Fast,cheap, and imperfect? US public opinion about solar geoengineering

ABSTRACT

Solar geoengineering, which seeks to cool the planet by reflecting a small fraction of sunlight back into space, has drawn the attention of scientists and policymakers as climate change remains unabated. Unlike mitigation, solar geoengineering could quickly and cheaply lower global temperatures. It is also imperfect. Its environmental impacts remain unpredictable, and its low cost and immediate effects may result in ‘moral hazard,’ potentially crowding out costly mitigation efforts. There is little understanding about how the public will respond to such tradeoffs. To address this, a 1000-subject nationally representative poll focused on solar geoengineering was conducted as part of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) of the US electorate in October–November 2016. The importance that individuals place on solar geoengineering’s speed and cost predicts their support for it, but there is little to no relationship between their concerns about its shortcomings and support for its research and use. Acquiescence bias appears to be an important factor for attitudes around solar geoengineering and moral hazard.     

Analysis of the Trend and Seasonal Cycle of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in an Urban Area (4 pp)

Background, Aim and Scope Air quality is an field of major concern in large cities. This problem has led administrations to introduce plans and regulations to reduce pollutant emissions. The analysis of variations in the concentration of pollutants is useful when evaluating the effectiveness of these plans. However, such an analysis cannot be undertaken using standard statistical techniques, due to the fact that concentrations of atmospheric pollutants often exhibit a lack of normality and are autocorrelated. On the other hand, if long-term trends of any pollutant’s emissions are to be detected, meteorological effects must be removed from the time series analysed, due to their strong masking effects. Materials and Methods The application of statistical methods to analyse temporal variations is illustrated using monthly carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed at an urban site. The sampling site is located at a street intersection in central Valencia (Spain) with a high traffic density. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It is a typical Mediterranean city in terms of its urban structure and climatology. The sampling site started operation in January 1994 and monitored CO ground level concentrations until February 2002. Its geographic coordinates are W0°22′52″ N39°28′05″ and its altitude is 11 m. Two nonparametric trend tests are applied. One of these is robust against serial correlation with regards to the false rejection rate, when observations have a strong persistence or when the sample size per month is small. A nonparametric analysis of the homogeneity of trends between seasons is also discussed. A multiple linear regression model is used with the transformed data, including the effect of meteorological variables. The method of generalized least squares is applied to estimate the model parameters to take into account the serial dependence of the residuals of this model. This study also assesses temporal changes using the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter. The KZ filter has been shown to be an effective way to remove the influence of meteorological conditions on O₃ and PM to examine underlying trends. Results The nonparametric tests indicate a decreasing, significant trend in the sampled site. The application of the linear model yields a significant decrease every twelve months of 15.8% for the average monthly CO concentration. The 95% confidence interval for the trend ranges from 13.9% to 17.7%. The seasonal cycle also provides significant results. There are no differences in trends throughout the months. The percentage of CO variance explained by the linear model is 90.3%. The KZ filter separates out long, short-term and seasonal variations in the CO series. The estimated, significant, long-term trend every year results in 10.3% with this method. The 95% confidence interval ranges from 8.8% to 11.9%. This approach explains 89.9% of the CO temporal variations. Discussion The differences between the linear model and KZ filter trend estimations are due to the fact that the KZ filter performs the analysis on the smoothed data rather than the original data. In the KZ filter trend estimation, the effect of meteorological conditions has been removed. The CO short-term componentis attributable to weather and short-term fluctuations in emissions. There is a significant seasonal cycle. This component is a result of changes in the traffic, the yearly meteorological cycle and the interactions between these two factors. There are peaks during the autumn and winter months, which have more traffic density in the sampled site. There is a minimum during the month of August, reflecting the very low level of vehicle emissions which is a direct consequence of the holiday period. Conclusions The significant, decreasing trend implies to a certain extent that the urban environment in the area is improving. This trend results from changes in overall emissions, pollutant transport, climate, policy and economics. It is also due to the effect of introducing reformulated gasoline. The additives enable vehicles to burn fuel with a higher air/fuel ratio, thereby lowering the emission of CO. The KZ filter has been the most effective method to separate the CO series components and to obtain an estimate of the long-term trend due to changes in emissions, removing the effect of meteorological conditions. Recommendations and Perspectives Air quality managers and policy-makers must understand the link between climate and pollutants to select optimal pollutant reduction strategies and avoid exceeding emission directives. This paper analyses eight years of ambient CO data at a site with a high traffic density, and provides results that are useful for decision-making. The assessment of long-term changes in air pollutants to evaluate reduction strategies has to be done while taking into account meteorological variability     

