Surface ozone-temperature relationships in the eastern US: A monthly climatology for evaluating chemistry-climate models

We use long-term, coincident O₃ and temperature measurements at the regionally representative US Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) over the eastern US from 1988 through 2009 to characterize the surface O₃ response to year-to-year fluctuations in weather, for the purpose of evaluating global chemistry-climate models. We first produce a monthly climatology for each site over all available years, defined as the slope of the best-fit line (m_O3-T) between monthly average values of maximum daily 8-hour average (MDA8) O₃ and monthly average values of daily maximum surface temperature (T_max). Applying two distinct statistical approaches to aggregate the site-specific measurements to the regional scale, we find that summer time m_O3-T is 3–6 ppb K^?1 (r = 0.5–0.8) over the Northeast, 3–4 ppb K^?1 (r = 0.5–0.9) over the Great Lakes, and 3–6 ppb K^?1 (r = 0.2–0.8) over the Mid-Atlantic. The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Atmospheric Model version 3 (AM3) global chemistry-climate model generally captures the seasonal variations in correlation coefficients and m_O3-T despite biases in both monthly mean summertime MDA8 O₃ (up to +10 to +30 ppb) and daily T_max (up to +5 K) over the eastern US. During summer, GFDL AM3 reproduces m_O3-T over the Northeast (m_O3-T = 2–6 ppb K^?1; r = 0.6–0.9), but underestimates m_O3-T by 4 ppb K^?1 over the Mid-Atlantic, in part due to excessively warm temperatures above which O₃ production saturates in the model. Combining T_max biases in GFDL AM3 with an observation-based m_O3-T estimate of 3 ppb K^?1implies that temperature biases could explain up to 5–15 ppb of the MDA8 O₃ bias in August and September though correcting for excessively cool temperatures would worsen the O₃ bias in June. We underscore the need for long-term, coincident measurements of air pollution and meteorological variables to develop process-level constraints for evaluating chemistry-climate models used to project air quality responses to climate change.     

Landscape-level influences of terrestrial snake occupancy within the southeastern United States

Habitat loss and degradation are thought to be the primary drivers of species extirpations, but for many species we have little information regarding specific habitats that influence occupancy. Snakes are of conservation concern throughout North America, but effective management and conservation are hindered by a lack of basic natural history information and the small number of large-scale studies designed to assess general population trends. To address this information gap, we compiled detection/nondetection data for 13 large terrestrial species from 449 traps located across the southeastern United States, and we characterized the land cover surrounding each trap at multiple spatial scales (250-, 500-, and 1000-m buffers). We used occupancy modeling, while accounting for heterogeneity in detection probability, to identify habitat variables that were influential in determining the presence of a particular species. We evaluated 12 competing models for each species, representing various hypotheses pertaining to important habitat features for terrestrial snakes. Overall, considerable interspecific variation existed in important habitat variables and relevant spatial scales. For example, kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula) were negatively associated with evergreen forests, whereas Louisiana pinesnake (Pituophis ruthveni) occupancy increased with increasing coverage of this forest type. Some species were positively associated with grassland and scrub/shrub (e.g., Slowinski's cornsnake, Elaphe slowinskii) whereas others, (e.g., copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix, and eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake, Crotalus adamanteus) were positively associated with forested habitats. Although the species that we studied may persist in varied landscapes other than those we identified as important, our data were collected in relatively undeveloped areas. Thus, our findings may be relevant when generating conservation plans or restoration goals. Maintaining or restoring landscapes that are most consistent with the ancestral habitat preferences of terrestrial snake assemblages will require a diverse habitat matrix over large spatial scales.     

Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in the eastern part of Denmark in 2015 and 2016: Abuse patterns and trends

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of psychoactive drugs and alcohol in drivers under suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in 2015 and 2016 in the eastern part of Denmark. The trends in the number of traffic cases sent for drug analysis since 2000 and alcohol analysis since 2011 are also discussed.

