A Top-Down Regional Assessment of Urban Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Europe

This paper provides an account of urban greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 40 countries in Europe and examines covariates of emissions levels. We use a “top-down” analysis of emissions as spatially reported in the Emission Dataset for Global Atmospheric Research supplemented by Carbon Monitoring for Action from 1153 European cities larger than 50 000 population in 2000 (comprising >81 % of the total European urban population). Urban areas are defined spatially and demographically by the Global Rural Urban Mapping Project. We compare these results with “bottom-up” carbon accounting method results for cities in the region. Our results suggest that direct (Scopes 1 and 2) GHG emissions from urban areas range between 44 and 54 % of total anthropogenic emissions for the region. While individual urban GHG footprints vary from bottom-up studies, both the mean differences and the regional energy-related GHG emission share support previous findings. Correlation analysis indicates that the urban GHG emissions in Europe are mainly influenced by population size, density, and income and not by biophysical conditions. We argue that these data and methods of analysis are best used at the regional or higher scales.     

Evaluation of a simplified top-down model for the spatial assessment of hot traffic emissions in mid-sized cities

Traffic emission estimation in developing countries is a key-issue for air pollution management. In most cases, comprehensive bottom-up methodologies cannot be applied in mid-sized cities because of the resource cost related to their application. In this paper, a simplified emission estimation model (SEEM) is evaluated. The model is based on a top-down approach and gives annual global hot emission. Particular attention is paid to the quality of the input traffic data. The quality of results is assessed by application of the SEEM model in the Chilean Gran Concepción urban area and by comparison with a bottom-up approach that has been led for the year 2000. The SEEM model estimates emissions with an accuracy of about $20\%$ and is related to important resource savings. The results of the SEEM model are then distributed in space with a disaggregation approach and using GIS techniques. The relevancy of the disaggregation approach is evaluated among several possibilities through statistical methods. A spatial disaggregation using principal roads density gives the best results in terms of emissions repartition and gives a globally accurate image of the distribution of hot emissions in a mid-sized city.     

High levels of activity of bats at gold mining water bodies: implications for compliance with the International Cyanide Management Code

Wildlife and livestock are known to visit and interact with tailings dam and other wastewater impoundments at gold mines. When cyanide concentrations within these water bodies exceed a critical toxicity threshold, significant cyanide-related mortality events can occur in wildlife. Highly mobile taxa such as birds are particularly susceptible to cyanide toxicosis. Nocturnally active bats have similar access to uncovered wastewater impoundments as birds; however, cyanide toxicosis risks to bats remain ambiguous. This study investigated activity of bats in the airspace above two water bodies at an Australian gold mine, to assess the extent to which bats use these water bodies and hence are at potential risk of exposure to cyanide. Bat activity was present on most nights sampled during the 16-month survey period, although it was highly variable across nights and months. Therefore, despite the artificial nature of wastewater impoundments at gold mines, these structures present attractive habitats to bats. As tailings slurry and supernatant pooling within the tailings dam were consistently well below the industry protective concentration limit of 50 mg/L weak acid dissociable (WAD) cyanide, wastewater solutions stored within the tailings dam posed a minimal risk of cyanide toxicosis for wildlife, including bats. This study showed that passively recorded bat echolocation call data provides evidence of the presence and relative activity of bats above water bodies at mine sites. Furthermore, echolocation buzz calls recorded in the airspace directly above water provide indirect evidence of foraging and/or drinking. Both echolocation monitoring and systematic sampling of cyanide concentration in open wastewater impoundments can be incorporated into a gold mine risk-assessment model in order to evaluate the risk of bat exposure to cyanide. In relation to risk minimisation management practices, the most effective mechanism for preventing cyanide toxicosis to wildlife, including bats, is capping the concentration of cyanide in tailings discharged to open impoundments at 50 mg/L WAD.     

Estimation of measurement uncertainty associated to the determination of pesticide residues: a case study

In the analytical analysis the measurement uncertainty is a quantitative indicator of the confidence describing the range around a reported or experimental result within which the true value can be expected. Several approaches can be used to estimate the measurement uncertainty associated to the analysis of pesticide residues: a) the top-down, the estimation can be referred to default values; b) the bottom-up the estimation is related to the uncertainty sources. Concerning the bottom-up approach, the following contributions have been investigated: weight of sample, calibration solutions, final volume of sample and intermediate repeatability studies. The commodity/residue combination selected in this study was celery/tau-fluvalinate pesticide. Tau-fluvalinate is a broad-spectrum insecticide in the pyrethroid class of pesticides. The Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of tau-fluvalinate in celery has been set at 0.01 mg/kg. The tau- Fluvalinate showed two chromatographic peaks. Since the individual standards are not available, the two peaks were integrated separately and the instrumental responses were added. The total residue was calculated on the basis of resulted peaks. The present work aims to compare the uncertainty estimated by experimental data using repeated analysis (n = 12) of a real sample and a spiked sample. The relative expanded uncertainty for two data set, incurred and spiked, was 22 % and 20 %, respectively. No differences were observed from repeated determinations of real samples and spiked samples.     

