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Found 9450 publications. Showing page 2 of 378:

Publication  
Year  
Category

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

2024

Air quality maps of EEA member and cooperating countries for 2021. PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, NOx and BaP spatial estimates and their uncertainties

Horálek, Jan; Vlasakova, Leona; Schreiberova, Marketa; Benesova, Nina; Schneider, Philipp; Kurfürst, Pavel; Tognet, Frédéric; Schovánková, Jana; Vlcek, Ondrej; Vivanco, Marta García; Theobald, Mark; Gil, Victoria

ETC/HE

2024

European cities air quality ranking: a new methodology

Soares, Joana; Ortiz, Alberto González; Horálek, Jan; Schneider, Philipp; Schreiberova, Marketa

ETC/HE

2024

Status report of air quality in Europe for year 2023, using validated and up-to-date data

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

ETC/HE

2024

Towards a harmonized approach for atmospheric monitoring of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs). Workshop 8-10 November 2023. NILU, Kjeller, Norway

Aas, Wenche; Davie-Martin, Cleo Lisa; Halvorsen, Helene Lunder; Herzke, Dorte; Hartz, William Frederik; Hung, Hayley; Mayer, Ludovic; Nerentorp, Michelle; Nipen, Maja; Rüdiger, Julian; Tinel, Liselotte; Vorkamp, Katrin

This report summaries the outcome of a workshop focused on standardizing monitoring strategies for Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs), including PFAS, flame retardants, chlorinated paraffins, siloxanes, and microplastics. Key recommendations include harmonised sampling methods, expanding the monitoring programs, conducting measurement campaigns, and enhancing analysis techniques.

NILU

2024

Polychlorinated alkanes in indoor environment: A review of levels, sources, exposure, and health implications for chlorinated paraffin mixtures

Ezker, Idoia Beloki; Yuan, Bo; Bohlin-Nizzetto, Pernilla; Borgen, Anders; Wang, Thanh

Polychlorinated n-alkanes (PCAs) are the main components of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) mixtures, that have been commonly grouped into short-chain (SCCPs, C10–13), medium-chain (MCCPs, C14–17), and long-chain (LCCPs, C18-30) CPs. PCAs pose a significant risk to human health as they are broadly present in indoor environments and are potentially persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. The lack of specific terminology and harmonization in analytical methodologies for PCA analysis complicates direct comparisons between studies. The present work summarizes the different methodologies applied for the analysis of PCAs in indoor dust, air, and organic films. The large variability between the reviewed studies points to the difficulties to assess PCA contamination in these matrices and to mitigate risks associated with indoor exposure. Based on our review of physicochemical properties of PCAs and previously reported sum of measurable S/M/LCCPs levels, the homologue groups PCAs–C10–13 are found to be mostly present in the gas phase, PCAs–C14–17 in particulate matter and organic films, and PCAs–C≥18 in settled dust. However, we emphasized that mapping PCA sources and distribution in the indoors is highly dependent on the individual homologues. To further comprehend indoor PCA distribution, we described the uses of PCA in building materials and household products to apportion important indoor sources of emissions and pathways for human exposure. The greatest risk for indoor PCAs were estimated to arise from dermal absorption and ingestion through contact with dust and CP containing products. In addition, there are several factors affecting indoor PCA levels and exposure in different regions, including legislation, presence of specific products, cleaning routines, and ventilation frequency. This review provides comprehensive analysis of available indoor PCA data, the physicochemical properties, applied analytical methods, possible interior sources, variables affecting the levels, human exposure to PCAs, as well as need for more information, thereby providing perspectives for future research studies.

Elsevier

2024

Ammonia emission estimates using CrIS satellite observations over Europe

Ding, Jieying; van der A, Ronald; Eskes, Henk; Dammers, Enrico; Shephard, Mark; Kruit, Roy Wichink; Guevara, Marc; Tarrasón, Leonor

