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Atmospheric aerosol is an ensemble of atmospheric pollutants with a severe impact on human health and Earth climate. Particulate Matter (PM) effects vary depending on the composition and size. However, current air quality guidelines (AQG) from WHO and from the EU Commission only define threshold standards for bulk PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. In terms of health, the smaller the particles, the deeper they penetrate into the respiratory system, and they can even diffuse into the bloodstream and circulate to other parts of the organism. The adverse effects on the tissues in which they are deposited depend on the PM composition. Regarding climate, PM size and composition relevantly affect many aerosol-radiation direct and indirect interactions, which regulate troposphere temperature. Consequently, the consideration of these properties is relevant for present and future climate descriptions. Barcelona, the city where this study focuses, is located in the Mediterranean basin, a region with high complexity in terms of air pollution, hence, the nature of this enclave requires thorough monitoring of PM in order to protect the population from exposition accurately. This dissertation focuses on submicronic aerosol evolution over the last decade, with a more detailed study for May 2014-May 2015 and September 2017-October 2018. The objective of this thesis is to describe the PM1 sources in Barcelona by means of source apportionment (SA) techniques. The Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF) algorithm is one of the most widely used approaches for SA and is the tool used in this dissertation. A secondary aim of this study is the improvement of the SA methodology itself. This is accomplished by testing the outcomes of new methodologies involving the more automatic analysis and dataset junction with several approaches. A field-deployed aerosol mass spectrometer was used at the Barcelona site for continuous PM1 measurements, and SA was performed on Organic Aerosol (OA). First, SA was tack

[EN] Biomass burning is an important source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutants (AP) in developing countries. In this research, a bottom-up method was implemented for the estimation of emissions, emphasizing the validation process of aerial biomass products (AGB), which it has not been sufficiently approached from the point of view of the quantification of emissions. The most recent results on the validation of burned area (AQ) products and the analysis of uncertainty were also incorporated into the process of estimating the emissions of gases that directly or indirectly promote the greenhouse effect, such as CO₂, NO₂, CO, NH₃, and Black Carbon (BC). In total, 87.60 Mha were burned in the region between 2001 and 2016, represented in a 57% by pasture lands a 23% by savannas, an 8% by savanna woodlands, an 8% by mixed soils with crops and natural vegetation, a 3% by evergreen broadleaf forests, and a 1 % in the region´s remaining types of land cover. With 35480 reference polygons, a model based on the uncertainty of AQ was generated, which served to find the calibration factor of the FireCCI5.0 in all the studied species. The total emissions (minimum and maximum) and the average of the same in the study period were the following: 1760 Tg CO₂ (765.07-2552.88; average 110 Tg), 68.12 Tg of CO (27.11-98.87; average 4.26 Tg), 3.05 Tg of NO₂ (1.27-4.40; average 0.19 Tg), 0.76 Tg of NH₃ (0.33-1.12; average 0.05 Tg), and 0.44 Tg of Black Carbon (0.015-0.64; average 0.03 Tg)., [ES] La quema de biomasa es una fuente importante de gases efecto invernadero (GEI) y contaminantes atmosféricos (CA) en la región norte de Sur América (NHSA). En esta investigación se implementó un método bottom-up para la estimación de emisiones, haciendo énfasis en el proceso de validación de los productos de biomasa aérea (AGB), lo que hasta ahora ha sido poco abordado desde el punto de vista de la cuantificación de las emisiones. También se incorporaron los resultados más recientes sobre la validación de productos de área quemada (AQ) y el análisis de la incertidumbre, dentro del proceso de estimación de las emisiones de gases, que de forma directa o indirecta, promueven el efecto invernadero, como lo son el CO₂, NO₂, CO, NH₃ y Black Carbon (BC). En total se quemaron en la región 87,60 Mha entre 2001 y 2016, representadas en un 57% por pastos; 23%, sabanas; 8%, sabanas arboladas; 8%, suelos mixtos con cultivos y vegetación natural; 3%, bosques perennes de latifoliadas; 1%, en el resto de coberturas. Con 35.480 polígonos de referencia se generó un modelo basado en la incertidumbre de AQ, el cual sirvió para encontrar el factor de calibración del FireCCI5.0 en todas las especies estudiadas. Así se obtuvo como resultado que las emisiones totales (mínimas y máximas) y el promedio de las mismas en el periodo de estudio fueron en su orden 1760 Tg CO₂ (765,07-2552,88; promedio 110 Tg), 68,12 Tg de CO (27,11-98,87; promedio 4,26 Tg), 3,05 Tg de NO₂ (1,27-4,40; promedio 0,19 Tg), 0,76 Tg de NH₃ (0,33-1,12; promedio 0,05 Tg), 0,44 Tg de Black Carbon (0,015-0,64; promedio de 0,03 Tg).