Methods: Blood samples from drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and/or medication and/or illicit drugs in 2015 and 2016 were investigated as requested by the police. The blood samples were screened for alcohol and/or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alone, for other drugs (covering all drugs, except THC, listed in the Danish list of narcotic drugs), or for THC and other drugs. Age and gender were also recorded. The number of drug traffic cases since 2000 and the number of alcohol cases since 2011 were extracted from our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

Results: In total, 11,493 traffic cases were investigated. Alcohol and/or drugs exceeded the legal limit in 9,657 (84%) cases. Men constituted 95% of the drivers investigated for drugs and 88% of the alcohol cases. The drivers investigated for drugs consisted primarily of young men, whereas drivers investigated for alcohol were older.

The frequency was higher for positive alcohol cases above the legal limit (87%) than for drug cases (76%) above the fixed concentration limit. THC (67–69%) was the most frequently detected drug above the legal limit, followed by cocaine (27–28.5%), amphetamine (17%), and clonazepam (6–7%) in both years. Morphine (5.4%), included among the 5 most frequent drugs in 2015, was replaced by methadone (4.6%) in 2016. Few new psychoactive drugs (NPS) were detected.

The number of traffic cases sent for drug analysis has increased more than 30-fold since 2000–2006, and the number of traffic cases submitted in 2016 for drug analysis was higher than the number for alcohol analysis; the latter has decreased since 2011.

Conclusion: Overall, alcohol was the most frequent compound detected above the legal limit in both years, followed by the well-known illicit drugs THC, cocaine, and amphetamine. NPS were seldom seen. One consequence of the increased focus on drugs in traffic has been an immense increase in drug traffic cases sent for analysis since 2006 in the eastern part of Denmark. Although this survey revealed only minimal changes compared to earlier investigations, surveys like this are invaluable for monitoring abuse patterns and trends in drugged and drunken driving.     

Field demonstration of visible opacity photographic systems

The Digital Opacity Compliance System (DOCS) is an innovative method that uses digital imaging technology to quantify visible opacity of stationary sources. DOCS, which has been demonstrated at pilot and full scale as a technically defensible and economically attractive alternative to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Reference Method 9 (Method 9), uses commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) digital cameras in combination with a user-friendly computer software package to determine opacity. To date, all DOCS field testing has been conducted using two models of digital cameras, notably, Kodak Models DC265 and DC290, both of which are no longer commercially available. To ensure that field-validated digital cameras will be available to future DOCS users, a suite of new digital cameras was evaluated with the opacity determination software including the following: (1) Sony Model Cybershot Model DSC-WI, (2) Nikon Model Coolpix 5200, (3) Fuji Finepix Model E500, and (4) Kodak Model DX6490. Within the opacity range of regulatory interest, that is, 0-40%, the Sony Cybershot Model DSC-WI and Nikon Coolpix Model 5200 digital cameras were found to generate plume photographs of which the DOCS opacity analysis yielded results that were statistically equivalent to the previously field-validated Kodak Model DC290. In contrast, the Fuji Finepix Model E500 generated plume photographs of which the DOCS opacity analysis were, on average, 2.2% less than those generated by the Kodak Model DC290 photographs, a difference that was determined to be statistically significant. Over the same opacity range, photographs taken by the Kodak Model DX6490 yielded DOCS opacity readings that were found to be statistically equivalent to a Method 9-certified transmissometer. Based on the results from the current digital camera validation testing approach, EPA has developed a new camera-based visible opacity measurement method titled "Determination of Visible Emission Opacity from Stationary Sources Using Computer-Based Photographic Analysis Systems." The proposed method is expected to be promulgated after closure of the public comment period.     

A source classification framework supporting pollutant source mapping,pollutant release prediction,transport and load forecasting,and source control planning for urban environments

Purpose

Implementation of current European environmental legislation such as the Water Framework Directive requires access to comprehensive, well-structured pollutant source and release inventories. The aim of this work was to develop a Source Classification Framework (SCF) ideally suited for this purpose.

Methods

Existing source classification systems were examined by a multidisciplinary research team, and an optimised SCF was developed. The performance and usability of the SCF were tested using a selection of 25 chemicals listed as priority pollutants in Europe.

Results

The SCF is structured in the form of a relational database and incorporates both qualitative and quantitative source classification and release data. The system supports a wide range of pollution monitoring and management applications. The SCF functioned well in the performance test, which also revealed important gaps in priority pollutant release data.

Conclusions

The SCF provides a well-structured approach for European pollutant source and release classification and management. With further optimisation and demonstration testing, the SCF has the potential to be fully implemented throughout Europe.

