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The Lewis-Clark Valley is a rural area that includes the cities of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington and the surrounding areas. The largest industry in the Lewis-Clark Valley is a pulp paper mill located in Lewiston which emits particulate matter and odorous sulfur air pollutants. This study analyzed the Lewis-Clark Valley air composition and seasonal, temporal and spatial variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from 2017 to 2018 to determine potential health risks of the paper mill emissions to the surrounding community. Both active and passive air sampling via sorbent tubes were analyzed by thermal desorption - gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Fifty VOCs including benzene, toluene, chloroform, dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide were measured in the ambient air of the Lewis-Clark Valley at ten different sites, totaling over 800 samples. In addition, passive sorbent tubes were deployed in 2018 to obtain monthly averages in Lewis-Clark Valley and three urban locations in Idaho and Washington for comparison. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2001) methodology was used to assess cancer risks in the community based on the upper confidence levels of five carcinogens and nine air toxics. The Lewis-Clark Valley had similar levels of benzene to urban areas but had a strong signature of chloroform and sulfides from the paper mill. The cumulative cancer risk was 2 x 10-6 - 11 × 10-6 mainly due to the compounds chloroform, benzene and carbon tetrachloride. The hazard index of other air toxics was less than one. Overall, these air pollutants were considered low risk to the local population.

Gheiasvand et al. (2020) use the two larger benthic foraminifera species Simplorbitolina manasi Ciry & Rat and Mesorbitolina parva (Douglass) (Orbitolinidae) as upper Aptian “potential index fossils” for parts of the Taft Formation in Central Iran. This age assignment is accompanied by changes to well-established orbitolinid biozona-tions (e.g. occurrence of Praeorbitolina in the late Aptian) with far-reaching implications. These data were also used in a later “multidisciplinary study” (Gheiasvand et al., 2021) for isotopic correlations (e.g., location of OAE`s), delimitation of palaeobiogeographic faunal provinces and related migration patterns. It is shown herein that the taxa identified as S. manasi and M. parva belong to Iraqia simplex Henson and Palorbitolina lenticularis (Blumenbach) respectively documenting a lower and not an upper Aptian age. This revised age and the different taxononomic inventory do not question all results obtained by Gheiasvand et al. (2020, 2021), but provide a revised basis interpretation.

Over the past decade, Mexican climate policy has captured worldwide attention for its ambition and level of commitment to international goals. Mexico was one of the first countries to adopt a clima...

Direct measurement of the acidity (pH) of ambient aerosol particles/droplets has long been a challenge for atmospheric scientists. A novel and facile method was introduced recently by Craig et al. (2018), where the pH of size-resolved aerosol droplets was directly measured by two types of pH-indicator papers (pH ranges: 0–2.5 and 2.5–4.5) combined with RGB-based colorimetric analyses using a model of G−B (G minus B) vs. pH2. Given the wide pH range of ambient aerosols, we optimize the RGB-based colorimetric analysis on pH papers with a wider detection range (pH ∼ 0 to 6). Here, we propose a new model to establish the linear relationship between RGB values and pH: pHpredict = a⋅Rnormal+b⋅Gnormal+c⋅Bnormal. This model shows a wider applicability and higher accuracy than those in previous studies and is thus recommended in future RGB-based colorimetric analyses on pH papers. Moreover, we identify one type of pH paper (Hydrion® Brilliant pH dip stiks, lot no. 3110, Sigma-Aldrich) that is more applicable for ambient aerosols in terms of its wide pH detection range (0 to 6) and strong anti-interference capacity. Custom-made impactors are used to collect lab-generated aerosols on this type of pH paper. Preliminary tests show that, with a collected particle size range of ∼ 0.4–2.2 µm, the pH paper method can be used to predict aerosol pH with an overall uncertainty ≤ 0.5 units. Based on laboratory tests, a relatively short sampling time (∼ 1 to 4 h) is speculated for pH prediction of ambient aerosols. More importantly, our design of the impactors minimizes potential influences of changed environmental conditions during pH paper photographing processes on the predicted aerosol pH. We further show that the routinely adopted way of using pH color charts to predict aerosol pH may be biased by the mismatch between the standard colors on the color charts and the real colors of investigated samples. Thus, instead of using the producer-provided color charts, we suggest an in situ calibration of pH papers with standard pH buffers.

Insolation calculations for solving the two-body problem have been analyzed. The errors associated with the simplification of the calculation algorithm of insolation and disregard (simultaneously) of the attraction of planets of the solar system and their satellites in calculations of the Earth’s irradiation have been indicated. The use of the method of equivalent latitudes in paleoclimatology has been shown to be inconsistent. The need to take into account changes in the meridional insolation gradient, which regulates the meridional heat transfer from the equator to polar regions, in paleoclimatology and paleogeography has been substantiated.