Atmospheric aerosol pollutants are considered for the first time for the durability evaluation of non-metallic photovoltaic materials on the example of pristine and Al2O3-encapsulated Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) window layers. The AZO samples were exposed to a varied temperature and humidity cycle, completed or not by a daily deposition of (NH4)2SO4 or NaCl aerosols, typical pollutants in rural and marine environments, respectively. The samples exposed with and without the pollutants were compared after 1 and 2 weeks of the test. Optical transmittance and conductivity significantly degraded only for the samples exposed with the pollutants. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy evidenced localized dissolution of the AZO film and chemical modification of the Al2O3 encapsulation. The most severe degradation was caused by (NH4)2SO4, which was attributed to the high stability of soluble [Zn (NH3)42+] complexes. The Al2O3 encapsulation improved chemical and physical stability of AZO in the presence of (NH4)2SO4 but not in the presence of NaCl. The latter can be explained by pitting corrosion of Al2O3. Optical transmission curves are coherent with the AZO layer thinning in the presence of NaCl and very localized AZO dissolution (most likely grain boundary etching) in the presence of (NH4)2SO4. The enhanced degradation of encapsulated AZO in the presence of atmospheric aerosol pollutants suggests that they cannot be neglected in the evaluation of barrier protection capacities of novel encapsulates and, more generally, in the outdoor durability assessment of novel photovoltaic materials and devices., QC 20220919