Uptake of gamma-HCH (Lindane) by pipistrelle bats and its effect on survival

Adult pipistrelle bats were caught at two roosts in Eastern England and kept in captivity on an ad lib diet of mealworms. In Experiment 1, two groups of eight bats were each kept in identical outdoor enclosures where the bats could fly freely and where they had a choice of five roost boxes, one of which was heated. One of these groups was exposed to gamma-HCH applied to planed pine blocks which had been immersed in a hexane solution of gamma-HCH. An initial concentration, estimated from surface wood scrapings, of 9.94 +/- 1.15 mg m(-2) was used for the first 44 days, while 866 +/- 51 mg g(-2) was used for a further 44 days. Blocks were placed in the roost boxes to simulate the type of exposure experienced by wild bats. Blocks dosed with solvent alone were given to the other group of bats (controls). Six of the eight bats in the group exposed to gamma-HCH died, while all bats in the control group survived (P < 0.007). In Experiment 2, three groups of five bats were kept in identical cages. Two groups were exposed to identical wood blocks dosed with gamma-HCH, which gave a concentration of 211 mg m(-2) in surface scrapings taken 1-2 h after dosing, while the other group received a wood block treated with solvent alone (control). All bats in the groups exposed to gamma-HCH died within 17 days, while all bats in the control group survived (P < 0.001). Tissues of bats were analysed for gamma-HCH by gas chromatography. There was a critical concentration of 622 +/- 102 microg gamma-HCH g(-1) extractable lipid at which bats died. The total weight of gamma-HCH in bat carcasses was directly related to the weight of extractable lipid. On average, bats died when the gamma-HCH concentration in the whole body reached 27.9 +/- 4.8 microg g(-1), but this value increased as body weight increased. This study confirmed the results of a previous study that gamma-HCH is toxic to bats in conditions simulating exposure in the wild.     

The Role of Quality Assurance in Collaborative Testing

Collaborative testing is the traditional means used to establish the precision of test methods. The role that quality assurance plays in the collaborative testing of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stationary source test methods is presented. The applicability of the quality assurance procedures presented for routine use in compliance testing is also described.     

Fine particulate matter emissions inventories: comparisons of emissions estimates with observations from recent field programs

Emissions inventories of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were compared with estimates of emissions based on data emerging from U.S. Environment Protection Agency Particulate Matter Supersites and other field programs. Six source categories for PM2.5 emissions were reviewed: on-road mobile sources, nonroad mobile sources, cooking, biomass combustion, fugitive dust, and stationary sources. Ammonia emissions from all of the source categories were also examined. Regional emissions inventories of PM in the exhaust from on-road and nonroad sources were generally consistent with ambient observations, though uncertainties in some emission factors were twice as large as the emission factors. In contrast, emissions inventories of road dust were up to an order of magnitude larger than ambient observations, and estimated brake wear and tire dust emissions were half as large as ambient observations in urban areas. Although comprehensive nationwide emissions inventories of PM2.5 from cooking sources and biomass burning are not yet available, observational data in urban areas suggest that cooking sources account for approximately 5-20% of total primary emissions (excluding dust), and biomass burning sources are highly dependent on region. Finally, relatively few observational data were available to assess the accuracy of emission estimates for stationary sources. Overall, the uncertainties in primary emissions for PM2.s are substantial. Similar uncertainties exist for ammonia emissions. Because of these uncertainties, the design of PM2.5 control strategies should be based on inventories that have been refined by a combination of bottom-up and top-down methods.     

Designing ambient particulate matter monitoring program for source apportionment study by receptor modeling

Particulate matter (PM) receptor modeling requires specific intensive input data that is always a challenge to produce cost effectively. A well-designed monitoring program is important to collect such PM ambient data in urban areas with diverse and densely distributed sources. This paper presents a general framework for designing such a monitoring program while emphasizing appropriate quality assurance and quality control elements that are particularly applicable where limited resources are available. Topics for discussion include selection of monitoring sites, sampling and analytical techniques, and the uncertainty estimation for ambient concentration input data. The design framework is illustrated by a case study of a monitoring program for PM source apportionment in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region in which 24-h fine and coarse PM samples were collected using two collocated dichotomous samplers. Comparison between black carbon measurements by Smoke Stain reflectometry and Thermal Optical Transmittance method is highlighted.     