This study analyzes the literature on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure by applying a bibliometric analysis of documents published in the Scopus database. The bibliometric analysis allows researchers to highlight the theoretical foundations of a specific research field, identify the main findings of previous studies, and determine future research ideas. This analysis was based on bibliometric authors’ citation analysis, bibliometric papers’ co-citation analysis, bibliometric references’ co-citation analysis, bibliometric journals’ co-citation analysis, co-occurrence keywords cartography analysis, trend and evolution analyses of ESG disclosure publications over the years, and qualitative content analysis. This study reviews 161 documents on ESG disclosure published in the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer, evolution analysis was performed using CiteSpace, and content analysis was performed using Wordstat. The study identified four major clusters: corporate social responsibility, corporate strategy, financial performance, and environmental economics. It also highlights the increasing number of citations and documents related to ESG disclosures. In addition, the journal ‘Business Strategy and the Environment’ significantly contributes to the ESG disclosure research field in terms of number of papers and citations. Additionally, this study highlights various future research opportunities in this field. The findings of this study have practical implications for ESG disclosure, such as the impact of integrating ESG into a company’s business strategy on corporate and financial policies. This study is the only one to review key topics on ESG disclosure that can be largely used for ESG practices. This study provides an overview of how the literature on ESG disclosure has developed, as well as a summary of the most influential authors along with countries, organizations, and journal sources. This offers the opportunity for future research to focus on this topic.

Levoglucosan is used as a tracer of biomass burning; however, its determination often requires expensive analytical techniques. Therefore, this study describes the development of an inexpensive and useful method using paper-based analytical devices (PADs) to determine levoglucosan based on colorimetric measurements. The color intensities were correlated with the analytical concentrations and presented linear behavior in the range from 0 to 64.8 μg mL−1. The achieved limits of detection and quantification were 2 and 6 μg mL−1, respectively. The conversion rate of levoglucosan into glucose was 81 ± 8% and the average recovery was 105 ± 9%. Moreover, the method presented selectivity for levoglucosan, showing variation in colorimetric signal intensity lower than 8% in the presence of other saccharides (xylose, glucose, galactose, maltose, mannose, arabinose, and fructose). The accuracy of the method was confirmed by comparison with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The proposed method was explored to determine levoglucosan in samples of atmospheric particulate matter collected in Goiania city (Brazil) and the values ranged from 0.08 to 1.10 μg m−3, showing the high impact of the biomass burning to the particulate matter in the region's atmosphere. The method was also used to detect levoglucosan in rainwater samples. Therefore, the use of PADs can simplify fieldwork involving the determination of levoglucosan in atmospheric particulate matter.

V.M. Fedorov has published comments regarding my paper on the new astronomical theory of climate change developed by us and the appendix to it. In this paper, I disagree with his objections and briefly substantiate my disagreement. The new theory is based on solving problems of the evolution of orbital and rotational motions of the Earth under the influence of the Sun, planets, and the Moon. All components of the theory have been published, and the methods, programs, and calculation data are freely available.

This technical note documents the use of paper as electrospray emitters. The porous structure of the paper automatically delivers the liquid by capillary effects without the need of a mechanical pump. The liquid flow rate can be approximately quantified using Washburn equation. Despite the limited durability, paper-based electrospray emitters exhibit unique features such as ease of multiplexing, self-regulated liquid supply without need of pumps, ultra-low cost, and versatility provided through origami.

Siloxanes have been found widespread usages in our daily lives, but the knowledge on their migration, transformation and toxicity is still limited. Herein we explored the feasibility of using one-sided silica coated paper as filter membrane to capture siloxanes in the outdoor air, followed by direct mass spectrometric analysis. In contrast to mostly utilized fiber membrane, silica coated paper not only exhibited a higher selective sampling efficiency to three siloxanes with structures of H–[Si(CH3)2–O]7-9-NH2 from air, but also possessed a high tolerance to organic solvent during mass spectrometric analysis. Due to the above features, the analysis sensitivity of those siloxanes with silica coated paper has been improved 3.1–134.8 folds in contrast to those with commercial filter membrane. Furthermore, we monitored variation in the levels of those siloxanes for a period of one month, and found that a close association (R2 = 0.7924–0.9559) existed between their contents and climate parameters (e.g., temperature, weather, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind direction and wind speed) as well as sampling volume. These knowledge provides a facile and effective methodology to both high-efficient sampling siloxanes and environmental assessment of siloxanes according to climate parameters.