Background: In 2019, the world was surprised by a disease that had its first confirmed cases in the city of Wuhan-China, and quickly spread across the globe, COVID-19. The SARS-COV-2 virus, which causes the disease, spreads very easily through the air in droplets of saliva after the patient coughs or sneezes. In this way, health authorities developed health protocols to slow the spread. However, it is possible that the benefits of using the mask go beyond the transmission of the virus and may impact on other aspects related to health. Objective: to address the effects of mask use and its impact on cardiovascular health. Method and Results: The present literature review was carried out through a search in 3 bibliographic databases - PubMed, Capes Periodicals (Web of Science) and LILACS. Articles published between 2001 and 2021 were selected, in a total of 09 articles. Conclusion: this study shows that the use of a face mask can be a good ally in reducing exposure to risks related to cardiovascular diseases, especially air pollutants., Background: No ano de 2019, o mundo foi surpreendido por uma doença que teve seus primeiros casos confirmados na cidade de Wuhan-China, e rapidamente se espalhou pelo globo, a COVID-19. O vírus SARS-COV-2, causador da doença, se espalha com grande facilidade através do ar, em gotículas de saliva após o doente tossir ou espirrar. Dessa forma, as autoridades de saúde desenvolveram protocolos sanitários para desacelerar a disseminação. Porém, é possível que os benefícios da utilização da máscara vão além da transmissão do vírus, podendo impactar sobre outros aspectos relacionados a saúde. Objetivo: abordar os efeitos do uso da máscara e seu impacto sobre a saúde cardiovascular. Método e Resultado: A presente revisão bibliográfica foi realizada através de uma pesquisa em 3 bases de dados bibliográficos — PubMed, Periódicos Capes (Web of Science) e LILACS. Foram selecionados artigos publicados entre 2001 e 2021, em um total de 09 artigos. Conclusão: o presente estudo mostra que a utilização da máscara facial pode ser um bom aliado na diminuição a exposição a fatores de risco relacionados as doenças cardiovasculares, sobretudo, os poluentes atmosféricos., Antecedentes: En el año 2019, el mundo se sorprendió por una enfermedad que tuvo sus primeros casos confirmados en la ciudad de Wuhan-China, y se extendió rápidamente por todo el mundo, el COVID-19. El virus SARS-COV-2, que causa la enfermedad, se propaga muy fácilmente a través del aire en gotitas de saliva después de que el paciente tose o estornuda. De esta forma, las autoridades sanitarias desarrollaron protocolos sanitarios para frenar la propagación. Sin embargo, es posible que los beneficios del uso de la mascarilla vayan más allá de la transmisión del virus, y puedan repercutir en otros aspectos relacionados con la salud. Objetivo: abordar los efectos del uso de mascarilla y su impacto en la salud cardiovascular. Método y resultados: La presente revisión de la literatura se realizó mediante una búsqueda en 3 bases de datos bibliográficas: PubMed, Capes Periodicals (Web of Science) y LILACS. Se seleccionaron artículos publicados entre 2001 y 2021, en un total de 09 artículos. Conclusión: este estudio muestra que el uso de una mascarilla facial puede ser un buen aliado para reducir la exposición a factores de riesgo relacionados con enfermedades cardiovasculares, especialmente a los contaminantes del aire.

The use of biodiesel blends with petroleum diesel in vehicular engines demands the evaluation of the possible impacts and effects of the gases emitted from their combustion on the environment. Among studies on these questions, biomonitoring using lichens is a viable alternative, given their interactions with the elements dispersed in the atmosphere, as well as its sensitivity and capacity to retain contaminants. In this study, we analyzed the effects of gas emissions from the combustion of biodiesel mixture with petroleum diesel on Cladonia verticillaris thalli. Samples of the lichen (10 g) were exposed to the gases emitted by the exhaust of the generator engine during the combustion process of biodiesel mixtures to petroleum diesel (7% (B7), 10% (B10), 40% (B40), 50% (B50), and 70% (B70)). At 90 days after exposure, samples were analyzed for n-alkane profiles, thallus morphology, photosynthetic pigment contents, and secondary lichen metabolites (protocetraric and fumarprotocetraric acids). Sets B7 and B10 showed better resistance of the lichen to pollutants. Set B40 showed a high stress evidenced by the chain elongation of n-alkanes structure and high chlorophyll production, presenting high morphological damages when compared to the control sets, B7 and B10. The results showed significant reductions of n-alkanes profiles for mixtures with high concentrations of biodiesel (B50 and B70), as well as decreases in the chlorophyll content. These groups showed an increase in the synthesis of secondary metabolites, corroborating the hypothesis that high concentrations of biodiesel in the mixture with petroleum diesel have greater impacts on the lichen., Depto. de Genética, Fisiología y Microbiología, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Open straw burning releases significant amounts of particulate matter (PM) and trace gases into the air and thus is an important source of atmospheric pollutants in China. In this study, based on fire spots in northeast China from 2013 to 2017, we analyzed pollution concentration degree (PCD) and pollution concentration period (PCP), and assessed spatial and temporal variations of open straw burning. Straw types and burning areas were then determined according to the distributions of fire spots and land use dataset. The amounts of several major atmospheric pollutants (PM10, PM25, CO, NOx and NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic compounds)) emitted into the atmosphere from open straw burning were estimated according to crop production, Residue/Grain ratio (R/G), combustion efficiency and emission factor. Open straw burning occurred frequently in dry and paddy fields, mainly in areas of West and Northeast Heilongjiang Province, Midwest Jilin Province and Central Liaoning Province. The temporal variations of open straw burning tended to be dispersed with PCD varying from >0.8 during 2013-2015 to <0.4 during 2017 and PCP changing from 28.2 to 36.0 during autumn-winter seasons of 2013-2015 to 5.4-7.9 during winter-spring seasons of 2016-2017. During the five-year period (2013-2017), the total straw yield reached 628.7 million tons, of which 10.9 million tons were open burned in northeast China. The total amounts emitted from open straw burning were 108.9, 106.9, 552.9, 36.9 and 99.4 thousand tons for PM10, PM25, CO, NOx and NMVOCs, respectively. Among these emissions, corn straw burning contributed 81.7%, 81.6%, 71.4%, 86.8% and 74.9% while rice straw burning contributed 18.2%, 18.4%, 28.5%, 13.2% and 25.0%, respectively. Emissions from open straw burning have significant impacts on pollutants ambient concentrations, especially for PM2.5 in the autumn-winter seasons as indicated by their good correlations (p < 0.05).

