Surface ozone background in the United States: Canadian and Mexican pollution influences

We use a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) with 1° × 1° horizontal resolution to quantify the effects of anthropogenic emissions from Canada, Mexico, and outside North America on daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations in US surface air. Simulations for summer 2001 indicate mean North American and US background concentrations of 26 ± 8 ppb and 30 ± 8 ppb, as obtained by eliminating anthropogenic emissions in North America vs. in the US only. The US background never exceeds 60 ppb in the model. The Canadian and Mexican pollution enhancement averages 3 ± 4 ppb in the US in summer but can be occasionally much higher in downwind regions of the northeast and southwest, peaking at 33 ppb in upstate New York (on a day with 75 ppb total ozone) and 18 ppb in southern California (on a day with 68 ppb total ozone). The model is successful in reproducing the observed variability of ozone in these regions, including the occurrence and magnitude of high-ozone episodes influenced by transboundary pollution. We find that exceedances of the 75 ppb US air quality standard in eastern Michigan, western New York, New Jersey, and southern California are often associated with Canadian and Mexican pollution enhancements in excess of 10 ppb. Sensitivity simulations with 2020 emission projections suggest that Canadian pollution influence in the Northeast US will become comparable in magnitude to that from domestic power plants.     

Ultrafine particles near a major roadway in Raleigh,North Carolina: Downwind attenuation and correlation with traffic-related pollutants

Ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter < 100 nm) and co-emitted pollutants from traffic are a potential health threat to nearby populations. During summertime in Raleigh, North Carolina, UFPs were simultaneously measured upwind and downwind of a major roadway using a spatial matrix of five portable industrial hygiene samplers (measuring total counts of 20–1000 nm particles). While the upper sampling range of the portable samplers extends past the defined “ultrafine” upper limit (100 nm), the 20–1000 nm number counts had high correlation (Pearson R = 0.7–0.9) with UFPs (10–70 nm) measured by a co-located research-grade analyzer and thus appear to be driven by the ultrafine range. Highest UFP concentrations were observed during weekday morning work commutes, with levels at 20 m downwind from the road nearly fivefold higher than at an upwind station. A strong downwind spatial gradient was observed, linearly approximated over the first 100 m as an 8% drop in UFP counts per 10 m distance. This result agreed well with UFP spatial gradients estimated from past studies (ranging 5–12% drop per 10 m). Linear regression of other vehicle-related air pollutants measured in near real-time (10-min averages) against UFPs yielded moderate to high correlation with benzene (R² = 0.76), toluene (R² = 0.49), carbon monoxide (R² = 0.74), nitric oxide (R² = 0.80), and black carbon (R² = 0.65). Overall, these results support the notion that near-road levels of UFPs are heavily influenced by traffic emissions and correlate with other vehicle-produced pollutants, including certain air toxics.     

A validated 2-D diffusion–advection model for prediction of drift from ground boom sprayers

Correct field drift prediction is a key element in environmental risk assessment of spraying applications. A reduced order drift prediction model based on the diffusion–advection equation is presented. It allows fast assessment of the drift potential of specific ground boom applications under specific environmental wind conditions that obey the logarithmic wind profile. The model was calibrated based on simulations with a validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Validation of both models against 38 carefully conducted field experiments is successfully performed for distances up to 20 m from the field edge, for spraying on flat pasture land. The reduced order model succeeded in correct drift predictions for different nozzle types, wind velocities, boom heights and spray pressures. It used 4 parameters representing the physical aspects of the drift cloud; the height of the cloud at the field edge, the mass flux crossing the field edge, the settling velocity of the droplets and the turbulence. For the parameter set and range considered, it is demonstrated for the first time that the effect of the droplet diameter distribution of the different nozzle types on the amount of deposition spray drift can be evaluated by a single parameter, i.e., the volume fraction of droplets with a diameter smaller than 191 μm. The reduced order model can be solved more than 4 orders of magnitude faster than the comprehensive CFD model.     

Evaluation and application of biomagnetic monitoring of traffic-derived particulate pollution

Inhalation of particulate pollutants below 10 μm in size (PM₁₀) is associated with adverse health effects. Here we use magnetic remanence measurements of roadside tree leaves to examine levels of vehicle-derived PM around Lancaster, UK. Leaf saturation remanence (SIRM) values exhibit strong correlation with both the SIRM and particulate mass of co-located, pumped-air samples, indicating that these leaf magnetic values are an effective proxy for ambient PM₁₀ concentrations. Biomagnetic monitoring using tree leaves can thus provide high spatial resolution data sets for assessment of particulate pollution levels at pedestrian-relevant heights. Leaf SIRM values not only increase with proximity to roads with higher traffic volumes, but are also ～100% higher at 0.3 m than at ～1.5–2 m height. Magnetic and SEM data indicate that the particle populations are dominated by spherical, iron-rich particles ～0.1–1 μm in diameter, with fewer larger, more angular, silica-rich particles. Comparison of the roadside leaf-calculated PM₁₀ concentrations with PM₁₀ concentrations predicted by a widely-used atmospheric dispersion model indicates some agreement between them. However, the model under-predicts PM₁₀ concentrations at ‘urban hotspots’ such as major–minor road junctions and traffic lights. Conversely, the model over-predicts PM₁₀ concentrations with distance from the road wherever one tree is screened by another, indicating the filtering/protective effect of roadside trees in leaf.     