In this communication we provide our answers to the comments by Usoskin (2017) on our recent paper (Popova et al, 2017a). We show that Principal Component Analysis (PCA) allows us to derive eigen vectors with eigen values assigned to variance of solar magnetic field waves from full disk solar magnetograms obtained in cycles 21–23 which came in pairs. The current paper (Popova et al, 2017a) adds the second pair of magnetic waves generated by quadruple magnetic sources. This allows us to recover a centennial cycle, in addition to the grand cycle, and to produce a closer fit to the solar and terrestrial activity features in the past millennium.

Which published papers have transformed our understanding of the chemical processes in the troposphere and shaped the field of atmospheric chemistry? By way of expert solicitation and interactive peer review, this paper explores the influence of the ideas in peer-reviewed articles based on input from our community of atmospheric scientists. We explore how these papers have shaped the development of the field of atmospheric chemistry and identify the major landmarks in the field of atmospheric chemistry through the lens of those papers' impact on science, legislation and environmental events. We also explore the ways in which one can identify the papers that have most impacted the field and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches. Our work highlights the difficulty of creating a simple list, and we explore the reasons for this difficulty. The paper also provides a history of the development of our understanding of tropospheric chemistry and points some ways for the future.

Motivated by the need to predict how the Arctic atmosphere will change in a warming world, this article summarizes recent advances made by the research consortium NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments) that contribute to our fundamental understanding of Arctic aerosol particles as they relate to climate forcing. The overall goal of NETCARE research has been to use an interdisciplinary approach encompassing extensive field observations and a range of chemical transport, earth system, and biogeochemical models. Several major findings and advances have emerged from NETCARE since its formation in 2013. (1) Unexpectedly high summertime dimethyl sulfide (DMS) levels were identified in ocean water (up to 75 nM) and the overlying atmosphere (up to 1 ppbv) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). Furthermore, melt ponds, which are widely prevalent, were identified as an important DMS source (with DMS concentrations of up to 6 nM and a potential contribution to atmospheric DMS of 20 % in the study area). (2) Evidence of widespread particle nucleation and growth in the marine boundary layer was found in the CAA in the summertime, with these events observed on 41 % of days in a 2016 cruise. As well, at Alert, Nunavut, particles that are newly formed and grown under conditions of minimal anthropogenic influence during the months of July and August are estimated to contribute 20 % to 80 % of the 30–50 nm particle number density. DMS-oxidation-driven nucleation is facilitated by the presence of atmospheric ammonia arising from seabird-colony emissions, and potentially also from coastal regions, tundra, and biomass burning. Via accumulation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a significant fraction of the new particles grow to sizes that are active in cloud droplet formation. Although the gaseous precursors to Arctic marine SOA remain poorly defined, the measured levels of common continental SOA precursors (isoprene and monoterpenes) were low, whereas elevated mixing ratios of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) were inferred to arise via processes involving the sea surface microlayer. (3) The variability in the vertical distribution of black carbon (BC) under both springtime Arctic haze and more pristine summertime aerosol conditions was observed. Measured particle size distributions and mixing states were used to constrain, for the first time, calculations of aerosol–climate interactions under Arctic conditions. Aircraft- and ground-based measurements were used to better establish the BC source regions that supply the Arctic via long-range transport mechanisms, with evidence for a dominant springtime contribution from eastern and southern Asia to the middle troposphere, and a major contribution from northern Asia to the surface. (4) Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic indicate that a major source of these particles is mineral dust, likely derived from local sources in the summer and long-range transport in the spring. In addition, INPs are abundant in the sea surface microlayer in the Arctic, and possibly play a role in ice nucleation in the atmosphere when mineral dust concentrations are low. (5) Amongst multiple aerosol components, BC was observed to have the smallest effective deposition velocities to high Arctic snow (0.03 cm s−1).

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) identified by Madden and Julian in the early 1970s has been well recognized as the most prominent intraseasonal signal in the tropics. Its discovery and its relationship with other weather phenomena such as tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most significant advancements in modern meteorology with broad and far-reaching impacts. The original study by Madden and Julian used radiosonde data on Canton Island, and their spectral analysis revealed the signal of a 40–50-day oscillation.It has come to our attention that an earlier study by Xie et al. published in a Chinese journal documented an oscillatory signal of a 45-day period using radiosonde data from several stations between 70° and 125°E in the tropics. The 40–50-day signal found by Xie et al. is strikingly evident without any filtering. Xie et al. identified that occurrences of TCs are correlated with the 40–50-day variation of low-level westerlies at these stations. The original figures in Xie et al.’s article were hand drawn. Their results are verified using data from a longer period of 1958–70. The 40–50-day oscillation in the monsoon westerlies and its relationship with the occurrence of TCs are confirmed and further expanded upon.This study serves the purpose of bringing recognition to the community of the identification of a 40–50-day signal published in Chinese in 1963 and the discovery of the correlation between MJO phases and TC genesis three decades earlier than studies on this subject published outside China.