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has impacted the usual global movement patterns, atmospheric pollutants, and climatic parameters. The current study sought to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on urban mobility, atmospheric pollutants, and Pakistan’s climate. For the air pollution assessment, total column ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and tropospheric column nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), and dust column mass density (PM2.5) data from the MERRA-2 satellite were used. Furthermore, these datasets are linked to climatic parameters (temperature, precipitation, wind speed). The Kruskal–Wallis H test (KWt) is used to compare medians among k groups (k > 2), and the Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test (WRST) is for analyzing the differences between the medians of two datasets. To make the analysis more effective, and to justify that the variations in air quality parameters are due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was used. The findings revealed that the limitations on human mobility have lowered emissions, which has improved the air quality in Pakistan. The results of the study showed that the climatic parameters (precipitation, Tmax, Tmin, and Tmean) have a positive correlation and wind speed has a negative correlation with NO2 and AOD. This study found a significant decrease in air pollutants (NO2, SO2, O3, AOD) of 30–40% in Pakistan during the strict lockdown period. In this duration, the highest drop of about 28% in NO2 concentrations has been found in Karachi. Total column O3 did not show any reduction during the strict lockdown, but a minor decline was depicted as 0.38% in Lahore and 0.55% in Islamabad during the loosening lockdown. During strict lockdown, AOD was reduced up to 23% in Islamabad and 14.46% in Lahore. The results of KWt and WRST evident that all the mobility indices are significant (

Heavy metals (HMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic components of atmospheric particles. These pollutants induce a wide variety of responses in plants, leading to tolerance or toxicity. Their effects on plants depend on many different environmental conditions, not only the type and concentration of contaminant, temperature or soil pH, but also on the physiological or genetic status of the plant. The main detoxification process in plants is the accumulation of the contaminant in vacuoles or cell walls. PAHs are normally transformed by enzymatic plant machinery prior to conjugation and immobilization; heavy metals are frequently chelated by some molecules, with glutathione, phytochelatins and metallothioneins being the main players in heavy metal detoxification. Besides these detoxification mechanisms, the presence of contaminants leads to the production of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the dynamic of ROS production and detoxification renders different outcomes in different scenarios, from cellular death to the induction of stress resistances. ROS responses have been extensively studied; the complexity of the ROS response and the subsequent cascade of effects on phytohormones and metabolic changes, which depend on local concentrations in different organelles and on the lifetime of each ROS species, allow the plant to modulate its responses to different environmental clues. Basic knowledge of plant responses toward pollutants is key to improving phytoremediation technologies.