     

On uncertainty and sensitivity of LCA-based priority setting

Life-cycle assessments are normally made without quantitative estimations of their uncertainty. More interest has been focused on sensitivity analysis. In ISO 14040, LCA standard and SETAC's ‘code of practice’ sensitivity and uncertainty analysis are recommended or even requested. In the EPS system, an analysis of significance and sensitivity has been carried out for several years. The article describes this procedure in ISO terms and generalises it for other types of life-cycle assessments.     

Air quality measurements for the aerosol research and inhalation epidemiology study

Measurements of pollutant gases, airborne particulate matter mass and composition, and meteorology have been made at a core site near downtown Atlanta, GA, since August 1998 in support of the Aerosol Research and Inhalation Epidemiology Study (ARIES). This site is one of eight in the Southeastern Aerosol Research and Characterization network. The measurement objective is to provide a long-term, multivariate dataset suitable for investigating statistical associations of respiratory and cardiovascular disease with airborne particulate matter composition, meteorology, and copollutant gases through epidemiologic modeling. Measurements are expected to continue through 2010. Ancillary multiyear measurements at additional sites in the Atlanta metropolitan area and in short-term exposure assessments have been used to estimate the exposure/measurement error associated with using data from a central site to approximate human exposures for the entire area. To date, 13-, 25-, and 53-month air quality datasets have been used in epidemiologic analyses.     

Validation of the digital opacity compliance system under regulatory enforcement conditions

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Emission Measurement Center in conjunction with EPA Regions VI and VIII, the state of Utah, and the U.S. Department of Defense have conducted a series of long-term pilot and field tests to determine the accuracy and reliability of a visible opacity monitoring system consisting of a conventional digital camera and a separate computer software application for plume opacity determination. This technology, known as the Digital Opacity Compliance System (DOCS), has been successfully demonstrated at EPA-sponsored Method-9 "smoke schools", as well as at a number of government and commercially operated industrial facilities. Results from the current DOCS regulatory pilot study demonstrated that, under regulatory enforcement conditions, the average difference in opacity measurement between the DOCS technology and EPA Reference Method 9 (Method 9) was 1.12%. This opacity difference, which was computed from the evaluation of 241 regulated air sources, was found to be statistically significant at the 99% confidence level. In evaluating only those sources for which a nonzero visible opacity level was recorded, the     

Urban meteorological modelling for nuclear emergency preparedness

The main objectives of the current EU project “Integrated Systems for Forecasting Urban Meteorology, Air Pollution and Population Exposure” (FUMAPEX) are the improvement of meteorological forecasts for urban areas, the connection of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to urban air pollution and population dose models, the building of improved urban air quality information and forecasting systems, and their application in cities in various European climates. In addition to the forecast of the worst air-pollution episodes in large cities, the potential use of improved weather forecasts for nuclear emergency management in urban areas, in case of hazardous releases from nuclear accidents or terror acts, is considered. Such use of NWP data is tested for the Copenhagen metropolitan area and the Øresund region.The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) is running an experimental version of the HIRLAM NWP model over Zealand including the Copenhagen metropolitan area with a horizontal resolution of 1.4 km, thus approaching the city-scale. This involves 1-km resolution physiographic data with implications for the urban surface parameters, e.g. surface fluxes, roughness length and albedo. For the city of Copenhagen, the enhanced high-resolution NWP forecasting will be provided to demonstrate the improved dispersion forecasting capabilities of the Danish nuclear emergency preparedness decision–support system, the Accident Reporting and Guidance Operational System (ARGOS), used by the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA).Recently, ARGOS has been extended with a capability of real-time calculation of regional-scale atmospheric dispersion of radioactive material from accidental releases. This is effectuated through on-line interfacing with the Danish Emergency Response Model of the Atmosphere (DERMA), which is run at DMI. For local-scale modelling of atmospheric dispersion, ARGOS utilises the Local-Scale Model Chain (LSMC), which makes use of high-resolution DMI-HIRLAM NWP model data provided to DEMA by DMI four times a day under operational surveillance and covering Denmark and surroundings. The integration of DERMA in ARGOS is effectuated through automated on-line digital communication and exchange of data. The calculations are carried out in parallel for each NWP model to which DMI has access, thereby providing a mini-ensemble of dispersion forecasts for the emergency management.