Developing an automated risk management tool to minimize bird and bat mortality at wind facilities

A scarcity of baseline data is a significant barrier to understanding and mitigating potential impacts of offshore development on birds and bats. Difficult and sometimes unpredictable conditions coupled with high expense make gathering such data a challenge. The Acoustic and Thermographic Offshore Monitoring (ATOM) system combines thermal imaging with acoustic and ultrasound sensors to continuously monitor bird and bat abundance, flight height, direction, and speed. ATOM’s development and potential capabilities are discussed, and illustrated using onshore and offshore test data obtained over 16 months in the eastern USA. Offshore deployment demonstrated birds tending to fly into winds and activity declining sharply in winds >10 km h^?1. Passerines showed distinct seasonal changes in flight bearing and flew higher than non-passerines. ATOM data could be used to automatically shut down wind turbines to minimize collision mortality while simultaneously providing information for modeling activity in relation to weather and season.     

Fine Particulate Matter Emissions Inventories: Comparisons of Emissions Estimates with Observations from Recent Field Programs

Abstract

Emissions inventories of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) were compared with estimates of emissions based on data emerging from U.S. Environment Protection Agency Particulate Matter Supersites and other field programs. Six source categories for PM_2.5 emissions were reviewed: on-road mobile sources, nonroad mobile sources, cooking, biomass combustion, fugitive dust, and stationary sources. Ammonia emissions from all of the source categories were also examined. Regional emissions inventories of PM in the exhaust from on-road and nonroad sources were generally consistent with ambient observations, though uncertainties in some emission factors were twice as large as the emission factors. In contrast, emissions inventories of road dust were up to an order of magnitude larger than ambient observations, and estimated brake wear and tire dust emissions were half as large as ambient observations in urban areas. Although comprehensive nationwide emissions inventories of PM_2.5 from cooking sources and biomass burning are not yet available, observational data in urban areas suggest that cooking sources account for approximately 5–20% of total primary emissions (excluding dust), and biomass burning sources are highly dependent on region. Finally, relatively few observational data were available to assess the accuracy of emission estimates for stationary sources. Overall, the uncertainties in primary emissions for PM_2.5 are substantial. Similar uncertainties exist for ammonia emissions. Because of these uncertainties, the design of PM_2.5 control strategies should be based on inventories that have been refined by a combination of bottom-up and top-down methods.     

EPA’S Federal Technology Transfer Act Program

In 1986, the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) was established to promote a closer, collaborative relationship between federal government agencies and the private sector. With the increasing need for new cost-effective technologies to prevent and control pollution, both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and private industry are encouraged to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology under this Act. The FTTA removed several of the legal and institutional barriers to cooperative research that existed before the Act's passage. Through the FTTA, the government strives to promote the movement of its products, processes, skills and knowledge into the private sector for further development and commercialization by encouraging the exchange of technical personnel and the sharing of facilities and other resources. Collaborative efforts among industry, federal agencies and academia are made possible through cooperative research and development agreements (CRDAs). Thirty-three CRDAs and four licensing agreements have been initiated with EPA under the program. This paper provides an overview of this new and innovative program.     

Toxicity and tissue distribution of pentachlorophenol and permethrin in pipistrelle bats experimentally exposed to treated timber

The dependence of bats in Britain on houses as roosts may result in them being exposed to pesticides used in remedial timber treatments. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and permethrin are used as a fungicide and an insecticide for timber treatment, respectively. The present study investigated toxicity and distribution in body tissues of these two pesticides in pipistrelle bats. Four groups of nine to ten bats were kept in separate outdoor flight enclosures and were provided with roost boxes treated with either PCP only, permethrin, PCP/permethrin mixture or solvent only (control). At the start of the experiment, mean (+/-SE) PCP and permethrin concentrations on the surface of wooden blocks that had been treated in the same way as roost boxes were 69.32+/-6.76 mg g(-1) (n=6) and 3.3+/-1.6 mg g(-1) (n=3), respectively. All bats exposed to PCP and PCP/permethrin treated boxes died within 24 and 120 h, respectively; nine out of the ten controls survived the 32 day experimental period (P<0.001; both groups compared with control). Bats exposed to permethrin treated boxes survived as well as controls. Mean (+/-SE) carcass PCP concentration (excluding deposits on fur) of bats exposed to PCP and PCP/permethrin treated boxes was 13.11+/-2.52 microg g(-1)BW (n=20). PCP burdens on fur were positively correlated with total weight of PCP in the carcass (P<0.001). PCP was present in fat depots, liver, kidney and the remainder of the body which, despite containing low PCP concentrations, was the main PCP reservoir (66.4+/-5.0% of carcass PCP load; n=20). Total PCP in the carcass was significantly correlated with lipid weight (P<0.005). Permethrin was not detectable in body washes and tissues of bats exposed to PCP/permethrin mixture or permethrin.     