The relationship between atmospheric components and meteorological variables is essential to assess the air quality and thus avoid citizens' health risks. However, finding an association relationship between those factors could be complicated due to the number of categorization methods that can be used (e.g., frequency, size, binning). Therefore, the objective of this study is to propose a methodology that prepares data through a discretization process and then applies association techniques of the possible combinations between the analyzed variables. The results show that the method used is effective in locating patterns, which are useful for the environmental manager to find knowledge

One of the major health risks for humans, especially for those living in large cities, is air pollution. Air pollution consists mainly of emissions of particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ammonia and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The organic carbon fraction of particulate matter is a mixture of hundreds of organic compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), or polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), some of which are mutagenic and/or carcinogenic. Because this particulate matter represents a serious threat for human health, measures to reduce emissions and to eliminate contaminants need to be strongly reinforced, with a focus on novel biotechnologies. In this review, we will explore the possibilities that bacteria associated with plants may offer the amelioration of atmospheric contaminants in cities, and we will discuss this strategy in the context of ¿Green Architecture¿.

A statistical correlation study is carried out between numerical data corresponding to the concentration of the suspended particles and the concentration of polluting gases which are obtained from the measurements registered in the Automatic Atmospheric Monitoring Network database (RAMA) for Mexico City and the Metropolitan Area. An important dependency between the gas pairs NO2-NOX, NO-NOX, CO-NO, CO-NOX and the PM2.5-PM10, PMCO-PM10 particle pairs is reported when the study is carried out with reference to a single monitoring station. On the other hand, there is a close relationship between ozone (O3) from one station with ozone to another for different pairs of stations., Se lleva a cabo un estudio de correlación estadística entre datos numéricos correspondientes a la concentración de las partículas suspendidas y a la concentración de gases contaminantes que son obtenidos de las mediciones registradas en la base de datos de la Red Automática de Monitoreo Atmosférico (RAMA) para la Ciudad de México y el Área Metropolitana. Se reporta una importante dependencia entre los pares de gases NO2-NOX, NO-NOX, CO-NO, CO-NOX y los pares de partículas PM2.5-PM10, PMCO-PM10 cuando el estudio se realiza tomando como referencia una sola estación de monitoreo. Por otra parte, se encuentra una estrecha relación entre el ozono (O3) de una estación con el de otra para diferentes pares de estaciones

In humans, studies based on Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concept and targeting short half-lived chemicals, including many endocrine disruptors, generally assessed exposures from spot biospecimens. Effects of early-life exposure to atmospheric pollutants were reported, based on outdoor air pollution levels. For both exposure families, exposure misclassification is expected from these designs: for non-persistent chemicals, because a spot biospecimen is unlikely to capture exposure over windows longer than a few days; for air pollutants, because indoor levels are ignored. We developed a couple-child cohort relying on deep phenotyping and extended personal exposure assessment aiming to better characterize the effects of components of the exposome, including air pollutants and non-persistent endocrine disruptors, on child health and development. Pregnant women were included in SEPAGES couple-child cohort (Grenoble area) from 2014 to 2017. Maternal and children exposure to air pollutants was repeatedly assessed by personal monitors. DNA, RNA, serum, plasma, placenta, cord blood, meconium, child and mother stools, living cells, milk, hair and repeated urine samples were collected. A total of 484 pregnant women were recruited, with excellent compliance to the repeated urine sampling protocol (median, 43 urine samples per woman during pregnancy). The main health outcomes are child respiratory health using early objective measures, growth and neurodevelopment. Compared to former studies, the accuracy of assessment of non-persistent exposures is expected to be strongly improved in this new type of birth cohort tailored for the exposome concept, with deep phenotyping and extended exposure characterization. By targeting weaknesses in exposure assessment of the current approaches of cohorts on effects of early life environmental exposures with strong temporal variations, and relying on a rich biobank to provide insight on the underlying biological pathwa

The main objective of this paper is to present a mass conservative method for solving the one-dimensional equation of atmospheric pollutants transport, based on a finite volume method. In order to avoid numerical diffusion a trapezoid rule with a linear interpolation in the extremes of cells is used to approximate integrals. Air pollution problems can be treated by several techniques, we have used a spatial and time uniform grid, numerical results has been implemented in the computer program ATPOTRANS (Atmospheric Pollutants Transport).

