The relationship between seasonal variations of total-nitrogen and total-phosphorus in rainfall and air mass advection paths in Matsue,Japan

We collected rainwater samples from every rainfall in Matsue, Japan in order to study variations of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations over time. The seasonal average concentration by magnitude order of Total Nitrogen (here after T-N) was highest in winter, then in spring, fall, and summer and that of Total Phosphorus (here after T-P) was highest in spring, then in winter, fall, and summer. These seasonal variations were examined in relation to the transportation paths of arrived air masses by using a backward trajectory and rainfall patterns from a surface synoptic weather chart. In winter, continental air masses frequently flow from China or Siberia and the resultant winter rainfall is on many occasions of a continental type. In summer, maritime air masses frequently arrive from the Pacific Ocean and this resultant rainfall therefore was often of maritime type. Looking at average concentrations of T-N and T-P for each rainfall type, continental types were high range and maritime types were low. It was therefore concluded that the monthly average concentration of T-N was affected by continental air masses from northern China in winter and by maritime ones from the Pacific Ocean in summer. The maximum deposition of T-N was caused by this concentration in winter and rainfall depth in summer. Seasonal variation of T-P showed a different fluctuation tendency from T-N, with a maximum concentration in spring, and minimum in summer and fall. T-P was susceptible to the yellow sand phenomenon which maximised T-P deposition in spring.     

A relationship between Black Smoke Index and Black Carbon concentration

The physical principles of the Black Smoke method for measuring airborne particulate matter are very similar to those of the optical transmission method for Black Carbon, known as aethalometry. A simple quadratic relationship between the two methods can be derived, which could be useful in the interpretation of historical Black Smoke data for human health and climate change studies. Data supporting the relationship from a London kerbside site are presented.     

污泥的粘度与浓度、温度三者关系式的实验推导

通过融合污泥粘度与污泥浓度关系式、污泥粘度与温度关系式，得到一个新的关系式：污泥粘度与污泥浓度、温度的关系式，并通过实验数据拟合出各项参数，拟合效果比较理想。得出的污泥粘度与污泥浓度、温度的关系式对了解污泥的粘度变化非常有帮助，同时，该关系式也将为污泥处理、处置方案的制定提供参考依据。     

The relationships between air pollutants, meteorological parameters and concentration of airborne fungal spores

Fungal spores are an important component of bioaerosol and also considered to act as indicator of the level of atmospheric bio-pollution. Therefore, better understanding of these phenomena demands a detailed survey of airborne particles.The objective of this study was to examine the dependence of two the most important allergenic taxa of airborne fungi - Alternaria and Cladosporium - on meteorological parameters and air pollutant concentrations during three consecutive years (2006-2008). This study is also an attempt to create artificial neural network (ANN) forecasting models useful in the prediction of aeroallergen abundance.There were statistically significant relationships between spore concentration and environmental parameters as well as pollutants, confirmed by the Spearman’s correlation rank analysis and high performance of the ANN models obtained. The concentrations of Cladosporium and Alternaria spores can be predicted with quite good accuracy from meteorological conditions and air pollution recorded three days earlier.     

State-space modeling of the relationship between air quality and mortality

A portion of a population is assumed to be at risk, with the mortality hazard varying with atmospheric conditions including total suspended particulates (TSP). This at-risk population is not observed and the hazard function is unknown; we wish to estimate these from mortality count and atmospheric variables. Consideration of population dynamics leads to a state-space representation, allowing the Kalman Filter (KF) to be used for estimation. A harvesting effect is thus implied; high mortality is followed by lower mortality until the population is replenished by new arrivals. The model is applied to daily data for Philadelphia, PA, 1973-1990. The estimated hazard function rises with the level of TSP and at extremes of temperature and also reflects a positive interaction between TSP and temperature. The estimated at-risk population averages about 480 and varies seasonally. We find that lags of TSP are statistically significant, but the presence of negative coefficients suggests their role may be partially statistical rather than biological. In the population dynamics framework, the natural metric for health damage from air pollution is its impact on life expectancy. The range of hazard rates over the sample period is 0.07 to 0.085, corresponding to life expectancies of 14.3 and 11.8 days, respectively.     

Trends in air concentration and deposition of mercury in the coastal environment of the North Sea Area

An evaluation of mercury observations from North Sea coastal stations during 1995–2002 has been performed. The mercury data originate from EMEP/OSPAR stations in Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden where mercury in precipitation and Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) have been measured. A decreasing trend in mercury wet deposition is observed. The decrease is sufficiently large to be significant considering measurement precision and appears to occur at all the studied sites. The reduction in deposition is 10–30% when comparing the two periods 1995–1998 and 1999–2002. The trend is likely to be due to emission controls in Europe. In contrast, no decreasing trend in TGM could be observed during the same time periods. A plausible explanation is that the TGM concentration measured in the OSPAR area to a larger extent than before is dominated by the hemispherical background concentration of TGM.     