Over the past century, ammonia (NH3) emissions have increased with the growth of livestock and fertilizer usage. The abundant NH3 emissions lead to secondary fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution, climate change, and a reduction in biodiversity, and they affect human health. Up-to-date and spatially and temporally resolved information on NH3 emissions is essential to better quantify their impact. In this study we applied the existing Daily Emissions Constrained by Satellite Observations (DECSO) algorithm to NH3 observations from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) to estimate NH3 emissions. Because NH3 in the atmosphere is influenced by nitrogen oxides (NOx), we implemented DECSO to estimate NOx and NH3 emissions simultaneously. The emissions are derived over Europe for 2020 on a spatial resolution of 0.2°×0.2° using daily observations from both CrIS and the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI; on the Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite). Due to the limited number of daily satellite observations of NH3, monthly emissions of NH3 are reported. The total NH3 emissions derived from observations are about 8 Tg yr−1, with a precision of about 5 %–17 % per grid cell per year over the European domain (35–55° N, 10° W–30° E). The comparison of the satellite-derived NH3 emissions from DECSO with independent bottom-up inventories and in situ observations indicates a consistency in terms of magnitude on the country totals, with the results also being comparable regarding the temporal and spatial distributions. The validation of DECSO over Europe implies that we can use DECSO to quickly derive fairly accurate monthly emissions of NH3 over regions with limited local information on NH3 emissions.

2024

Comparison of observation- and inventory-based methane emissions for eight large global emitters

Petrescu, Ana Maria Roxana; Peters, Glen Philip; Engelen, Richard; Houweling, Sander; Brunner, Dominik; Tsuruta, Aki; Matthews, Bradley; Patra, Prabir K.; Belikov, Dmitry; Thompson, Rona Louise; Hoglund-Isaksson, Lena; Zhang, Wenxin; Segers, Arjo; Etiope, Giuseppe; Ciotoli, Giancarlo; Peylin, Philippe; Chevallier, Frédéric; Aalto, Tuula; Andrew, Robbie; Bastviken, David; Berchet, Antoine; Broquet, Gregoire; Conchedda, Giulia; Dellaert, Stijn N. C.; van der Gon, Hugo Denier; Gütschow, Johannes; Haussaire, Jean-Matthieu; Lauerwald, Ronny; Markkanen, Tiina; van Peet, Jacob C. A.; Pison, Isabelle; Regnier, Pierre; Sollum, Espen; Scholze, Marko; Tenkanen, Maria; Tubiello, Francesco N. ; van der Werf, Guido R.; Worden, John R.

Monitoring the spatial distribution and trends in surface greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, as well as flux attribution to natural and anthropogenic processes, is essential to track progress under the Paris Agreement and to inform its global stocktake. This study updates earlier syntheses (Petrescu et al., 2020, 2021, 2023), provides a consolidated synthesis of CH4 emissions using bottom-up (BU) and top-down (TD) approaches for the European Union (EU), and is expanded to include seven additional countries with large anthropogenic and/or natural emissions (the USA, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)). Our aim is to demonstrate the use of different emission estimates to help improve national GHG emission inventories for a diverse geographical range of stakeholders.

We use updated national GHG inventories (NGHGIs) reported by Annex I parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2023 and the latest available biennial update reports (BURs) reported by non-Annex I parties. Comparing NGHGIs with other approaches highlights that different system boundaries are a key source of divergence. A key system boundary difference is whether anthropogenic and natural fluxes are included and, if they are, how fluxes belonging to these two sources are partitioned.

Over the studied period, the total CH4 emission estimates in the EU, the USA, and Russia show a steady decreasing trend since 1990, while for the non-Annex I emitters analyzed in this study, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and DR Congo, CH4 emissions have generally increased. Quantitatively, in the EU the mean of 2015–2020 anthropogenic UNFCCC NGHGIs (15±1.8 Tg CH4 yr−1) and the mean of the BU CH4 emissions (17.8 (16–19) Tg CH4 yr−1) generally agree on the magnitude, while inversions show higher emission estimates (medians of 21 (19–22) Tg CH4 yr−1 and 24 (22–25) Tg CH4 yr−1 for the three regional and six global inversions, respectively), as they include natural emissions, which for the EU were quantified at 6.6 Tg CH4 yr−1 (Petrescu et al., 2023). Similarly, for the other Annex I parties in this study (the USA and Russia), the gap between the BU anthropogenic and total TD emissions is partly explained by the natural emissions.

For the non-Annex I parties, anthropogenic CH4 estimates from UNFCCC BURs show large differences compared to the other global-inventory-based estimates and even more compared to atmospheric ones. This poses an important potential challenge to monitoring the progress of the global CH4 pledge and the global stocktake. Our analysis provides a useful baseline to prepare for the influx of inventories from non-Annex I parties as regular reporting starts under the enhanced transparency framework of the Paris Agreement.