Acidity is a critical characteristic of aerosol particles that impacts many atmospheric chemical reactions. However, the measurement of aerosol acidity remains challenging because of the high ionic strength of atmospheric aerosol particles. In this study, we developed and evaluated a direct method for measuring the pH of atmospheric aerosol samples using pH testing paper. We first examined the color responses of six pH testing papers under various ionic strengths and selected the best performing paper for further testing at higher ionic strength. This paper was then tested under realistic high-ionic-strength conditions created using hygroscopic equilibrium under high and constant relative humidity (RH). A KNO3 saturated solution was used to maintain an RH of 92% in an airtight box. Under these conditions, the hygroscopic constituents in aerosol particles form droplets of aqueous solutions that possess high ionic strength. On the basis of these results, a method for the direct pH measurement of aerosol particle samples was developed. The pH of the atmospheric aerosol samples was measured using this method under high RH to demonstrate its versatility. Our results indicate that this method requires more than approximately 12 μg per spot of fine (PM0.2–2.0 in this study) particles to form a detectable droplet. Compared with previous methods, our direct pH measurement method is simpler, more convenient, and reliable for wide application without excess dilution in practice, and it may be used to obtain important basic information required to study atmospheric aerosols.

The obnoxious odors generated from pulp and paper industries have been the cause of nuisance since the instigation of these industries. The objective of the study was to develop a metal oxide sensor based electronic nose for rapid measurement of odorant concentration and associated odor intensity of major reduced sulfur compounds emitted from different sources of these pulp and paper mills. The gas samples collected from the surroundings of major source points of industry were exposed to sensor array of the electronic nose and the change in voltage was measured and taken to PC through data acquisition cards. The same sets of samples were also tested with gas chromatography. The results of electronic nose and GC-FPD were correlated using response surface methodology to know the odorant concentration. The model fed with unknown industrial samples had more than 95% prediction capability. To determine odor intensity by electronic nose firstly a collective index was generated using SVD based 2-norm method (e-nose index) proportional to the sensors response relative to reference gas, methyl mercaptan. Secondly the e-nose index was associated with human expert evaluations. The training of the electronic nose enabled it to predict odorant concentration found at the industrial site and associated odor intensity in methyl mercaptan equivalent. The overall results of the experiments carried out suggest the potential of electronic nose as a device for on or off line measurement of odorant concentration and odor intensity.

The critical comments to the publications by the authors ofthe present paper that were given in [10] (the publications deal with the possible effects of gravity field inhomogeneities in the atmosphere and ocean) are discussed. In the authors' opinion, some remarks are groundless. At the same time, the authors agree with one of the important remarks that the results of their paper concerning studies of the ocean disturbances are to be reconsidered.

The purpose of the present paper is to examine a selection of macro- and micro-linguistic features (at text and sentence/word level respectively) of the South-African Green Paper “National Climate Change Response” from 2010. Our overarching assumption is that the Green Paper needs to handle competing interests, beliefs and voices in a narrative structure favouring specific courses of action. How does the government portray the complex natural and societal phenomenon of climate change, and how does it take into account the many and often competing national and international views and interests which come into play? Our hypothesis is that the Green Paper constructs a narrative and that it relates to a number of voices other than that of the authors, through linguistic markers of polyphony, such as negation, sentence connectives, adverbs and reported speech. Thus we propose a narrative and polyphonic analysis of the Green Paper, at the level of the text as a whole (macro-level) but also with attention to linguistic constructions of polyphony or “multi-voicedness” (micro-level). We find that the narrative-polyphonic properties of the Green Paper contribute to a strategy for building consensus on climate change policy. The South African government assumes the role of main hero in its own climate change “story”, and there are subtle forms of interaction with different and typically non-identified voices, such as concessive constructions and presuppositions. These results support our overarching interpretation of the whole document as striving to impose a South African consensus on the issue of climate change.