The relationship between air pollution,fossil fuel energy consumption,and water resources in the panel of selected Asia-Pacific countries

The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between air pollution, fossil fuel energy consumption, water resources, and natural resource rents in the panel of selected Asia-Pacific countries, over a period of 1975–2012. The study includes number of variables in the model for robust analysis. The results of cross-sectional analysis show that there is a significant relationship between air pollution, energy consumption, and water productivity in the individual countries of Asia-Pacific. However, the results of each country vary according to the time invariant shocks. For this purpose, the study employed the panel least square technique which includes the panel least square regression, panel fixed effect regression, and panel two-stage least square regression. In general, all the panel tests indicate that there is a significant and positive relationship between air pollution, energy consumption, and water resources in the region. The fossil fuel energy consumption has a major dominating impact on the changes in the air pollution in the region.     

Lichens as an integrating tool for monitoring PAH atmospheric deposition: A comparison with soil, air and pine needles

The aim of this study was to validate lichens as biomonitors of PAH atmospheric deposition; for that, an inter-comparison between the PAH profile and concentrations intercepted in lichens with those of air, soil and pine needles was performed. The study was conducted in a petro-industrial area and the results showed that PAH profiles in lichens were similar to those of the air and pine needles, but completely different from those of soils. Lichens accumulated higher PAH concentrations when compared to the other environmental compartments and its concentrations were significantly and linearly correlated with concentrations of PAHs in soil; we showed that a translation of the lichen PAHs concentrations into regulatory standards is possible, fulfilling one of the most important requirements of using lichens as biomonitors. With lichens we were then able to characterize the air PAHs profile of urban, petro-industrial and background areas.     

The human sex odds at birth after the atmospheric atomic bomb tests,after Chernobyl,and in the vicinity of nuclear facilities

Background, aim, and scope  

Ever since the discovery of the mutagenic properties of ionizing radiation, the possibility of birth sex odds shifts in exposed human populations was considered in the scientific community. Positive evidence, however weak, was obtained after the atomic bombing of Japan. We previously investigated trends in the sex odds before and after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. In a pilot study, combined data from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Sweden between 1982 and 1992 showed a downward trend in the sex odds and a significant jump in 1987, the year immediately after Chernobyl. Moreover, a significant positive association of the sex odds between 1986 and 1991 with Chernobyl fallout at the district level in Germany was observed. Both of these findings, temporality (effect after exposure) and dose response association, yield evidence of causality. The primary aim of this study was to investigate longer time periods (1950–2007) in all of Europe and in the USA with emphasis on the global atmospheric atomic bomb test fallout and on the Chernobyl accident. To obtain further evidence, we also analyze sex odds data near nuclear facilities in Germany and Switzerland.     

Interaction between air pollution and meteorologicalparameters in Erzurum, Turkey

In recent years, the rapid increase in population density has caused increases in the consumption of fuel, and the outdoor air quality has deteriorated in the crowded urban areas of Turkey. Erzurum, a city in the eastern part of Turkey, is influenced by air pollutants such as SO₂ and suspended particles. It is known that, in general, the air pollution concentrations have a close relationship with meteorological factors. In this study, the relationship between outdoor air quality data and meteorological factors, such as wind speed, rainfall, temperature, sunshine hours and relative humidity, is statistically analysed, using the code SPSS. According to the results obtained through multiple linear regression analysis, there are moderate levels of correlation between SO₂ and particle concentrations and meteorological factors in Erzurum.     

The human sex odds at birth after the atmospheric atomic bomb tests,after Chernobyl,and in the vicinity of nuclear facilities: comment

The recent claim made in this journal that nuclear bomb tests and the Chernobyl disaster caused distortions in the secondary sex ratio is shown to be a likely artifact of data mining, misused statistics, and misreading of the evidence. In particular, the concept of statistical “significance” and its limitations do not seem to be fully understood, and important confounding factors have not been accounted for.     

