Found 9759 publications. Showing page 316 of 391:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have gained significant global attention due to their extensive industrial use and harmful effects on various organisms. Among these, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are well-studied, but their diverse precursors remain challenging to monitor. The Total Oxidizable Precursor (TOP) assay offers a powerful approach to converting these precursors into detectable PFAAs. In this study, the TOP assay was applied to samples from the East Asian-Australian Flyway, a critical migratory route for millions of shorebirds. Samples included shellfish from China's coastal mudflats, key stopover sites for these birds, and blood and liver samples from shorebirds overwintering in Australia. The results showed a substantial increase in perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) across all sample types following the TOP assay, with the most significant increases in shorebird livers (Sum PFCAs increased by 18,156 %). Intriguingly, the assay also revealed unexpected increases in perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs), suggesting the presence of unidentified precursors. These findings highlight the need for further research into these unknown precursors, their sources, and their ecological impacts on shorebirds, other wildlife, and potential human exposure. This study also provides crucial insights into the TOP assay’s strengths and limitations in studying PFAS precursor dynamics in biological matrices.
Elsevier
2025
SHIPMATE - Ship traffic particulate matter emissions. Final project report. NILU report
In the SHIPMATE project, we have carried out measurements of a large number of pollutants and aerosol components at the Mt. Zeppelin observatory during 2014 and 2015, with focus on the summer period (April to September). The aims were 1) identification of the particulate matter (PM) contribution from ship emissions by source apportionment and 2) isolation of data records influenced by local ship emissions in order to preserve the usefulness of the observatory for regional trends of atmospheric constituents. A total of 8 potentially ship-influenced 3-day sampling intervals were found in the analysis of the wind direction record and the harbour calls from Ny-Ålesund (2014 and 2015). The local shipping pollution contributed significantly (¿50%) to the concentration levels of certain heavy metals such as Cu, Ni, Zn and Cd during the two summers. This is supported by the enrichment factors analysis. However, the influence of local pollution from shipping on the measurements carried out at the Mt. Zeppelin observatory is rather infrequent.
2016
2017
Shipping emissions in the port of Oslo: inventory, mitigation strategies and future scenario. NILU F
2014
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2023
2023
2017
Siberian Arctic black carbon: gas flaring and wildfire impact
As explained in the latest Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) report released in early 2021, the Arctic has warmed 3 times more quickly than the planet as a whole, as well as faster than previously thought. The Siberian Arctic is of great interest mainly because observations are sparse or largely lacking. A research aerosol station has been developed on Bely Island (Kara Sea) in western Siberia. Measurements of equivalent black carbon (EBC) concentrations were carried out at the “Island Bely” station continuously from August 2019 to November 2020. The source origin of the measured EBC and the main contributing sources were assessed using atmospheric transport modeling coupled with the most updated emission inventories for anthropogenic and biomass burning sources of BC.
The obtained climatology for BC during the period of measurements showed an apparent seasonal variation with the highest concentrations between December and April (60 ± 92 ng m−3) and the lowest between June and September (18 ± 72 ng m−3), typical of the Arctic haze seasonality reported elsewhere. When air masses arrived at the station through the biggest oil and gas extraction regions of Kazakhstan, Volga-Ural, Komi, Nenets and western Siberia, BC contribution from gas flaring dominated over domestic, industrial and traffic sectors, ranging from 47 % to 68 %, with a maximum contribution in January. When air was transported from Europe during the cold season, emissions from transportation were more important. Accordingly, shipping emissions increased due to the touristic cruise activities and the ice retreat in summertime. Biomass burning (BB) played the biggest role between April and October, contributing 81 % at maximum in July. Long-range transport of BB aerosols appeared to induce large variability to the absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) with values > 1.0 (excluding outliers). As regards the continental contribution to surface BC at the Island Bely station, Russian emissions dominated during the whole year, while European and Asian ones contributed up to 20 % in the cold period. Quantification of several pollution episodes showed an increasing trend in surface concentrations and frequency during the cold period as the station is directly in the Siberian gateway of the highest anthropogenic pollution sources to the Russian Arctic.
2022
Signals from the south; humpback whales carry messages of Antarctic sea‐ice ecosystem variability
John Wiley & Sons
2018
Signatures of climate tele-connection patterns in geophysical data series from Northern Scandinavia. NILU F
2003