Found 9830 publications. Showing page 370 of 394:
Limits to graphite supply in a transition to a post-fossil society
Transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) powered by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) aims at reducing emissions in the transportation sector, thereby decreasing fuel oil use and crude oil extraction. Yet, synthetic graphite, a crucial anode material for LIBs, is produced from needle coke, a byproduct of oil refining. This dependency could lead to bottlenecks in battery anode production. We found no obvious supply constraints for synthetic graphite in slow electrification scenarios based on different International Energy Agency scenarios. In contrast, net zero scenarios reveal drastic limitations in synthetic graphite supply, due to fast electrification and declining needle coke production. Natural graphite can mitigate supply limitations but faces environmental concerns, long development time and geopolitical concerns. Securing graphite supply while reaching the net zero goals requires comprehensive strategies combining (1) systematic graphite recycling, (2) overcoming current technical challenges, and (3) behavioral shifts towards reduced vehicle ownership and smaller vehicles.
Elsevier
2024
The Modeled Seasonal Cycles of Surface N2O Fluxes and Atmospheric N2O
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas and stratospheric ozone-depleting substance with large and growing anthropogenic emissions. Previous studies identified the influx of N2O-depleted air from the stratosphere to partly cause the seasonality in tropospheric N2O (aN2O), but other contributions remain unclear. Here, we combine surface fluxes from eight land and four ocean models from phase 2 of the Nitrogen/N2O Model Intercomparison Project with tropospheric transport modeling to simulate aN2O at eight remote air sampling sites for modern and pre-industrial periods. Models show general agreement on the seasonal phasing of zonal-average N2O fluxes for most sites, but seasonal peak-to-peak amplitudes differ several-fold across models. The modeled seasonal amplitude of surface aN2O ranges from 0.25 to 0.80 ppb (interquartile ranges 21%–52% of median) for land, 0.14–0.25 ppb (17%–68%) for ocean, and 0.28–0.77 ppb (23%–52%) for combined flux contributions. The observed seasonal amplitude ranges from 0.34 to 1.08 ppb for these sites. The stratospheric contributions to aN2O, inferred by the difference between the surface-troposphere model and observations, show 16%–126% larger amplitudes and minima delayed by ∼1 month compared to Northern Hemisphere site observations. Land fluxes and their seasonal amplitude have increased since the pre-industrial era and are projected to grow further under anthropogenic activities. Our results demonstrate the increasing importance of land fluxes for aN2O seasonality. Considering the large model spread, in situ aN2O observations and atmospheric transport-chemistry models will provide opportunities for constraining terrestrial and oceanic biosphere models, critical for projecting carbon-nitrogen cycles under ongoing global warming.
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2024
Monitoring of the atmospheric ozone layer and natural ultraviolet radiation. Annual Report 2023
This report summarizes the results from the Norwegian monitoring programme on stratospheric ozone and UV radiation measurements. The ozone layer has been measured at three locations since 1979: In Oslo/Kjeller, Tromsø/Andøya and Ny-Ålesund. The UV measurements started in 1995. The results show that there was a significant decrease in stratospheric ozone above Norway between 1979 and 1997. After that, the ozone layer stabilized at a level ~2% below pre-1980 level. The year 2023 was characterized by low ozone values in winter, high spring values, and annual average total ozone values slightly below the long-term mean.
NILU
2024
Nå kan forskere lenke direkte til data om atmosfæren i vitenskapelige artikler
Norges forskningsråd
2024
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent anthropogenic contaminants, some of which are toxic and bioaccumulative. Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) can form during the atmospheric degradation of precursors such as fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), N-alkylated perfluoroalkane sulfonamides (FASAs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Since PFCAs and PFSAs will readily undergo wet deposition, snow and ice cores are useful for studying PFAS in the Arctic atmosphere. In this study, 36 PFAS were detected in surface snow around the Arctic island of Spitsbergen during January–August 2019 (i.e., 24 h darkness to 24 h daylight), indicating widespread and chemically diverse contamination, including at remote high elevation sites. Local sources meant some PFAS had concentrations in snow up to 54 times higher in Longyearbyen, compared to remote locations. At a remote high elevation ice cap, where PFAS input was from long-range atmospheric processes, the median deposition fluxes of C2–C11 PFCAs, PFOS and HFPO–DA (GenX) were 7.6–71 times higher during 24 h daylight. These PFAS all positively correlated with solar flux. Together this suggests seasonal light is important to enable photochemistry for their atmospheric formation and subsequent deposition in the Arctic. This study provides the first evidence for the possible atmospheric formation of PFOS and GenX from precursors.