By systematically comparing the BU and TD methods, this study provides recommendations for more robust comparisons of available data sources and hopes to steadily engage more parties in using observational methods to complement their UNFCCC inventories, as well as considering their natural emissions. With anticipated improvements in atmospheric modeling and observations, as well as modeling of natural fluxes, future development needs to resolve knowledge gaps in the BU and TD approaches and to better quantify the remaining uncertainty. TD methods may emerge as a powerful tool to help improve NGHGIs of CH4 emissions, but further confidence is needed in the comparability and robustness of the estimates.

The referenced datasets related to figures are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12818506 (Petrescu et al., 2024).

2024

Miljøgifter i hybelkaniner: Forskerne oppfordrer til å støvsuge

Solbakken, Christine Forsetlund

Norges forskningsråd

2024

Høysesong for svevestøv: Bør vi sove med lukket vindu?

Solbakken, Christine Forsetlund

Norges forskningsråd

2024

Hvor kommer miljøgifter i Arktis fra? Møt NEM-modellen

Solbakken, Christine Forsetlund

Norges forskningsråd

2024

Hvordan går det med ozonlaget nå?

Ruud, Ingunn Marie

Norges forskningsråd

2024

Miljøforskernes nye reklame­dingser var fulle av miljø­gifter

Solbakken, Christine Forsetlund

Norges forskningsråd

2024

Sør-Europa må forberede seg på skogbrann i sommer, mens Norge får regn

Solbakken, Christine Forsetlund

Norges forskningsråd

2024

Feathers as integrated archives of environmental stress: Direct and indirect effects of metal exposure and dietary ecology on physiological stress in a terrestrial raptor

Hansen, Elisabeth; Bustnes, Jan Ove; Herzke, Dorte; Bangjord, Georg; Ballesteros, Manuel; Bårdsen, Bård-Jørgen; Bollinger, Eric; Schulz, Ralf; Eulaers, Igor; Bourgeon, Sophie

Metal pollution is a global environmental issue with adverse biological effects on wildlife. Long-term studies that span declines in metal emissions due to regulation, resulting in varying levels of environmental contamination, are therefore well-suited to investigate effects of toxic metals, while also facilitating robust analysis by incorporating fluctuating environmental conditions and food availability. Here, we examined a resident population of tawny owls in Norway between 1986 and 2019. Tail feathers from females were collected annually, resulting in over 1000 feathers. Each feather served as an archive of local environmental conditions during molt, including the presence of metals, and their dietary ecology, proxied by stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C), as well as corticosterone levels (CORTf), the primary avian glucocorticoid and a measure of physiological stress. We analyzed feathers to examine how exposure to toxic metal(loid)s (Al, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) and variability in dietary proxies modulate CORTf. Using structural equation modelling, we found that increased Al concentrations and δ15N values, linked directly to increased CORTf. In opposite, we found that increased Hg concentrations and δ13C related to decreased CORTf concentrations. δ15N was indirectly linked to CORTf through Al and Hg, while δ13C was indirectly linked to CORTf through Hg. This supports our hypothesis that metal exposure and dietary ecology may individually or jointly influence physiological stress. Notably, our results suggest that dietary ecology has the potential to mediate the impact of metals on CORTf, highlighting the importance of considering multiple variables, direct and indirect effects, when assessing stress in wildlife. In conclusion, feathers represent an excellent non-destructive biomonitoring strategy in avian wildlife, providing valuable insights not easily accessible using other methods. Further research is warranted to fully comprehend implications of alterations in CORTf on the tawny owl's health and fitness.

Elsevier

2024

Forskningsdagene

Hanssen, Linda; Markusson, Helge M. (interview subjects)

2024

Evaluation of the indoor environment and perceived IEQ : a case study in Norwegian primary schools

Chaulagain, Aayam; Mathisen, Hans Martin; Alam, Azimil Gani; Bartonova, Alena; Fredriksen, Mirjam; Høiskar, Britt Ann Kåstad; Gustavsen, Kai; Canet, Alfred Mansanet; Fredriksen, Tore; Cao, Guangyu

2024

Field investigation of perceived IEQ : study case in Norwegian secondary school with DCV

Alam, Azimil Gani; Cao, Guangyu; Mathisen, Hans Martin; Rosti, Behnam; Bartonova, Alena; Fredriksen, Mirjam; Høiskar, Britt Ann Kåstad; Gustavsen, Kai; Hart, Kent; Fredriksen, Tore; Canet, Alfred Mansanet; Almén, John Charles

