Found 10001 publications. Showing page 116 of 401:
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This report presents VOC measurements carried out during 2016 at EMEP monitoring sites. In total, 19 sites reported VOC data from EMEP VOC sites this year. Some of the data sets are considered preliminary and are not included in the report.
The monitoring of NMHC (non-methane hydrocarbons) has become more diverse with time in terms of instrumentation. Starting in the early 1990s with standardized methods based on manual sampling in steel canisters with subsequent analyses at the lab, the methods now consist of a variety of instruments and measurement principles, including automated continuous monitors and manual flask samples. For oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs), sampling in DNPH-tubes with subsequent lab-analyses is still the only method in use at EMEP sites.
Within the EU infrastructure project ACTRIS-2, data quality issues related to measurements of VOC have been an important topic. Many of the institutions providing VOC data to EMEP have participated in the ACTRIS-2 project, either as formal partners or on a voluntary basis. Participation in ACTRIS-2 has meant an extensive effort with data checking including detailed discussions between the ACTRIS community and individual participants. There is no doubt that this extensive effort has benefited the EMEP program and has led to improved data quality in general.
Comparison between median levels in 2016 compared to the medians of the previous 10-years period, revealed a similar north-to-south pattern for several species.
Changes in instrumentation, procedures, station network etc. during the last two decades make it difficult to provide a rigorous and pan-European assessment of long-term trends of the observed VOCs. In this report we have estimated the long-term trends in NMHC over the 2000-2016 period at six selected sites by two independent statistical methods. These estimates indicate marked differences in the trends for the individual species. Small or non-significant trends were found for ethane over this period followed by propane which also showed fairly small reductions. On the other hand, components linked to road traffic (ethene, ethyne and toluene) showed the strongest drop in mean concentrations, up to 60-80% at some stations. The trend in n-butane was between these two groups of species with an estimated drop in the annual mean concentration of 20-40% over the 2000-2016 period
NILU
2018
2018
2018
Tiltaksutredning for lokal luftkvalitet i Sarpsborg og Fredrikstad
Tiltaksutredningen omfatter en kartlegging av luftkvaliteten i Fredrikstad og Sarpsborg ved trafikkberegninger og utslipps- ogspredningsberegninger for PM10 og NO2 for dagens situasjon (2016) og framtidig situasjon (2022). Forurensningsnivåene er innenfor de juridiske grenseverdiene og det er ikke formelt krav til tiltak utover gjeldende handlingsplan (2017). For å redusere risikoen for overskridelser av grenseverdiene i et «ekstrem år» og generelt forbedre luftkvaliteten, er enkelte nye tiltak effektberegnet sammen med tiltak i Bypakke Nedre Glomma. Basert på resultatene fra beregningene og i samarbeid
med oppdragsgiver og prosjektgruppen, er det foreslått en revidert seks-punkts handlingsplan, med ytterligere tre tiltak for forbedret luftkvalitet utover de juridiske kravene. Tiltaksutredningen med handlingsplan skal behandles politisk.
NILU
2018
This paper presents the light-scattering properties of atmospheric aerosol particles measured over the past decade at 28 ACTRIS observatories, which are located mainly in Europe. The data include particle light scattering (σsp) and hemispheric backscattering (σbsp) coefficients, scattering Ångström exponent (SAE), backscatter fraction (BF) and asymmetry parameter (g). An increasing gradient of σsp is observed when moving from remote environments (arctic/mountain) to regional and to urban environments. At a regional level in Europe, σsp also increases when moving from Nordic and Baltic countries and from western Europe to central/eastern Europe, whereas no clear spatial gradient is observed for other station environments. The SAE does not show a clear gradient as a function of the placement of the station. However, a west-to-east-increasing gradient is observed for both regional and mountain placements, suggesting a lower fraction of fine-mode particle in western/south-western Europe compared to central and eastern Europe, where the fine-mode particles dominate the scattering. The g does not show any clear gradient by station placement or geographical location reflecting the complex relationship of this parameter with the physical properties of the aerosol particles. Both the station placement and the geographical location are important factors affecting the intra-annual variability. At mountain sites, higher σsp and SAE values are measured in the summer due to the enhanced boundary layer influence and/or new particle-formation episodes. Conversely, the lower horizontal and vertical dispersion during winter leads to higher σsp values at all low-altitude sites in central and eastern Europe compared to summer. These sites also show SAE maxima in the summer (with corresponding g minima). At all sites, both SAE and g show a strong variation with aerosol particle loading. The lowest values of g are always observed together with low σsp values, indicating a larger contribution from particles in the smaller accumulation mode. During periods of high σsp values, the variation of g is less pronounced, whereas the SAE increases or decreases, suggesting changes mostly in the coarse aerosol particle mode rather than in the fine mode. Statistically significant decreasing trends of σsp are observed at 5 out of the 13 stations included in the trend analyses. The total reductions of σsp are consistent with those reported for PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations over similar periods across Europe.