A study of the association between daily mortality and ambient air pollutant concentrations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

We have studied the possible association of daily mortality with ambient pollutant concentrations (PM10, CO, O3, SO2, NO2, and fine [PM2.5] and coarse PM) and weather variables (temperature and dew point) in the Pittsburgh, PA, area for two age groups--less than 75, and 75 and over--for the 3-year period of 1989-1991. Correlation functions among pollutant concentrations show important seasonal dependence, and this fact necessitates the use of seasonal models to better identify the link between ambient pollutant concentrations and daily mortality. An analysis of the seasonal model results for the younger-age group reveals significant multicollinearity problems among the highly correlated concentrations of PM10, CO, and NO2 (and O3 in spring and summer), and calls into question the rather consistent results of the single- and multi-pollutant non-seasonal models that show a significant positive association between PM10 and daily mortality. For the older-age group, dew point consistently shows a significant association with daily mortality in all models. Collinearity problems appear in the multi-pollutant seasonal and non-seasonal models such that a significant, positive PM10 coefficient is accompanied by a significant, negative coefficient of another ambient pollutant, and the identity of this other pollutant changes with season. The PM2.5 data set is half that of PM10. Identical-model runs for both data sets reveal instability in the pollutant coefficients, especially for the younger age group. The concern for the instability of the pollutant coefficients due to a small signal-to-noise ratio makes it impossible to ascertain credibly the relative associations of the fine- and coarse-particle modes with daily mortality. In this connection, we call for caution in the interpretation of model results for causal inference when the models use fully or partially estimated PM values to fill large data gaps.     

Reduced European emissions of S and N--effects on air concentrations, deposition and soil water chemistry in Swedish forests

Changes in sulphur and nitrogen pollution in Swedish forests have been assessed in relation to European emission reductions, based on measurements in the Swedish Throughfall Monitoring Network. Measurements were analysed over 20 years with a focus on the 12-year period 1996 to 2008. Air concentrations of SO₂ and NO₂, have decreased. The SO₄-deposition has decreased in parallel with the European emission reductions. Soil water SO₄-concentrations have decreased at most sites but the pH, ANC and inorganic Al-concentrations indicated acidification recovery only at some of the sites. No changes in the bulk deposition of inorganic nitrogen could be demonstrated. Elevated NO₃-concentrations in the soil water occurred at irregular occasions at some southern sites. Despite considerable air pollution emission reductions in Europe, acidification recovery in Swedish forests soils is slow. Nitrogen deposition to Swedish forests continues at elevated levels that may lead to leaching of nitrate to surface waters.     

Spatial variability of arsenic concentration in soils and plants, and its relationship with iron, manganese and phosphorus

Spatial distribution of arsenic (As) concentrations of irrigation water, soil and plant (rice) in a shallow tube-well (STW) command area (8 ha), and their relationship with Fe, Mn and P were studied. Arsenic concentrations of water in the 110 m long irrigation channel clearly decreased with distance from the STW point, the range being 68-136 μg L⁻¹. Such decreasing trend was also noticed with Fe and P concentrations, but the trend for Mn concentrations was not remarkable. Concerning soil As, the concentration showed a decreasing tendency with distance from the pump. The NH₄-oxalate extractable As contributed 36% of total As and this amount of As was associated with poorly crystalline Fe-oxides. Furthermore only 22% of total As was phosphate extractable so that most of the As was tightly retained by soil constituents and was not readily exchangeable by phosphate. Soil As (both total and extractable As) was significantly and positively correlated with rice grain As (0.296 ± 0.063 μg g⁻¹, n = 56). Next to drinking water, rice could be a potential source of As exposure of the people living in the As affected areas of Bangladesh.     

Predictions of U.K. regulated power station contributions to regional air pollution and deposition: a model comparison exercise

Contributions of the emissions from a U.K. regulated fossil-fuel power station to regional air pollution and deposition are estimated using four air quality modeling systems for the year 2003. The modeling systems vary in complexity and emphasis in the way they treat atmospheric and chemical processes, and include the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system in its versions 4.6 and 4.7, a nested modeling system that combines long- and short-range impacts (referred to as TRACK-ADMS [Trajectory Model with Atmospheric Chemical Kinetics-Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System]), and the Fine Resolution Atmospheric Multi-pollutant Exchange (FRAME) model. An evaluation of the baseline calculations against U.K. monitoring network data is performed. The CMAQ modeling system version 4.6 data set is selected as the reference data set for the model footprint comparison. The annual mean air concentration and total deposition footprints are summarized for each modeling system. The footprints of the power station emissions can account for a significant fraction of the local impacts for some species (e.g., more than 50% for SO2 air concentration and non-sea-salt sulfur deposition close to the source) for 2003. The spatial correlation and the coefficient of variation of the root mean square error (CVRMSE) are calculated between each model footprint and that calculated by the CMAQ modeling system version 4.6. The correlation coefficient quantifies model agreement in terms of spatial patterns, and the CVRMSE measures the magnitude of the difference between model footprints. Possible reasons for the differences between model results are discussed. Finally, implications and recommendations for the regulatory assessment of the impact of major industrial sources using regional air quality modeling systems are discussed in the light of results from this case study.     

