| 1. |
- Andersson-Sköld, Yvonne, et al.
(författare)
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An integrated method for assessing climate-related risks and adaptation alternatives in urban areas
- 2015
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Ingår i: Climate Risk Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-0963. ; 7, s. 31-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2015 The Authors. The urban environment is a complex structure with interlinked social, ecological and technical structures. Global warming is expected to have a broad variety of impacts, which will add to the complexity. Climate changes will force adaptation, to reduce climate-related risks. Adaptation measures can address one aspect at the time, or aim for a holistic approach to avoid maladaptation. This paper presents a systematic, integrated approach for assessing alternatives for reducing the risks of heat waves, flooding and air pollution in urban settings, with the aim of reducing the risk of maladaptation. The study includes strategies covering different spatial scales, and both the current climate situation and the climate predicted under climate change scenarios. The adaptation strategies investigated included increasing vegetation; selecting density, height and colour of buildings; and retreat or resist (defend) against sea-level rise. Their effectiveness was assessed with regard to not only flooding, heat stress and air quality but also with regard to resource use, emissions to air (incl. GHG), soil and water, and people's perceptions and vulnerability. The effectiveness of the strategies were ranked on a common scale (from -3 to 3) in an integrated assessment. Integrated assessments are recommended, as they help identify the most sustainable solutions, but to reduce the risk of maladaptation they require experts from a variety of disciplines. The most generally applicable recommendation, derived from the integrated assessment here, taking into account both expertise from different municipal departments, literature surveys, life cycle assessments and publics perceptions, is to increase the urban greenery, as it contributes to several positive aspects such as heat stress mitigation, air quality improvement, effective storm-water and flood-risk management, and it has several positive social impacts. The most favourable alternative was compact, mid-rise, light coloured building design with large parks/green areas and trees near buildings.
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| 2. |
- Denby, B. R., et al.
(författare)
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Road salt emissions : A comparison of measurements and modelling using the NORTRIP road dust emission model
- 2016
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 141, s. 508-522
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- De-icing of road surfaces is necessary in many countries during winter to improve vehicle traction. Large amounts of salt, most often sodium chloride, are applied every year. Most of this salt is removed through drainage or traffic spray processes but a certain amount may be suspended, after drying of the road surface, into the air and will contribute to the concentration of particulate matter. Though some measurements of salt concentrations are available near roads, the link between road maintenance salting activities and observed concentrations of salt in ambient air is yet to be quantified. In this study the NORTRIP road dust emission model, which estimates the emissions of both dust and salt from the road surface, is applied at five sites in four Nordic countries for ten separate winter periods where daily mean ambient air measurements of salt concentrations are available. The model is capable of reproducing many of the salt emission episodes, both in time and intensity, but also fails on other occasions. The observed mean concentration of salt in PM10, over all ten datasets, is 4.2 μg/m3 and the modelled mean is 2.8 μg/m3, giving a fractional bias of −0.38. The RMSE of the mean concentrations, over all 10 datasets, is 2.9 μg/m3 with an average R2 of 0.28. The mean concentration of salt is similar to the mean exhaust contribution during the winter periods of 2.6 μg/m3. The contribution of salt to the kerbside winter mean PM10 concentration is estimated to increase by 4.1 ± 3.4 μg/m3 for every kg/m2 of salt applied on the road surface during the winter season. Additional sensitivity studies showed that the accurate logging of salt applications is a prerequisite for predicting salt emissions, as well as good quality data on precipitation. It also highlights the need for more simultaneous measurements of salt loading together with ambient air concentrations to help improve model parameterisations of salt and moisture removal processes. © 2016 The Authors
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| 3. |
- Andersson-Sköld, Yvonne, et al.