This paper presents the first systematic atmospheric corrosion assessment in Bogota. Main facts about the study are related with special characteristics of the City, such as population (more than eight million inhabitants), and altitude (2600 m over the sea level). Relative humidity, temperature, and sulphate dioxide (SO2) concentration were measured. Simultaneously, corrosion rate of AISI-SAE 1006 plain steel was measured throughout a year. Results show that atmospheric corrosion is between low and medium levels, C2–C3, according to the ISO 9223 standard. Nevertheless, estimations from meteorological parameters produce lower corrosivity and, taking into account SO2 concentrations, corrosivity in places with higher relative humidity, are higher than corrosivity measured on steel coupons. In general, the main pollution problem is particulate matter, but higher corrosion rates were directly associated with SO2 levels. Gaps between found results and international estimation methodologies are evident. Some relative explanations are proposed., Se presentan resultados del primer estudio sistemático sobre la corrosividad atmosférica de Bogotá, donde se tienen características especiales como una población superior a ocho millones de personas y 2600 m sobre el nivel del mar. Se midieron humedad relativa, temperatura, concentración de dióxido de azufre (SO2) y velocidad de corrosión de acero al carbono AISI/SAE 1006. La corrosividad encontrada se ubica entre los niveles bajo y medio, C2–C3, según la norma ISO 9223. No obstante, los valores estimados a partir de los parámetros meteorológicos dan resultados menores y, de acuerdo a la concentración del SO2, las corrosividades en los sitios con mayor humedad relativa son mayores que las medidas en platinas de acero. El principal problema de contaminación es material particulado, pero las mayores tasas de corrosión estuvieron asociadas con los niveles de SO2. Diferencias entre los valores medidos y estimados son evidentes, proponiendo algunas explicaciones acerca de ello.

The depth of the planetary boundary-layer (PBL) is defined as the height of the inversion level separating the free troposphere (FT) from the boundary-layer (Stull, 1988). Reliable representation of PBL height is important in applications ranging from climate studies to air quality modeling. Convective turbulent mixing processes are dominant in the mixing layer of the PBL and have a major influence on the growth and transport of atmospheric pollutants. In recent years, lidar (laser radar) has proven to be a useful operational tool for nearly continuous monitoring of the lowest levels of the atmosphere with high spatial (~ 3.75 m) and temporal (< 5 min) resolutions. Four Raman-elastic multi-wavelength lidar stations from EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) conducted a 72-hr campaign of continuous observations over Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Madrid) and Portugal (Evora) in early July 2012. This study systematically exploits 1-min averaged, range-squared-corrected lidar signals (RSCS) from the 532 nm analog reception channel of the instruments. Several methods that have been applied in previous literature to derive PBL height from vertical aerosol backscatter profiles are compared. Most widely used are derivative techniques such as the gradient method (GM), inflection point method (IPM), and logarithm gradient method (LGM) and covariance techniques such as the wavelet covariance transform (WCT) method using a Haar wavelet. The methods function by detecting steep gradients in the aerosol backscatter profile, a proxy for the transition zone between the PBL and FT. It is found that all the methods provide comparable results. However, it is determined that WCT is an optimal method as it is more computationally efficient than the derivative techniques. In summer, PBL heights over the Iberian Peninsula are typically between 1-3 km. In addition, spatial patterns and diurnal variation of the PBL height and an analysis of the meteorological situation over the stu, Postprint (published version)

In this paper a kernel for time-series data is presented. The main idea of the kernel is that it is designed to recognize as similar time series that may be slightly shifted with one another. Namely, it tries to focus on the shape of the time-series and ignores the fact that the series may not be perfectly aligned. The proposed kernel has been validated on several datasets based on the UCR time-series repository [1]. A comparison with the well-known Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) distance and Euclidean distance shows that the proposed kernel outperforms the Euclidean distance and is competitive with respect to the DTW distance while having a much lower computational cost., Postprint (author’s final draft)