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors R-I and R-II, each with an effective volume of 6.0 l were used to study the treatability of actual effluent obtained from paper mills at a mesophilic temperature and neutral pH. Methanol, as a source of an easily biodegradable substance along with activated carbon of effective size 1.5 mm–2.5 mm were added to the reactor R-I to a total depth of 12 cm to evaluate its efficiency. The pH of both the reactors were kept constant at neutral by adding an external buffer solution of 0.03 M NaHCO3 with the feed solution. It was observed that corresponding to an organic loading rate of 3.5 kg-COD/m3-day, the overall chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of the reactors R-I and R-II were 88% and 64%, respectively. The absorbable organic halides removal efficiency was observed to be 72% and 47% for reactorR-I and R-II, respectively. During the study it was however observed that, the treatability efficiency of reactor R-I was comparatively better but the amount of its biogas production was slightly lower than that of R-II. The average biogas production in reactors R-I and R-II during the course of study was observed as 0.33 l/g-CODremoved and 0.42 l/g-CODremoved respectively, with a mean methane composition of 58%–61% in both the reactors. Kinetic coefficients of k, Ks, Y and kd were determined to be 0.7 g-TOC/g-VSS.d, 0.30 g-TOC/l, 0.26 g-VSS/g-TOC and 0.02 day–1 respectively, based on the results obtained from reactor R-I. The results of this study showed that the use of methanol andan activated carbon in a UASB reactor to anaerobically digest the paper mills effluent at a mesophilic temperature and a neutral pH reactor was quite a feasible and viable technique.

There has been a consistent rise in urban disasters, particularly in developing countries located in tropical areas. Among various challenges of disaster risk management and climate change impacts, it is noted that most residents are poorly informed about their risk exposure or apposite response. The paper is based on the premise that one important cause for this gap is inadequate emphasis on risk communication at different levels of planning and agreements. Accordingly, it highlights some important gaps in the risk communication across international agreements including Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and evaluates their impacts at the local level. It brings three selected urban case studies located in the tropical areas of the South Asia region that illustrate gaps in risk communication that result in enhanced vulnerability and deviations in response. The findings are based on secondary data and literature focusing on global agreements, risk communication, and disaster response. The paper argues that even though global strategies address urban risks, the fragmented nature of risk communication results in poor response and contributes to losses that occur in disasters. Three critical gaps noted in risk communication include (i) it not prioritized at different levels, (ii) inadequate structures to measure its impacts and stakeholders inclusiveness, and (iii) indifference to cultural diversity and integration. Further, it is suggested that there is a need to redefine risk communication at the global scale that extends beyond warning generation and considers multiple factors influencing response including interlinked vulnerabilities and variations in perceptions emerging from varied geographical, socio-cultural, economic, and political processes.

On-site measurement of methanethiol (CH 3 SH) was performed for three years on ships and cars near a pulp and paper plant standing on the shore of Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to investigate the behavior and impact of atmospheric CH 3 SH emitted from a point source. Despite its strong odor, there are few reports on atmospheric CH 3 SH, while many investigations have been carried out on dimethyl sulfide (DMS). In this work, CH 3 SH and DMS were measured every 15 min by a recently developed automated instrument based on single column trapping/separation and chemiluminescence measurement. Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and ozone were also measured simultaneously by individual instruments. Of these sulfur compounds, CH 3 SH was dominant and its concentration sometimes reached several tens of ppbv. The concentration of CH 3 SH was high at night, because of the lack of photodecomposition and local winds from the mountain to the lake. Such time variation was marked in the summer. The CH 3 SH level decreased significantly downwind, while decreases in concentrations of other compounds such as DMS and SO 2 were relatively small. From these temporal and spatial variations, the behavior of CH 3 SH is described in this paper. The impact of CH 3 SH near the Siberian big sources is discussed with the presented data.

A complex of organic and inorganic sulfur compounds have been measured for the first time in the vicinity of a point anthropogenic source—the Baikal Pulp and Paper Plant (BPPP) on the southeast coast of Lake Baikal; their spatial distribution and possible chemical transformation depending on the meteorological conditions and the time of day have been estimated. It is shown that the different heights of the emission of the sulfur compounds by departments of the plant and the coal thermal power station are responsible the different behavior of the corresponding admixtures in the plant’s surrounding.

In the context of a rapidly evolving Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) market and increasing debate about the design of a future global climate regime, it is essential to understand which types of projects are undertaken along industrial value chains, and also the influence of company characteristics (e.g. size, raw material base, product type, ownership and location) on firms' CDM participation and choice of project type. The Indian pulp and paper industry was examined for its energy intensity and its diversity in terms of both mitigation opportunities and company characteristics. Large firms were found to be more likely than small firms to participate in CDM. Although CDM projects in large and small firms generate similar amounts of certified emission reductions (CERs), the type of technology implemented in those projects varies strongly with company size due to differing levels of capabilities and capital. Mill size and raw material base also affect participation and choice of project type. A structure...