(författare)
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A framework for assessing urban greenery's effects and valuing its ecosystem services
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Academic Press. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 205, s. 274-285
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ongoing urban exploitation is increasing pressure to transform urban green spaces, while there is increasing awareness that greenery provides a range of important benefits to city residents. In efforts to help resolve associated problems we have developed a framework for integrated assessments of ecosystem service (ES) benefits and values provided by urban greenery, based on the ecosystem service cascade model. The aim is to provide a method for assessing the contribution to, and valuing, multiple ES provided by urban greenery that can be readily applied in routine planning processes. The framework is unique as it recognizes that an urban greenery comprises several components and functions that can contribute to multiple ecosystem services in one or more ways via different functional traits (e.g. foliage characteristics) for which readily measured indicators have been identified. The framework consists of five steps including compilation of an inventory of indicator; application of effectivity factors to rate indicators' effectiveness; estimation of effects; estimation of benefits for each ES; estimation of the total ES value of the ecosystem. The framework was applied to assess ecosystem services provided by trees, shrubs, herbs, birds, and bees, in green areas spanning an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden. Estimates of perceived values of ecosystem services were obtained from interviews with the public and workshop activities with civil servants. The framework is systematic and transparent at all stages and appears to have potential utility in the existing spatial planning processes.
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| 4. |
- Lundberg, Joacim, 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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Wet Dust Sampler : a Sampling Method for Road Dust Quantification and Analyses
- 2019
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Ingår i: Water, Air and Soil Pollution. - : Springer. - 0049-6979 .- 1573-2932. ; 230:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In northern countries, the climate, and consequently the use of studded tyres and winter traction sanding, causes accumulation of road dust over winter and spring, resulting in high PM10 concentrations during springtime dusting events. To quantify the dust at the road surface, a method—the wet dust sampler (WDS)—was developed allowing repeatable sampling also under wet and snowy conditions. The principle of operation is flushing high-pressurised water over a defined surface area and transferring the dust laden water into a container for further analyses.In this paper, the latest version of the WSD is presented together with an evaluation of its performance. To evaluate the WDS, the ejected water amount was measured, as well as water losses in different parts of the sampling system, together with indicative dust measurement using turbidity as a proxy for dust concentration. The results show that the WDS, when accounting for all losses, have a predictable and repeatable water performance, with no impact on performance based on the variety of asphalt surface types included in this study, given undamaged surfaces. The largest loss was found to be water retained on the surface, and the dust measurements imply that this might not have as large impact on the sampled dust as could be expected. A theoretical particle mass balance shows small particle losses, while field measurements show higher losses. Several tests are suggested to validate and improve on the mass balances. Finally, the WDS is found to perform well and is able to contribute to further knowledge regarding road dust implications for air pollution.
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| 5. |
- Jarsjö, Jerker, et al.
(författare)
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Projecting impacts of climate change on metal mobilization at contaminated sites: Controls by the groundwater level
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 712
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heavy metal and metalloid contamination of topsoils from atmospheric deposition and release from landfills, agriculture, and industries is a widespread problem that is estimated to affect >50% of the EU's land surface. Influx of contaminants from soil to groundwater and their further downstream spread and impact on drinking water quality constitute a main exposure risk to humans. There is increasing concern that the present contaminant loading of groundwater and surface water systems may be altered, and potentially aggravated, by ongoing climate change, through large-scale impacts on recharge and groundwater levels. We investigated this issue by performing hydrogeological-geochemical model projections of changes in metal(loid) (As and Pb) mobilization in response to possible (climate-driven) future shifts in groundwater level and fluctuation amplitudes. We used observed initial conditions and boundary conditions for contaminated soils in the temperate climate zone. The results showed that relatively modest increases (0.2 m) in average levels of shallow groundwater systems, which may occur in Northern Europe within the coming two decades, can increase mass flows of metals through groundwater by a factor of 2–10. There is a similar risk of increased metal mobilization in regions subject to increased (seasonal or event-scale) amplitude of groundwater levels fluctuations. Neglecting groundwater level dynamics in predictive models can thus lead to considerable and systematic underestimation of metal mobilization and future changes. More generally, our results suggest that the key to quantifying impacts of climate change on metal mobilization is to understand how the contact between groundwater and the highly water-conducting and geochemically heterogeneous topsoil layers will change in the future.
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| 6. |
- Kalantari, Zahra, et al.