This research presents the results of estimates of air pollutants (CO, NOx, SO2, PM10 and VOC) from mobile sources in the urban area of the municipality of Envigado for 2010. We use information on vehicles registered in the municipality, capacity, vehicular distribution and activity for categories. The emissions were estimated by the factors in the IVE method with best fit to the mobility patterns, vehicular fleet characteristics and type of combustibles in the area under study. As a result, it was possible to estimate hourly and daily emissions of the pollutants studied, and with the help of a GIS system, were plotted. From the results, we found that the largest releases occurred on roads with higher vehicle traffic (Carrera 50 or Avenue Regional, Carrera 48 or Avenue Las Vegas, Carrera 43A or Avenue El Poblado and road parallel to the stream La Ayurá), where the largest contribution does carbon monoxide (CO) with 18,4 t d-1 (71,3 %), time of day which showed the highest emission of this pollutant is at 12:00 hours with 1,4 t h-1 (7,4 %) and the vehicle category that most contributes to environmental levels are Automobile with 8 t d-1 (32,7 %)., Este trabalho de pesquisa apresenta os resultados da estimativa de contaminantes atmosféricos (CO, NOx, SO2, PM10 e COV) provenientes de fontes móveis na zona urbana do município de Envigado para o ano 2010. Utilizou-se informação de veículos matriculados no município, contagens de tráfego, distribuição e atividade veicular. As emissões foram estimadas mediante os fatores estabelecidos no método IVE que melhor se ajustaram aos padrões de mobilidade, características do parque automotor e tipo de combustíveis presentes na zona de estudo. Como resultado, foi possível estimar as emissões horárias e diárias dos contaminantes analisados, e com a ajuda de um sistema SIG, se representaram graficamente. A partir dos resultados, evidenciou-se que as maiores emissões se apresentaram sobre as vias com maior trânsito veicular (Carrera 50 ou Avenida Regional, Carrera 48 ou Avenida Las Vegas, Carrera 43A ou Avenida El Poblado e via paralela a riacho Ayurá); a maior contribuição é feita pelo monóxido de carbono (CO) com 18,4 t d-1 (71,3 %), a hora do dia com maior emissão deste contaminante é as 12:00 horas com 1,4 t h-1 (7,4 %) e a categoria veicular que mais contribui aos níveis ambientais com este contaminante é Autos com 8,3 t d-1 (32,7 %)., Este trabajo de investigación presenta los resultados de la estimación de contaminantes atmosféricos (CO, NOx, SO2, PM10 y COV) provenientes de fuentes móviles en la zona urbana del municipio de Envigado para el año 2010. Se utilizó información de vehículos matriculados en el municipio, aforos, distribución y actividad vehiculares. Las emisiones fueron estimadas mediante los factores establecidos en el método IVE que mejor se ajustaron a los patrones de movilidad, características del parque automotor y tipo de combustibles presentes en la zona de estudio. Como resultado, fue posible estimar las emisiones horarias y diarias de los contaminantes analizados, y con la ayuda de un sistema SIG, se representaron gráficamente. A partir de los resultados, se evidenció que las mayores emisiones se presentaron sobre las vías con mayor tránsito vehicular (Carrera 50 o Avenida Regional, carrera 48 o Avenida Las Vegas, carrera 43A o Avenida El Poblado y vía paralela a la quebrada La Ayurá); el mayor aporte lo hace el monóxido de carbono (CO) con 18,4 t d-1 (71,3 %), la hora del día con mayor emisión de este contaminante es las 12:00 horas con 1,4 t h-1 (7,4 %) y la categoría vehicular que más aporta a los niveles ambientales con este contaminante es Autos con 8,3 ton d-1 (32,7 %).