2024

Multi-Scale Soil Salinization Dynamics From Global to Pore Scale: A Review

Shokri, Nima; Hassani, Amirhossein; Sahimi, Muhammad

Soil salinization refers to the accumulation of water-soluble salts in the upper part of the soil profile. Excessive levels of soil salinity affects crop production, soil health, and ecosystem functioning. This phenomenon threatens agriculture, food security, soil stability, and fertility leading to land degradation and loss of essential soil ecosystem services that are fundamental to sustaining life. In this review, we synthesize recent advances in soil salinization at various spatial and temporal scales, ranging from global to core, pore, and molecular scales, offering new insights and presenting our perspective on potential future research directions to address key challenges and open questions related to soil salinization. Globally, we identify significant challenges in understanding soil salinity, which are (a) the considerable uncertainty in estimating the total area of salt-affected soils, (b) geographical bias in ground-based measurements of soil salinity, and (c) lack of information and data detailing secondary salinization processes, both in dry- and wetlands, particularly concerning responses to climate change. At the core scale, the impact of salt precipitation with evolving porous structure on the evaporative fluxes from porous media is not fully understood. This knowledge is crucial for accurately predicting soil water loss due to evaporation. Additionally, the effects of transport properties of porous media, such as mixed wettability conditions, on the saline water evaporation and the resulting salt precipitation patterns remain unclear. Furthermore, effective continuum equations must be developed to accurately represent experimental data and pore-scale numerical simulations.

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

2024

Surface warming in Svalbard may have led to increases in highly active ice-nucleating particles

Tobo, Yutaka; Adachi, Kouji; Kawai, Kei; Matsui, Hitoshi; Ohata, Sho; Oshima, Naga; Kondo, Yutaka; Hermansen, Ove; Uchida, Masaki; Inoue, Jun; Koike, Makoto

The roles of Arctic aerosols as ice-nucleating particles remain poorly understood, even though their effects on cloud microphysics are crucial for assessing the climate sensitivity of Arctic mixed-phase clouds and predicting their response to Arctic warming. Here we present a full-year record of ice-nucleating particle concentrations over Svalbard, where surface warming has been anomalously faster than the Arctic average. While the variation of ice-nucleating particles active at around −30 °C was relatively small, those active at higher temperatures (i.e., highly active ice-nucleating particles) tended to increase exponentially with rising surface air temperatures when the surface air temperatures rose above 0 °C and snow/ice-free barren and vegetated areas appeared in Svalbard. The aerosol population relevant to their increase was largely characterized by dust and biological organic materials that likely originated from local/regional terrestrial sources. Our results suggest that highly active ice-nucleating particles could be actively released from Arctic natural sources in response to surface warming.

Springer Nature

2024

Monitoring aerosol optical depth during the Arctic night: Instrument development and first results

Mazzola, Mauro; Stone, Robert S.; Kouremeti, Natalia; Vitale, Vito; Gröbner, Julian; Stebel, Kerstin; Hansen, Georg Heinrich; Stone, Thomas C.; Ritter, Christoph; Pulimeno, Simone

Moon-photometric measurements were made at two locations in the Arctic during winter nights using two different modified Sun photometers; a Carter Scott SP02 and a Precision Filter Radiometer (PFR) developed at PMOD/WRC. Values of aerosol optical depth (AOD) were derived from spectral irradiance measurements made at four wavelengths for each of the devices. The SP02 was located near Barrow, Alaska and recorded data from November 2012 to March 2013, spanning five lunar cycles, while the PFR was deployed to Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard each winter from February 2014 to February 2019 for a total of 56 measurement periods. A methodology was developed to process the raw data, involving calibration of the instruments and normalizing measured spectral irradiance values in accordance with site-specific determinations of the extraterrestrial atmospheric irradiance (ETI) as Moon phase cycled. Uncertainties of the derived AOD values were also evaluated and found to be in the range, 0.006–0.030, depending on wavelength and which device was evaluated.
The magnitudes of AOD determined for the two sites were in general agreement with those reported in the literature for sunlit periods just before and after the dark periods of Arctic night. Those for the PFR were also compared with data obtained using star photometers and a Cimel CE318-T, recently deployed to Ny-Ålesund, showing that Moon photometry is viable as a means to monitor AOD during the Arctic night. Such data are valuable for more complete assessments of the role aerosols play in modulating climate, the validation of AOD derived using various remote sensing techniques, and applications related to climate modeling.

Elsevier

2024

PikMe: A prioritization tool for emerging pollutants

Wennberg, Aina Charlotte; Reid, Malcolm James; Rostkowski, Pawel

2024

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