This paper deals with the relationship between the CO2 emissions and the global temperatures across the various pandemic episodes that have been taken place in the last 100 years. To carry out the analysis, first we conducted unit root tests finding evidence of nonstationary I(1) behavior, that means that a shift in time causes a change in the shape of distribution. However, due to the low statistical power of unit root tests, we also used a methodology based on long memory and fractional integration. Our results indicate that the emissions display very heterogeneous behaviour in relation with the degree of persistence across pandemics. The temperatures are more homogeneous, finding values for the orders of integration of the series smaller than 1 in all cases, and thus showing mean reverting behaviour. pre-print 349 KB

An earthquake with a magnitude ranging from Mw = 6.9 (KOERI) to Mw = 7.0 (USGS) struck Samos Island in the Aegean Sea on October 30, 2020, with an epicentre 70 kms from the Izmir city centre in Turkey. The earthquake took place at 14:51 local time (11:51 UTC). The peak ground acceleration (PGA) of this earthquake was recorded to be 0.179 g at the epicentre of the earthquake. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 17.26 km (AFAD (2020) Izmir Earthquake Report, (In Turkish)) and lasted 16 s. The main shock from the earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit the building stocks built near the coast. During the gradual deregulation of COVID-19 pandemic regulations, various events caused considerable damage to the building stock, particularly in the Izmir Seferihisar and Bayrakli regions and resulted in a massive disruption of daily habits. The main shock caused 117 deaths in both Turkey and Greece, and 1632 people were also injured in Turkey. Moreover, several injuries occurred in Greece. A total of 103 buildings collapsed, 700 were severely damaged, 814 buildings were moderately damaged, and 7889 were slightly damaged. The basic aim of this paper is to briefly present the past and present seismotectonic characteristics of the region, present building stock, and former structural conditions before the earthquake, assess structural performance and classify distinguished earthquake-induced failures and damage due to the basin effect.

The STatistical Analogue Resampling Scheme (STARS) statistical approach was recently used to project changes of climate variables in Germany corresponding to a supposed degree of warming. We show by theoretical and empirical analysis that STARS simply transforms interannual gradients between warmer and cooler seasons into climate trends. According to STARS projections, summers in Germany will inevitably become dryer and winters wetter under global warming. Due to the dominance of negative interannual correlations between precipitation and temperature during the year, STARS has a tendency to generate a net annual decrease in precipitation under mean German conditions. Furthermore, according to STARS, the annual level of global radiation would increase in Germany. STARS can be still used, e.g., for generating scenarios in vulnerability and uncertainty studies. However, it is not suitable as a climate downscaling tool to access risks following from changing climate for a finer than general circulation model (GCM) spatial scale.

In his article Willems (Clim Chang 120(4):931–944, 2013) proposed a methodology to analyse extremes in rainfall series. When applying it to artificially generated, non-cyclic random variables we were able to detect cyclic behavior. Therefor we had a closer look on the methodology. Here we discuss our considerations, why this method generates cycles, depending on chosen subperiods and their coherence between detected cycle lengths. To verify these relationships some examples based on random data samples are given.

A class of energy light structures in nonlinear wave physics, so-called diffraction-beam tubes in a self-focusing dissipative medium, has been studied. It is shown that their interaction along a high-power femtosecond laser radiation propagation path produces areas of light energy localization, stable in physical characteristics, i.e., a filament and a post-filamentation channel, as well as an energy-conservative periphery. Stabilization of boundaries of the above areas is provided by additional contraction of a diffractive nature from the side of the periphery. The dependencies of filamentation length of a laser pulse on the power and beam radius and the fact of high intensity conservation in the post-filamentation light channel are interpreted using this concept.

The 2018 Camp Fire caused significant damages to the education and healthcare systems in the town of Paradise, CA. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative case study about disaster impacts and disparities, interdependencies, and recovery strategies of schools and hospitals in Paradise. Four major themes of findings emerged from the qualitative analysis of interviews with teachers, counselors, and administrators in Paradise education and healthcare systems and extensive archival research. First, complex and long-standing mental health challenges are the dominant impact on the educational system. Second, educational and healthcare impacts are shaped by social vulnerability. Third, educational and healthcare systems play a critical role for recovery of socially vulnerable groups due to the interconnectedness of community components. Fourth, adapting to new communication norms and technologies is effective for supporting educational and community recovery. Several specific recommendations are provided based on the findings for building back more resilient and equitable education and healthcare services.

Long-term and short-term changes in ambient temperature can cause stress in birds, leading to changes in the level of hematological parameters. The H:L ratio (heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio) is a hematological index that allows for the assessment of the stress induced by environmental changes, including weather conditions. In this paper, we examined the influence of temperatures and the sum of precipitation on the health of nestling pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by using the H:L ratio reflecting the body’s response to stress. All examined temperature indicators influenced the H:L ratio, yet the average value of daily minimum temperature during the first 12 days of nestling life had the strongest influence, maximum temperature had the weakest effect, while precipitation had no significant influence. Our research indicates that even a small increase in temperature caused a stress reaction in nestling pied flycatchers, which was reflected by an increase in the H:L ratio. The increase in the stress index (H:L ratio) was probably a result of poor weather conditions (precipitation, low temperature), which prevented the adult birds from actively foraging and properly feeding the nestlings.