Comparative Analysis of Ecophysiological Characteristics of Stephanodiscus hantzschii Grun. in the Periods of Its Bloom in Recreational Water Bodies

In the periods of summer and autumn bloom of the Stephanodiscus hantzschii Crun. in recreational water bodies, studies on the vertical distribution of chlorophyll a, its contents per unit biomass, efficiency in using photosynthetically active radiation (E_PhAR), and assimilative activity of microalgae were performed. The results confirmed the existence of two ecophysiological forms of St. hantzschii and provided evidence that both forms are typically autotrophic and can efficiently use low-intensity PhAR for photosynthesis.     

北京核与辐射恐怖事件风险分析

采用风险分类-要素分析-风险排序的思路,对北京市核与辐射恐怖事件风险进行分析。根据国际上1998—2006年该类恐怖事件的实例,从事件所涉及的材料、场所角度将核与辐射恐怖事件分为6大类。结合北京市的实际情况进行涉核恐怖事件的要素分析,将北京市各类场所划分为4类敏感区并与5类涉核恐怖事件结合起来,得到北京市核与辐射恐怖事件风险构成图。通过风险分析,笔者认为北京市发生核与辐射恐怖事件风险最大的场所为核研究机构,最容易发生的核与辐射恐怖事件类型为涉及放射源的恐怖事件,结合分析结果对从阻止、探测、响应3个层次上提出了奥运核安保工作的反核恐工作建议。     

基于遥感尾气监测的柴油车气态污染物排放因子计算方法研究

采用遥感尾气测试系统实测了柴油车在实际道路工况下的CO、HC和NO排放特征,修正了排放因子的计算方法,并与车载排放测试系统（PEMS）实测结果进行了验证,获得了实测车辆的CO、HC和NO排放因子.测试结果显示,在各种遥感监测的工况下柴油车尾气中均含有较高浓度的氧气,未考虑氧气影响的燃烧方程反演获得的各污染物体积浓度计算值与PEMS实测值的偏差较大,且氧气浓度越大,偏差越大.经过氧气修正的燃烧方程反演计算的尾气浓度与PEMS实测值吻合度大幅提升,适用于实际工况下遥感检测车辆尾气的反演计算.修正算法得到CO、HC和NO的排放因子离散性较小,精确度较高,可以为量化柴油车尾气排放贡献提供科学依据.     

滆湖水华初期浮游植物群落特征及与水环境因子相关性分析

为探究滆湖水华初期浮游植物群落特征及与水环境因子的相关性,于2018年5—7月在全湖布设22个点,调查研究滆湖水华初期浮游植物群落时空分布特征,并对引起水华主导环境因子进行分析.结果表明：①共获得7门119属,优势属为绿藻门的小球藻与球团藻、蓝藻门的鞘丝藻与微囊藻,其中湖心区域浮游植物丰度与多样性小,均匀性低,属于中偏重污染区域;湖北区以北属于中污染区域,蓝藻堆积严重;西部沿岸及南端区域属于中偏轻污染区域.②冗余分析得出,湖心藻类与水温（T）有强相关性,与叶绿素a（Chl-a）、溶解性总磷（DTP）、pH、溶解氧（DO）呈一定正相关性;湖北区以北藻类与底泥有机质（OM）、水体悬浮物（SS）、Chl-a及DTP呈强相关性,与T呈一定相关性.T与多项环境因子相关,均值从26.1℃上升到32.4℃;OM与有机磷（OP）呈高度相关性（p<0.05,r=0.892）.水华发生的主导环境因子为T、DTP与pH,底泥OM及OP有一定影响.     