Tethered balloon-based soundings of ozone,aerosols, and solar radiation near Mexico City during MIRAGE-MEX

A tethered balloon sampling system was used to measure vertical profiles of ozone, particles, and solar radiation in the atmospheric boundary layer on the northern edge of Mexico City, in March 2006 as part of the Megacity Impact on Regional and Global Environment-Mexico experiment. Several commercial sensors, designed for surface applications, were deployed on a tethered balloon platform.Profiles indicate that for these 3 scalars the boundary layer (surface up to 700 m) was well mixed in the period 10:00–16:00 LST. Good agreement was observed for median surface and balloon ozone and particle number concentrations. For most profiles, the surface deposition of ozone was not significant compared to median profile concentrations. Particle number concentration (0.3, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 μm) also showed little variation with attitude. Radiatprofiles showed a monotonic increase in diffuse radiation from the maximum altitude of profiles to the surface. Consequently, it was inferred that surface measurements of these likely were representative of lower boundary layer values during this time period.     

Evaluating the efficacy of wood shreds for mitigating erosion

An erosion control product made by shredding on-site woody materials was evaluated for mitigating erosion through a series of rainfall simulations. Tests were conducted on bare soil and soil with 30, 50, and 70% cover on a coarse and a fine-grained soil. Results indicated that the wood product known as wood shreds reduced runoff and soil loss from both soil types. Erosion mitigation ranged from 60 to nearly 100% depending on the soil type and amount of concentrated flow and wood shred cover. Wood shreds appear to be a viable alternative to agricultural straw. A wood shred cover of 50% appears optimal, but the appropriate coverage rate will depend on the amount of expected concentrated flow and soil type.     

The reliability of experts' opinions in constructing a composite environmental index: The case of ESI 2005

The complexity of the environment demands a well-constructed composite environmental index (CEI) to provide a useful tool to draw attention to environmental conditions and trends for policy purposes. Among the common difficulties in constructing a proper CEI are uncertainties due to the selection of the most representative underlying variables or indicators. A degree of uncertainty accompanies experts' judgments, and to deal with vague, subjective or inconsistent information, logic other than classic is required. This study analyzes a procedure that uses different experts' opinions in constructing a CEI, with the use of paraconsistent annotated logic. For this, a sensitivity analysis of the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI 2005) was used as an example to assess the reliability of experts' opinions. The uncertainty due to the disagreement in experts' opinions clearly indicates that the forms we presently use to measure and monitor the actual environment are insufficient, that is, there is a lack of a “science of sustainability”.     

How good is GLASOD?

The Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) has been the most influential global appraisal of land quality in terms of environmental policy. However, its expert judgments were never tested for their consistency and could not be reproduced at unvisited sites, while the relationship between the GLASOD assessments of land degradation and the social and economic impact of that degradation remains unclear. Yet, other methodologies that could respond to urgent calls for an updated assessment of the global environmental quality are not operational or, at best, in progress. Therefore, we evaluate the reliability and social relevance of the GLASOD approach and assess its candidacy for new global environmental assessments. The study concentrates on the African continent, capitalizing on new GIS data to delineate and define the characteristics of GLASOD map units. Consistency is tested by comparing expert judgments on soil degradation hazard for similar combinations of biophysical conditions and land use. Reproducibility is evaluated by estimating an ordered logit model that relates the qualitative land degradation classes to easily available information on explanatory variables, the results of which can be used to assess the land degradation at unvisited sites. Finally, a cross-sectional analysis investigates the relation between GLASOD assessments and crop production data at sub-national scale and its association with the prevalence of malnutrition. The GLASOD assessments prove to be only moderately consistent and hardly reproducible, while the counter-intuitive trend with crop production reveals the complexity of the production-degradation relationship. It appears that increasing prevalence of malnutrition coincides with poor agro-productive conditions and highly degraded land. The GLASOD approach can be improved by resolving the differences in conceptualization among experts and by defining the boundaries of the ordered classes in the same units as independent, quantitative land degradation data.     

Production of lightweight aggregates from mining and industrial wastes

Washing aggregate sludge from a gravel pit, sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and a clay-rich sediment have been physically, chemically and mineralogically characterized. They were mixed, milled and formed into pellets, pre-heated for 5 min and sintered in a rotary kiln at 1150 °C, 1175 °C, 1200 °C and 1225 °C for 10 and 15 min at each temperature. The effects of the raw material characteristics, heating temperatures and dwell times on the loss on ignition (LOI), bloating index (BI), bulk density (ρ_b), apparent and dry particle densities (ρ_a, ρ_d), voids (H), water absorption (WA_24h) and compressive strength (S) were determined. All the mixtures presented a bloating potential taking into consideration the gases released at high temperatures. The products obtained were lightweight aggregates (LWAs) in accordance with Standard UNE-EN-13055-1 (ρ_b ≤ 1.20 g/cm³ or particle density ≤ 2.00 g/cm³). LWAs manufactured with 50% washing aggregate sludge and 50% clay-rich sediment were expanded LWAs (BI > 0) and showed the lowest apparent particle density, the lowest water absorption and the highest compressive strength. It was possible to establish three groups of LWAs on the basis of their properties in comparison to Arlita G3, F3 and F5, commercially available lightweight aggregates manufactured in Spain. Our LWAs may have the same or similar applications as these commercial products, such as horticulture, prefabricated lightweight structures and building structures.