Research on heat waves (periods of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity) is a newly emerging research topic within the field of climate change research with high relevance for the whole of society. In this study, we analyzed the rapidly growing scientific literature dealing with heat waves. No summarizing overview has been published on this literature hitherto. We developed a suitable search query to retrieve the relevant literature covered by the Web of Science (WoS) as complete as possible and to exclude irrelevant literature (n = 8,011 papers). The time-evolution of the publications shows that research dealing with heat waves is a highly dynamic research topic, doubling within about 5 years. An analysis of the thematic content reveals the most severe heat wave events within the recent decades (1995 and 2003), the cities and countries/regions affected (United States, Europe, and Australia), and the ecological and medical impacts (drought, urban heat islands, excess hospital admissions, and mortality). Risk estimation and future strategies for adaptation to hot weather are major political issues. We identified 104 citation classics which include fundamental early works of research on heat waves and more recent works (which are characterized by a relatively strong connection to climate change)., 40 pages, 2 tables, and 9 figures

The conservation of water resources in developed countries has become an increasing concern. In integrated water resource management, water quality indicators are critical. The low groundwater quality quantitates mainly attributed to the absence of protection systems for polluted streams that collect and recycle the untreated wastewater. Egypt has a limited river network; thus, the supply of water resources remains inadequate to satisfy domestic demand. In this regard, high-quality groundwater is one of the main strategies for saving water supplies with water shortage problems. This paper investigates the critical issues of groundwater protection and environmental management of polluted streams, leading to overcoming water demand-about 18 × 103 km of polluted open streams with a discharge of 9.70 billion Cubic Metter (BCM). We have proposed proposals and policies for the safe use of groundwater and reuse of wastewater recycling for agriculture and other purposes. This study was carried out using the numerical model MODFLOW and MT3DMS—(Mass Transport 3-Dimension Multi-Species) to assess the Wastewater Treated Plant's (WWTP) best location and the critical path for using different lining materials of polluted streams to avoid groundwater contamination. The three contaminants are BOD, COD, and TDS. Five scenarios were applied for mitigating the impact of polluted water: (1) abstraction forcing, (2) installing the WWTP at the outlet of the main basin drain with and without a lining of main and sub-basin streams (base case), (3) lining of main and sub-main streams, (4) installing WWTP at the outlet of the sub-basin streams, and (5) lining of the sub-basin and installing WWTP at the outlet of the sub-basin. The results showed that the best location of WWTP in polluted streams is developed at the outlets of sub-basin with the treatment of main basin water and the lining of sub-basins streams. The contamination was reduced by 76.07, 76.38, and 75.67% for BOD, COD, and TDS, respectively, using Cascade Aeration Biofilter or Trickling Filter, Enhancing Solar water Disinfection [(CABFESD)/(CATFESD)] and High-Density Polyethylene lining. This method is highly effective and safe for groundwater and surface water environmental protection. This study could be managing the water poverty for polluted streams and groundwater in the Global South and satisfy the environmental issues to improve water quality and reduce the treatment and health cost in these regions.

Recent years have seen growing interest in enabling volunteers to play a more pronounced role in disaster response, and yet efforts to systematically analyse this crisis volunteer action, particularly among young people, have been surprisingly limited. This study examines the case of the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) in Aotearoa New Zealand, a student-led group which over the space of a decade has responded to multiple disasters, including earthquakes, floods, fires, a terrorist attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on in-depth interviews, our analysis compares the practices adopted by the SVA in response to these different crises and identifies how members and supporters of the group have come to understand its capabilities, limitations, and conditions for effective operation. We present a framework of cross-cutting lessons of "why", "who", "when", "what" and "how" and demonstrate the ways they have been built upon for each new disaster mobilisation. In distilling, the key lessons of a youth-led crisis volunteer group that has mobilised for a spectrum of disasters, this paper contributes to theoretical understandings of how groups at a local level learn after sequential disasters, and the conditions and considerations that enable such groups to effectively-and repeatedly-"meet a need" in disaster response.