Development of a static test apparatus for evaluating the performance of three PM2.5 separators commonly used in China

PM_(2.5) separator directly affects the accuracy of PM_(2.5) sampling.The specification testing and evaluation for PM_(2.5) separator is particularly important,especially under China's wide variation of terrain and climate.In this study,first a static test apparatus based on polydisperse aerosol was established and calibrated to evaluate the performance of the PM_(2.5) separators.A uniform mixing chamber was developed to make particles mix completely.The aerosol concentration relative standard deviations of three test points at the same horizontal chamber position were less than 0.57%,and the particle size distribution obeyed logarithmic normal distribution with an R~2 of 0.996.The flow rate deviation between the measurement and the set point flow rate agreed to within ± 1.0% in the range of -40 to 50℃.Secondly,the separation,flow and loading characteristics of three cyclone separators(VSCC-A,SCC-A and SCC112) were evaluated using this system.The results showed that the 50% cutoff sizes(D_(50)) of the three cyclones were 2.48,2.47 and 2.44 μm when worked at the manufacturer's recommended flow rates,respectively.The geometric standard deviation(GSD) of the capture efficiency of VSCCA was 1.23,showed a slightly sharper than SCC-A(GSD = 1.27),while the SCC112 did not meet the relevant indicator(GSD = 1.2 ± 0.1) with a GSD = 1.44.The flow rate and loading test had a great effect on D_(50),while the GSD remained almost the same as before.In addition,the maintenance frequency under different air pollution conditions of the cyclones was summarized according to the loading test.     

基于野外原位抽注试验和同位素技术的含水层反硝化速率研究

反硝化作用是地下水硝酸盐污染去除最重要的过程.由于水文地质条件和水文地球化学环境的复杂性和不确定性,精准测定含水层反硝化速率是反硝化过程的研究难点.选取潮白河冲洪积扇中部中国环境科学研究院地下水创新野外基地作为研究区,基于野外原位试验和15N同位素示踪法提出一种含水层反硝化速率的测定方法.该方法综合体现了研究区实际水文地质条件和水文地球化学环境对反硝化作用的影响,并充分考虑了硝酸盐在含水层中稀释弥散作用对计算结果的影响.结果表明:①潮白河冲洪积扇中部某地地下26~28 m处于还原环境,含水介质以粉细砂为主,ρ（NO₃-N）平均值为2.77 mg/L.②地下26~28 m反硝化速率在349.52~562.99 μg/（kg·d）（以N计,下同）之间,平均值为450.31 μg/（kg·d）.通过与研究区含水介质、采样深度和硝酸盐背景值相似的国内外案例对比研究,初步评估结果处于合理区间.③测试结果具有一定不确定性,主要来自忽略中间产物NO₂-和NO的计算方法、扰动采样方法、N₂O的操作规范程度及采样频率等方面.研究方法为测定含水层硝酸盐速率研究提供了新的思路,研究结果可为地下水中硝酸盐转化过程机理研究、地下水硝酸盐污染修复及风险管控提供关键的理论支撑数据.      

弹射起飞和拦阻着陆冲击试验方法探讨

目的研究舰载机机载装备弹射起飞和拦阻着陆冲击试验的工程实现方法。方法从GJB 150.18A—2009、MIL-STD-810F/G及其提供的实测数据出发,分析弹射起飞和拦阻着陆冲击载荷特征,对几种常用试验方法的工程实现进行探讨和比较。结果弹射起飞和拦阻着陆冲击具有瞬态、交变、低频、大位移、高速度等特征。阻尼正弦波方法的实施路径比较明确,复杂波形再现方法实施路径比较模糊且复杂,超长脉冲半正弦波方法具有多种局限性,前两种方法的速度、位移都较大。结论阻尼正弦波方法较复杂波形再现方法更容易实现,但两者都需要大位移、高速度的专用冲击试验设备和适当的波形处理技术,超长脉冲半正弦波方法在前面两种标准推荐方法能够实现时,不建议使用。