Evaluation of PCDD/F levels in ambient air and soils and estimation of deposition rates in Kocaeli, Turkey

PCDD/F analyses were made in soil and ambient air samples taken from Kocaeli, an industrialized area of Turkey. Results showed that the levels of PCDD/F pollution are comparable to the levels observed in the various urban areas in the world. PCDD/F concentrations in surface soils ranged between 0.4 and 4.27 pg I-TEQ kg(-1) with a geometric mean of 0.76 pg I-TEQ kg(-1), while those in ambient air were between 23 and 563 f gm(-3), with geometric mean of 82.0 f gm(-3). Ambient air PCDD/F concentration in the city center was about 10 times higher than those in the rural area. Combustion activities present in the area were assessed to be the most significant source of the PCDD/F pollution based on the congener and homologue profiles and statistical analysis of the data. The deposition rate modeling of USEPA was applied and the deposition rates were determined in the range between 7.6 and 66.3 ng I-TEQ m(-2)year(-1) with a geometric mean of 15.9 ng I-TEQ m(-2)year(-1). The rates were higher than the recommended deposition rates in relation to the tolerable daily intake (TDI) range of PCDD/Fs for humans. The deposition velocities computed were also found to be high in both low and highly chlorinated PCDD/Fs, and this was attributed to the vapor phase deposition of volatile PCDD/Fs, and the scavenging effect of the precipitation on the particle-bound PCDD/Fs.     

Relation between forest vegetation, atmospheric deposition and site conditions at regional and European scales

Several monitoring programs have been set up to assess effects of atmospheric deposition on forest ecosystems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate effects on the understorey vegetation, based on the first round of a regional (the Netherlands) and a European forest monitoring program. A multivariate statistical analysis showed surprisingly similar results for both data sets; the vegetation appeared to be largely determined by the ‘traditional’ factors soil, climate, and tree species, but there was a small but statistically significant effect of atmospheric deposition. The effects of deposition include a slight shift towards nitrophytic species at high N deposition in the European network, and towards acidophytic species at high S-deposition in the Dutch network. The relatively small effect of atmospheric deposition is understandable in view of the very large natural variation in environmental conditions. Time series of both vegetation and environment are needed to assess deposition effects in detail.     

Spatio-temporal characteristics of adaptability between crop water requirements for summer maize and rainfall in Henan Province,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - It is very important to master the rainfall utilization efficiency and spatial-temporal distribution characteristics in order to improve the...     

Association between particulate matter air pollution and cardiovascular disease mortality in Lanzhou,China

Ambient particulate matter (PM) pollution has been linked to elevated mortality, especially from cardiovascular diseases. However, evidence on the effects of particulate matter pollution on cardiovascular mortality is still limited in Lanzhou, China. This research aimed to examine the associations of daily mean concentrations of ambient air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM_C, and PM₁₀) and cardiovascular mortality due to overall and cause-specific diseases in Lanzhou. Data representing daily cardiovascular mortality rates, meteorological factors (daily average temperature, daily average humidity, and atmospheric pressure), and air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂) were collected from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, in Lanzhou. A quasi-Poisson regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was used to estimate the associations. Stratified analyses were also performed by different cause-specific diseases, including cerebrovascular disease (CD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), heart rhythm disturbances (HRD), and heart failure (HF). The results showed that elevated concentration of PM_2.5, PM_C, and PM₁₀ had different effects on mortality of different cardiovascular diseases. Only cerebrovascular disease showed a significant positive association with elevated PM_2.5. Positive associations were identified between PM_C and daily mortality rates from total cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and ischemic heart diseases. Besides, increased concentration of PM₁₀ was correlated with increased death of cerebrovascular diseases and ischemic heart diseases. For cerebrovascular disease, each 10 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 at lag4 was associated with increments of 1.22% (95% CI 0.11–2.35%). The largest significant effects for PM_C on cardiovascular diseases and ischemic heart diseases were both observed at lag0, and a 10 μg/m³ increment in concentration of PM_C was associated with 0.47% (95% CI 0.06–0.88%) and 0.85% (95% CI 0.18–1.52%) increases in cardiovascular mortality and ischemic heart diseases. In addition, it exhibited a lag effect on cerebrovascular mortality as well, which was most significant at lag6d, and an increase of 10 μg/m³ in PM_C was associated with a 0.76% (95% CI 0.16–1.37%) increase in cerebrovascular mortality. The estimates of percentage change in daily mortality rates per 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ were 0.52% (95% CI 0.05–1.02%) for cerebrovascular disease at lag6 and 0.53% (95% CI 0.01–1.05%) for ischemic heart disease at lag0, respectively. Our study suggests that elevated concentration of atmospheric PM (PM_2.5, PM_C, and PM₁₀) in Lanzhou is associated with increased mortality of cardiovascular diseases and that the health effect of elevated concentration of PM_2.5 is more significant than that of PM_C and PM₁₀.