2018
Water column distribution of mercury species in permanently stratified aqueous environments
Biogeochemical structures of three permanently stratified waterbodies were studied: a sea water basin (the Black Sea), an estuary (Hunnbunn fjord), and a freshwater lake (Nordbytjernet), with focus on the distributions of methylmercury (MeHg) and total mercury (THg). THg concentrations were similar in the sea water basin (0.2–1.8 ng/L) and the freshwater lake (0.8–1.2 ng/L), but significantly higher in the estuary (0.6–9.4 ng/L). An increase in the MeHg concentration and MeHg/THg ratio were found in the redox zone in all three basins, indicating bacterial production of MeHg in the aqueous phase. In the lake and estuary, the maximum MeHg concentration and MeHg/THg ratio were found in samples located closest to the bottom sediments, likely due to the formation of MeHg in surface sediments and subsequent diffusion to the overlying waters.
2018
2018
This paper presents the results of BC inversions at high northern latitudes (>50°N) for the 2013–2015 period. A sensitivity analysis was performed to select the best representative species for BC and the best a priori emission dataset. The same model ensemble was used to assess the uncertainty of the a posteriori emissions of BC due to scavenging and removal and due to the use of different a priori emission inventory. A posteriori concentrations of BC simulated over Arctic regions were compared with independent observations from flight and ship campaigns showing, in all cases, smaller bias, which in turn witnesses the success of the inversion. The annual a posteriori emissions of BC at latitudes above 50°N were estimated as 560±171ktyr−1, significantly smaller than in ECLIPSEv5 (745ktyr−1), which was used and the a priori information in the inversions of BC. The average relative uncertainty of the inversions was estimated to be 30%.
A posteriori emissions of BC in North America are driven by anthropogenic sources, while biomass burning appeared to be less significant as it is also confirmed by satellite products. In northern Europe, a posteriori emissions were estimated to be half compared to the a priori ones, with the highest releases to be in megacities and due to biomass burning in eastern Europe. The largest emissions of BC in Siberia were calculated along the transect between Yekaterinsburg and Chelyabinsk. The optimised emissions of BC were high close to the gas flaring regions in Russia and in western Canada (Alberta), where numerous power and oil and gas production industries operate. Flaring emissions in Nenets–Komi oblast (Russia) were estimated to be much lower than in the a priori emissions, while in Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia) they remained the same after the inversions of BC. Increased emissions at the borders between Russia and Mongolia are probably due to biomass burning in villages along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The maximum BC emissions in high northern latitudes (>50°N) were calculated for summer months due to biomass burning and they are controlled by seasonal variations in Europe and Asia, while North America showed a much smaller variability.
2018
The UK Toxic Organic Micro Pollutants (TOMPs) Network, which has operated since 1991, collects ambient air samples at six urban, rural, and semi-rural sites across England and Scotland, using high-volume active air samplers [1]. Furthermore, in 1994, a latitudinal sampling transect from the south of England to the north of Norway was established with eleven sampling sites, mainly in remote locations, using Semi-Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs) as passive air samplers [2]. Both networks provide continuous, long-term ambient air trend data for a range of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), including PCBs and PBDEs, and have helped demonstrating a decline in POPs air concentrations over the last three decades. However, in recent years no further significant declines have been observed. SumPCB and SumPBDE levels in the UK are lowest at the rural sites and highest for the urban sites (TOMPs), and they generally decrease from the south of England to the north of Norway (UK/Norway) in line with expectations. Higher values at less remote sites and sites downwind from population centres show that POPs concentrations may still mainly be influenced by primary emissions. Concentrations at semi-rural sites lie between rural and urban sites; however, they can exceed the latter in some years. This can probably be attributed to short-term local effects. The data from the TOMPs network shows that concentrations of PCBs are higher in warmer than in colder months, while the seasonal patterns are less uniform for PBDEs.
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2018
In contrast to previous studies that have tended to focus on the influence of the total Arctic sea-ice cover on the East Asian summer tripole rainfall pattern, the present study identifies the Barents Sea as the key region where the June sea-ice variability exerts the most significant impacts on the East Asian August tripole rainfall pattern, and explores the teleconnection mechanisms involved. The results reveal that a reduction in June sea ice excites anomalous upward air motion due to strong near-surface thermal forcing, which further triggers a meridional overturning wave-like pattern extending to midlatitudes. Anomalous downward motion therefore forms over the Caspian Sea, which in turn induces zonally oriented overturning circulation along the subtropical jet stream, exhibiting the east–west Rossby wave train known as the Silk Road pattern. It is suggested that the Bonin high, a subtropical anticyclone predominant near South Korea, shows a significant anomaly due to the eastward extension of the Silk Road pattern to East Asia. As a possible descending branch of the Hadley cell, the Bonin high anomaly ultimately triggers a meridional overturning, establishing the Pacific–Japan pattern. This in turn induces an anomalous anticyclone and cyclone pair over East Asia, and a tripole vertical convection anomaly meridionally oriented over East Asia. Consequently, a tripole rainfall anomaly pattern is observed over East Asia. Results from numerical experiments using version 5 of the Community Atmosphere Model support the interpretation of this chain of events.
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