2024
2024
2024
Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019
This paper encompasses an assessment of air pollution trends in rural environments in Europe over the 2000–2019 period, benefiting from extensive long-term observational data from the EMEP monitoring network and EMEP MSC-W model computations. The trends in pollutant concentrations align with the decreasing emission patterns observed throughout Europe. Annual average concentrations of sulfur dioxide, particulate sulfate, and sulfur wet deposition have shown consistent declines of 3-4% annually since 2000. Similarly, oxidized nitrogen species have markedly decreased across Europe, with an annual reduction of 1.5-2% in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, total nitrate in the air, and oxidized nitrogen deposition. Notably, emission reductions and model predictions appear to slightly surpass the observed declines in sulfur and oxidized nitrogen, indicating a potential overestimation of reported emission reductions. Ammonia emissions have decreased less compared to other pollutants since 2000. Significant reductions in particulate ammonium have however, been achieved due to the impact of reductions in SOx and NOx emissions. For ground level ozone, both the observed and modelled peak levels in summer show declining trends, although the observed decline is smaller than modelled. There have been substantial annual reductions of 1.8% and 2.4% in the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. Elemental carbon has seen a reduction of approximately 4.5% per year since 2000. A similar reduction for organic carbon is only seen in winter when primary anthropogenic sources dominate. The observed improvements in European air quality emphasize the importance of comprehensive legislations to mitigate emissions.
2024
Hybelkaniner kan være giftige: – Støvsug ofte, sier forsker
Norges forskningsråd
2024
Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø (VKM) har oppdatert et metodedokument for helse og miljørisikovurderinger av plantevernmidler.
Målet med oppdateringen er å gjenspeile gjeldende regelverk og praksis, og sikre kvaliteten på fremtidige risikovurderinger utført av faggruppen for plantevernmidler i VKM. Det forrige metodedokumentet er fra 2012, og oppdateringen var nødvendig for å tilpasse metodene til nytt EU-regelverk for plantevernmidler, og for å innarbeide nye datakrav og retningslinjer for plantevernmidler og biocider. Ved å oppdatere metodedokumentet, ønsket faggruppen å sikre at risikovurderingene de leverer er i tråd med gjeldende regelverket og vitenskapelig kunnskap.
Viktige endringer
Dokumentet er oppdatert med henvisninger til nye forskrifter og veiledninger, om for eksempel biocider, nye typer plantevernmidler, og forenklet godkjenning/risikovurdering for mikrobielle stoffer. Det nye dokumentet inneholder også veiledning om fareidentifikasjon av stoffer med hormonforstyrrende egenskaper, alternative metoder for å redusere toksikologisk testing hos dyr, og vurdering av ikke-kostholdeksponering av plantevernmidler.
Dokumentet inneholder oppdatert informasjon om metodikk knyttet til vurdering av plantevernmidlers egenskaper og skjebne i miljøet, inkludert norske jord- og klimaforhold, renseanlegg og drikkevannsrenseprosesser. Veiledning om risikovurdering for bier og andre insekter, akvatiske organismer, fugler, pattedyr og andre vertebrater, samt meitemark og andre jordlevende organismer, er også oppdatert. Innen flere av feltene er eller vil det bli etablert spesifikke beskyttelsesmål og trinnvise risikovurderinger.
Samlet sett fungerer det oppdaterte metodedokumentet som en referanse for VKMs risikovurderingsarbeid for plantevernmidler, og sikrer at fremtidige vurderinger gjennomføres i samsvar med gjeldende regelverk og vitenskapelig kunnskap.
