%, effectively replacing half of the electricity saved. This increase happened despite prices being curbed by strong government subsidies on electricity. Faced with higher energy costs in Europe, we simulate a scenario where consumers across Europe look for affordable energy. With gas and electricity prices predicted to remain well above long-term averages until 2030, biomass will be an attractive option. Our study shows how a shift can endanger Europe's Zero-Pollution strategy, and the need for initiatives targeting the reduction of residential biomass heating.

Unexpected anthropogenic emission decreases explain recent atmospheric mercury concentration declines

Feinberg, Aryeh; Selin, Noelle E.; Braban, Christine F.; Chang, Kai-Lan; Custódio, Danilo; Jaffe, Daniel A.; Kyllönen, Katriina; Landis, Matthew S.; Leeson, Sarah R.; Luke, Winston; Molepo, Koketso M.; Murovec, Marijana; Mastromonaco, Michelle G. Nerentorp; Pfaffhuber, Katrine Aspmo; Rüdiger, Julian; Sheu, Guey-Rong; Louis, Vincent L. St

Anthropogenic activities emit ~2,000 Mg y−1 of the toxic pollutant mercury (Hg) into the atmosphere, leading to long-range transport and deposition to remote ecosystems. Global anthropogenic emission inventories report increases in Northern Hemispheric (NH) Hg emissions during the last three decades, in contradiction with the observed decline in atmospheric Hg concentrations at NH measurement stations. Many factors can obscure the link between anthropogenic emissions and atmospheric Hg concentrations, including trends in the reemissions of previously released anthropogenic (“legacy”) Hg, atmospheric sink variability, and spatial heterogeneity of monitoring data. Here, we assess the observed trends in gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) in the NH and apply biogeochemical box modeling and chemical transport modeling to understand the trend drivers. Using linear mixed effects modeling of observational data from 51 stations, we find negative Hg0 trends in most NH regions, with an overall trend for 2005 to 2020 of −0.011 ± 0.006 ng m−3 y−1 (±2 SD). In contrast to existing emission inventories, our modeling analysis suggests that annual NH anthropogenic emissions must have declined by at least 140 Mg between the years 2005 and 2020 to be consistent with observed trends. Faster declines in 95th percentile Hg0 values than median values in Europe, North America, and East Asian measurement stations corroborate that the likely cause is a decline in nearby anthropogenic emissions rather than background legacy reemissions. Our results are relevant for evaluating the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, demonstrating that existing emission inventories are incompatible with the observed Hg0 declines.