Modeling emissions for three-dimensional atmospheric chemistry transport models

Poor air quality is still a threat for human health in many parts of the world. In order to assess measures for emission reductions and improved air quality, three-dimensional atmospheric chemistry transport modeling systems are used in numerous research institutions and public authorities. These models need accurate emission data in appropriate spatial and temporal resolution as input. This paper reviews the most widely used emission inventories on global and regional scales and looks into the methods used to make the inventory data model ready. Shortcomings of using standard temporal profiles for each emission sector are discussed, and new methods to improve the spatiotemporal distribution of the emissions are presented. These methods are often neither top-down nor bottom-up approaches but can be seen as hybrid methods that use detailed information about the emission process to derive spatially varying temporal emission profiles. These profiles are subsequently used to distribute bulk emissions such as national totals on appropriate grids. The wide area of natural emissions is also summarized, and the calculation methods are described. Almost all types of natural emissions depend on meteorological information, which is why they are highly variable in time and space and frequently calculated within the chemistry transport models themselves. The paper closes with an outlook for new ways to improve model ready emission data, for example, by using external databases about road traffic flow or satellite data to determine actual land use or leaf area. In a world where emission patterns change rapidly, it seems appropriate to use new types of statistical and observational data to create detailed emission data sets and keep emission inventories up-to-date.

Implications: Emission data are probably the most important input for chemistry transport model (CTM) systems. They need to be provided in high spatial and temporal resolution and on a grid that is in agreement with the CTM grid. Simple methods to distribute the emissions in time and space need to be replaced by sophisticated emission models in order to improve the CTM results. New methods, e.g., for ammonia emissions, provide grid cell–dependent temporal profiles. In the future, large data fields from traffic observations or satellite observations could be used for more detailed emission data.     

Spatial variability of soil organic carbon in grasslands: implications for detecting change at different scales

Extensive data used to quantify broad soil C changes (without information about causation), coupled with intensive data used for attribution of changes to specific management practices, could form the basis of an efficient national grassland soil C monitoring network. Based on variability of extensive (USDA/NRCS pedon database) and intensive field-level soil C data, we evaluated the efficacy of future sample collection to detect changes in soil C in grasslands. Potential soil C changes at a range of spatial scales related to changes in grassland management can be verified (alpha=0.1) after 5 years with collection of 34, 224, 501 samples at the county, state, or national scales, respectively. Farm-level analysis indicates that equivalent numbers of cores and distinct groups of cores (microplots) results in lowest soil C coefficients of variation for a variety of ecosystems. Our results suggest that grassland soil C changes can be precisely quantified using current technology at scales ranging from farms to the entire nation.     

Factors driving collaboration in natural resource conflict management: Evidence from Romania

A critical challenge in natural resource management is to bring all stakeholders together to negotiate solutions to critical problems. However, various collaborative approaches to heading off conflicts and resolving natural resource management disputes have been used. What drives these efforts, however, still needs further research. Our study provides a systematic look at the drivers likely to initiate collaborative problem-solving efforts in four cases in Romania. We use Emerson’s et al. (2012) framework for collaborative governance and multi-value qualitative comparative analysis (mvQCA) to analyze cases involving endangered species, restrictions on forest harvest, conflicts associated with infrastructure development projects, and disputes over the management of environmentally sensitive areas. Our findings contribute to the already existing collaborative governance literature indicating which of the four factors: uncertainty, interdependence, consequential incentives, and leadership, in which combination, are necessary and sufficient to spur collaborative resource management efforts. Our results showed that in Romania the initiation of collaboration is best explained by positive consequential incentives (i.e., financial opportunities) which has determined leaders to take initiative. This study provides additional information for the complicated process of natural resource management which is often overriding collaboration by investigating what enables and constrains collaborative efforts in a country where natural resources were managed and used according to the principles of central planning.     

Decomposer communities in contaminated soil: Is altered community regulation a proper tool in ecological risk assessment of toxicants?