Metode
VKM har benyttet en semi-systematisk tilnærming, ved å utarbeide et arbeidsdokument for innhenting og sammenstilling av nødvendig informasjon om nye datakrav fra gjeldende regelverk for plantevernmidler og biocider i EU.
Dokumentet er godkjent av VKMs faggruppe for plantevernmidler.
2024
The acquisition and dissemination of essential information for understanding global biogeochemical interactions between the atmosphere and ecosystems and how climate–ecosystem feedback loops may change atmospheric composition in the future comprise a fundamental prerequisite for societal resilience in the face of climate change. In particular, the detection of trends and seasonality in the abundance of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate-active atmospheric constituents is an important aspect of climate science. Therefore, easy and fast access to reliable, long-term, and high-quality observational environmental data is recognised as fundamental to research and the development of environmental forecasting and assessment services. In our opinion article, we discuss the potential role that environmental research infrastructures in Europe (ENVRI RIs) can play in the context of an integrated global observation system. In particular, we focus on the role of the atmosphere-centred research infrastructures ACTRIS (Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure), IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System), and ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System), also referred to as ATMO-RIs, with their capabilities for standardised collection and provision of long-term and high-quality observational data, complemented by rich metadata. The ATMO-RIs provide data through open access and offer data interoperability across different research fields including all fields of environmental sciences and beyond. As a result of these capabilities in data collection and provision, we elaborate on the novel research opportunities in atmospheric sciences which arise from the combination of open-access and interoperable observational data, tools, and technologies offered by data-intensive science and the emerging collaboration platform ENVRI-Hub, hosted by the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
2024
2024
Monitoring aerosol optical depth during the Arctic night: Instrument development and first results
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
2024
2024
Assessing the environmental burden of disease related to air pollution in Europe in 2022
This report evaluates the health burden due to long-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and O3 across Europe in 2022. By analysing all-cause and cause-specific mortality and morbidity, it estimates disease burden using four indicators: Attributable Deaths (AD), Years of Life Lost, Years Lived with Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). However, the main results only consider the impact of exposure to levels of pollutants exceeding the current WHO air quality guidelines. The results indicate that PM2.5 contributes the most significant health impact (linked to six diseases), resulting in over 2.7 million DALY across 40 countries, and resulting in 269 000 AD, with mortality rates peaking in Eastern Europe. The report introduces methodological advancements, assessing the long-term impacts of O3 for the first time. Findings underscore the critical need for targeted air quality interventions, as pollution continues to drive significant health losses across the continent, particularly among vulnerable populations.
ETC/HE
2024
The report provides the annual update of the European air quality concentration maps and population and vegetation exposure estimates for human health related indicators of pollutants PM10 (annual average, 90.4 percentile of daily means), PM2.5 (annual average), ozone (93.2 percentile of maximum daily 8-hour means, peak season average of maximum daily 8-hour means, SOMO35, SOMO10), NO2 (annual average) and benzo(a)pyrene (annual average), and vegetation related ozone indicators (AOT40 for vegetation and for forests) for the year 2022. The report contains also maps of Phytotoxic ozone dose (PODY) for selected crops (wheat, potato and tomato) and trees (spruce and beech) and NOx annual average map for the same year 2022. The ozone map of peak season average of maximum daily 8-hour means is presented for the first time. The trends in exposure estimates in the period 2005–2022 are summarized. The analysis for 2022 is based on the interpolation of the annual statistics of the 2022 observational data reported by the EEA member and cooperating countries and other voluntary reporting countries and stored in the Air Quality e-reporting database, complemented, when needed, with measurements from additional sources. The mapping method is the Regression – Interpolation – Merging Mapping (RIMM). It combines monitoring data, chemical transport model results and other supplementary data using linear regression model followed by kriging of its residuals (residual kriging). The paper presents the mapping results and gives an uncertainty analysis of the interpolated maps. It also presents concentration change in 2022 in comparison to the five-year average 2017-2021 using the difference maps and exposure estimates.
ETC/HE
2024
2024