To evaluate direct greenhouse gas emissions from Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR), measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) were made at a pilot-scale MBR treating municipal wastewater Measurements were conducted during two campaigns with some changes in processes, i.e. introducing a pre-aeration tank in the second measurement, different distributions of aeration in the treatment line, not the same wastewater inflow rate, two types of ultrafiltration membrane. It was found that about 0.004% and 0.07% of the total ammonium loads were emitted as N2O, CH4 emissions were 0.026% and 0.12% of incoming TOC (0.008% and 0.04% of incoming COD) in 2014 and 2018. The obtained N2O emission values were relatively low. The study suggested that a high aeration at the beginning of the treatment line may result in significantly high emissions of both N2O and CH4. A significant change in aeration in the membrane ultrafiltration tank did not have the same impact. The MBR process is known for high quality effluent but have been questioned due to its higher carbon footprint due to energy consumption. This study gave a reference case about direct GHG emissions from MBR process and provide information for the further evaluation of MBR processes.

China experienced worsening ground-level ozone (O3) pollution from 2013 to 2019. In this study, meteorological parameters, including surface temperature (T2), solar radiation (SW), and wind speed (WS), were classified into two aspects, (1) Photochemical Reaction Condition (PRC = T2 × SW) and (2) Physical Dispersion Capacity (PDC = WS). In this way, a Meteorology Synthetic Index (MSI = PRC/PDC) was developed for the quantification of meteorology-induced ground-level O3 pollution. The positive linear relationship between the 90th percentile of MDA8 (maximum daily 8-h average) O3 concentration and MSI determined that the contribution of meteorological changes to ground-level O−3 varied on a latitudinal gradient, decreasing from ∼40% in southern China to 10%–20% in northern China. Favorable photochemical reaction conditions were more important for ground-level O3 pollution. This study proposes a universally applicable index for fast diagnosis of meteorological roles in ground-level O3 variability, which enables the assessment of the observed effects of precursor emissions reductions that can be used for designing future control policies. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s00376-021-1257-x.

The increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities traps heat within the climate system and increases ocean heat content (OHC). Here, we provide the first analysis of recent OHC changes through 2021 from two international groups. The world ocean, in 2021, was the hottest ever recorded by humans, and the 2021 annual OHC value is even higher than last year’s record value by 14 ± 11 ZJ (1 zetta J = 1021 J) using the IAP/CAS dataset and by 16 ± 10 ZJ using NCEI/NOAA dataset. The long-term ocean warming is larger in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans than in other regions and is mainly attributed, via climate model simulations, to an increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. The year-to-year variation of OHC is primarily tied to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In the seven maritime domains of the Indian, Tropical Atlantic, North Atlantic, Northwest Pacific, North Pacific, Southern oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea, robust warming is observed but with distinct inter-annual to decadal variability. Four out of seven domains showed record-high heat content in 2021. The anomalous global and regional ocean warming established in this study should be incorporated into climate risk assessments, adaptation, and mitigation.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the quality and reliability of YouTube videos as a source of information in water treatments. We searched videos on YouTube ( www.youtube.com ) using the following keywords: "health resort medicine," "spa treatment," "spa therapy," "hydrotherapy," "thermal medicine," "balneology," and "balneotherapy" on June 17th, 2021. The global quality scale (GQS) was used to evaluate the quality of the videos. The assessment of reliability was evaluated using the modified DISCERN tool. Some other video parameters and sources of the videos were also recorded. One hundred twenty-one (121) videos were analyzed. The most common video source was advertisement (46.3%). GQS and modified DISCERN median scores were generally low. They were superior for "hydrotherapy" and "balneotherapy" and were also higher in videos uploaded by health-related persons or organizations (physicians, health-related professionals, and health-related websites). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between investigated parameters (like view ratio, number of likes, video power index, video length) and GQS. Only video length was correlated with modified DISCERN for investigated parameters. The median video power index scores were statistically higher for "spa therapy" and "spa treatment." The YouTube content linked with water treatments has poor quality and reliability most of time. The hydrotherapy and balneotherapy keywords have the best quality and reliability.We think that designers of water treatment videos should involve health professionals more often so that the content of their video will better explain the details of medical conditions or interventions.The scientific experts should ensure a consensus in terminology to straighten the awareness of water treatments for patients and physicians.

Flooding is the most destructive natural hazard in the Baltic Sea Basin in general and in Poland in particular. The notion includes floods from rivers and mountain torrents, as well as floods from sea surges in coastal areas, and floods from sewage systems. There have been several large floods in Poland in the last century and in recent decades, with damage exceeding 1% of the Polish GDP. The spatial and temporal characteristics of the flood risk in Poland are reviewed and observations and projections of changes in the flood hazard in the country are discussed. Furthermore, flood defences and flood preparedness systems in Poland are examined, with particular reference to the European Union (EU) Floods Directive, which is being implemented in Poland, an EU country. Finally, the public debate on flood risk and flood preparedness is reviewed.