Effects of patchy soil contamination on decomposer organisms, their community regulation and nutrient mineralization were studied in a microcosm experiment. Coniferous forest soil was patchily contaminated with three concentrations of sodiumpentachlorophenate PCP (0, 50 and 500 mg PCP kg(-1) of dry soil). Abundance of microbes, enchytraeids, nematodes, small oribatids and predatory mites were reduced by the PCP. Direct toxicity of PCP and lowered microbial biomass seemed to affect animal community composition in the most contaminated patches. Some large oribatids which seemed to be tolerant to PCP increased their numbers in the most contaminated patches. Although predatory mites suffered from PCP, no altered predator-prey interactions were observed. At the beginning of the experiment more nutrients were released in the patches with highest PCP concentration and the nutrients accumulated in the soil. Soil decomposer food webs seemed to be mainly bottom-up controlled: PCP strongly affects microbes and hence caused changes in the community structure of soil animals and nutrient cycling. Hence top-down orientated ecological models on community regulation and food web dynamics seem to be unsuitable when assessing effects of pesticides on soil communities.     

The 1999 Fresno Particulate Matter Exposure Studies: Comparison of Community,Outdoor, and Residential PM Mass Measurements

ABSTRACT

Two collaborative studies have been conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory to determine personal exposures and physiological responses to par-ticulate matter (PM) of elderly persons living in a retirement facility in Fresno, CA. Measurements of PM and other criteria air pollutants were made inside selected individual residences within the retirement facility and at a central outdoor site on the premises. In addition, personal PM exposure monitoring was conducted for a subset of the participants, and ambient PM monitoring data were available for comparison from the NERL PM research monitoring platform in central Fresno. Both a winter (February 1-28, 1999) and a spring (April 19-May 16, 1999) study were completed so that seasonal effects could be     

Long-term simulations of photo oxidant pollution over Portugal using the CHIMERE model

This work examines the performance of the CHIMERE photochemical model in simulating ozone and nitrogen dioxide in Portugal over a long-term summer period. The analysis focuses on comparisons against the available measurements during the 2001 summer season. The meteorological forcing of the model is given by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and the emission inventory used was obtained with a top-down methodology updated for the simulation year.Despite the coarse resolution of the meteorological data, the complex topography and coastal location of Portugal, the results obtained show that the modelling system is able to reproduce the nitrogen dioxide and ozone episodes that occurred during the simulated summer period. Mean error and correlation improve when considering the sum of photo oxidant instead of individual pollutants, indicating that a significant part of the model error is due to either the lack of representativeness of monitoring stations or to inaccuracies in the emission inventory.     

Heavy metal contamination in bats in Britain

Toxic metals are bioaccumulated by insectivorous mammals but few studies (none from Britain) have quantified residues in bats. We measured renal mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) concentrations in bats from south-west England to determine how they varied with species, sex, age, and over time, and if they were likely to cause adverse effects. Residues were generally highest in whiskered bats (Myotis mystacinus). Compared with other species, pipistrelle (Pipistrellus spp) and Natterer's bats (Myotis nattereri) had significantly lower kidney Hg and Pb concentrations, respectively. Renal Hg increased over time in pipistrelles but the contributory sources are unknown. Kidney Pb did not decrease over time despite concurrent declines in atmospheric Pb. Overall, median renal metal concentrations were similar to those in bats from mainland Europe and 6- to 10-fold below those associated with clinical effect, although 5% of pipistrelles had kidney Pb residues diagnostic of acute lead poisoning.     

Relevance of Hydro-Climatic Change Projection and Monitoring for Assessment of Water Cycle Changes in the Arctic

Rapid changes to the Arctic hydrological cycle challenge both our process understanding and our ability to find appropriate adaptation strategies. We have investigated the relevance and accuracy development of climate change projections for assessment of water cycle changes in major Arctic drainage basins. Results show relatively good agreement of climate model projections with observed temperature changes, but high model inaccuracy relative to available observation data for precipitation changes. Direct observations further show systematically larger (smaller) runoff than precipitation increases (decreases). This result is partly attributable to uncertainties and systematic bias in precipitation observations, but still indicates that some of the observed increase in Arctic river runoff is due to water storage changes, for example melting permafrost and/or groundwater storage changes, within the drainage basins. Such causes of runoff change affect sea level, in addition to ocean salinity, and inland water resources, ecosystems, and infrastructure. Process-based hydrological modeling and observations, which can resolve changes in evapotranspiration, and groundwater and permafrost storage at and below river basin scales, are needed in order to accurately interpret and translate climate-driven precipitation changes to changes in freshwater cycling and runoff. In contrast to this need, our results show that the density of Arctic runoff monitoring has become increasingly biased and less relevant by decreasing most and being lowest in river basins with the largest expected climatic changes.