The research reveals results of metal pollution on urban topsoil in relation to the metal content in leaves of two plant species and atmospheric particles. The content of pollutants (Ba, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Ti) was determined by ICP-OES. Twenty-two samples of soil were collected over a six-month period from two different urban sites and one from a rural zone. Regarding the pollution level, the studied soils were found to be low. Results for enrichment (EF) and concentration (CF) factors showed that soils were enriched in Pb, Ba, Cu and Ni. However, both species of plants showed a common behavior for all elements acting as excluders. ANOVA and different multivariate statistical analyses confirmed that the main pollution source of soil was traffic and fertilizers. Cd, Fe, Mn, Ti and V elements were attributed to natural sources. Also, it was suggested that N. oleander leaf is useful as a bio-monitors of soil pollution by Cu. Similarly, a direct relationship was found between the content of Cu in soils with the Cu level in PM10 atmospheric particles. The origin was attributed to dry and wet atmospheric deposition processes.

The feasibility of using a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer from an airborne platform for remote sensing of air pollution was investigated. Air Force Phillips Laboratory mounted a FTIR spectrometer into a small twin engine aircraft and obtained the data used in this investigation. The aircraft was flown over sections of New York and New England. The spectrometer was operated two different configurations, a passive configuration where the spectrometer viewed the warm ground and atmosphere below the aircraft, and an extractive mode where outside air was flushed through a 100 meter optical path gas cell. The spectral data were analyzed at AIL Systems Inc. for the presence of atmospheric pollutants.

This report presents results of a previously unreported investigation of atmospheric attenuation in the ultraviolet region carried out in the spring of 1962 at the Chesapeake Bay Division of NRL. Measurements were made over a path 1/2 mile long in the spectral region 0.25 micrometers to 0.535 micrometers. The extinction measurements showed the ozone concentrations to be between 0.026 and 0.04 ppm. several observations showed the presence of pollutant gases which were assumed to be a mixture of SO sub 2 and NO sub 2. The presence of NO sub 2 seems to be necessary to account for the observed extinctions below 0.30 micrometers.

Gomez-Guzman J.M., Camara-Mor P., Suzuki T., Lopez-Gutierrez J.M., Mas J.L., Masque P., Moran S.B., Smith J.N. (2014). New insights on the role of sea ice in intercepting atmospheric pollutants using 129I. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 89(1-2), 180-190. Available here

The depth of the planetary boundary-layer (PBL) is defined as the height of the inversion level separating the free troposphere (FT) from the boundary-layer (Stull, 1988). Reliable representation of PBL height is important in applications ranging from climate studies to air quality modeling. Convective turbulent mixing processes are dominant in the mixing layer of the PBL and have a major influence on the growth and transport of atmospheric pollutants. In recent years, lidar (laser radar) has proven to be a useful operational tool for nearly continuous monitoring of the lowest levels of the atmosphere with high spatial (~ 3.75 m) and temporal (< 5 min) resolutions. Four Raman-elastic multi-wavelength lidar stations from EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) conducted a 72-hr campaign of continuous observations over Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Madrid) and Portugal (Evora) in early July 2012. This study systematically exploits 1-min averaged, range-squared-corrected lidar signals (RSCS) from the 532 nm analog reception channel of the instruments. Several methods that have been applied in previous literature to derive PBL height from vertical aerosol backscatter profiles are compared. Most widely used are derivative techniques such as the gradient method (GM), inflection point method (IPM), and logarithm gradient method (LGM) and covariance techniques such as the wavelet covariance transform (WCT) method using a Haar wavelet. The methods function by detecting steep gradients in the aerosol backscatter profile, a proxy for the transition zone between the PBL and FT. It is found that all the methods provide comparable results. However, it is determined that WCT is an optimal method as it is more computationally efficient than the derivative techniques. In summer, PBL heights over the Iberian Peninsula are typically between 1-3 km. In addition, spatial patterns and diurnal variation of the PBL height and an analysis of the meteorological situation over the stu, Postprint (published version)