(författare)
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Modeller subjectivity and calibration impacts on hydrological model applications : an event-based comparison for a road-adjacent catchment in South-East Norway
- 2015
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 502, s. 315-329
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying a ‘best’ performing hydrologic model in a practical sense is difficult due to the potential influences of modeller subjectivity on, for example, calibration procedure and parameter selection. This is especially true for model applications at the event scale where the prevailing catchment conditions can have a strong impact on apparent model performance and suitability. In this study, two lumped models (CoupModel and HBV) and two physically-based distributed models (LISEM and MIKE SHE) were applied to a small catchment upstream of a road in south-eastern Norway. All models were calibrated to a single event representing typical winter conditions in the region and then applied to various other winter events to investigate the potential impact of calibration period and methodology on model performance. Peak flow and event-based hydrographs were simulated differently by all models leading to differences in apparent model performance under this application. In this case-study, the lumped models appeared to be better suited for hydrological events that differed from the calibration event (i.e., events when runoff was generated from rain on non-frozen soils rather than from rain and snowmelt on frozen soil) while the more physical-based approaches appeared better suited during snowmelt and frozen soil conditions more consistent with the event-specific calibration. This was due to the combination of variations in subsurface conditions over the eight events considered, the subsequent ability of the models to represent the impact of the conditions (particularly when subsurface conditions varied greatly from the calibration event), and the different approaches adopted to calibrate the models. These results indicate that hydrologic models may not only need to be selected on a case-by-case basis but also have their performance evaluated on an application-by-application basis since how a model is applied can be equally important as inherent model structure.
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| 7. |
- Järlskog, Ida, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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Concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in the road environment
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tire wear particles (TWP) are assumed to be one of the major sources of microplastic pollution to the environment. However, many of the previously published studies are based on theoretical estimations rather than field measurements. To increase the knowledge regarding actual environmental concentrations, samples were collected and analyzed from different matrices in a rural highway environment to characterize and quantify TWP and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles. The sampled matrices included road dust (from kerb and in-between wheeltracks), runoff (water and sediment), and air. In addition, airborne deposition was determined in a transect with increasing distance from the road. Two sieved size fractions (2–20 µm and 20–125 µm) were analyzed by automated Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) single particle analysis and classified with a machine learning algorithm into the following subclasses: TWP, bitumen wear particles (BiWP), road markings, reflecting glass beads, metals, minerals, and biogenic/organic particles. The relative particle number concentrations (%) showed that the runoff contained the highest proportion of TWP (up to 38 %). The share of TWP in kerb samples tended to be higher than BiWP. However, a seasonal increase of BiWP was observed in coarse (20–125 µm) kerb samples during winter, most likely reflecting studded tire use. The concentration of the particle subclasses within airborne PM80-1 decreases with increasing distance from the road, evidencing road traffic as the main emission source. The results confirm that road dust and the surrounding environment contain traffic-derived microplastics in both size fractions. The finer fraction (2–20 µm) dominated (by mass, volume, and number) in all sample matrices. These particles have a high potential to be transported in water and air far away from the source and can contribute to the inhalable particle fraction (PM10) in air. This highlights the importance of including also finer particle fractions in future investigations.
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| 8. |
- Andersson-Sköld, Yvonne, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
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Mikroplast från däck- och vägslitage : en kunskapssammanställning
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Denna kunskapssammanställning handlar om mikroplast från vägtrafikens däck- och vägslitage. Eftersom kunskapen om mikroplaster från vägtrafiken är begränsad samtidigt som däckslitage bedöms vara den största källan till utsläpp av mikroplast i Sverige, gav regeringen inom ramen för sitt arbete med plast och mikroplast Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut (VTI) i uppdrag att under 2018– 2020 ta fram och sprida kunskap om mikroplast från vägtrafiken. Varje kapitel i denna rapport sammanfattar befintlig kunskap om mikroplast från vägtrafiken avseende en eller flera aspekter. Dessa aspekter är: källor, spridning och förekomst; miljö- och hälsoeffekter samt risker; egenskaper och kemisk sammansättning; däck- och vägslitage; provtagningsmetoder; analys- och provberedningsmetoder samt åtgärder. Dessutom finns ett kapitel med sammanfattande slutsatser och allra sist ett kapitel om forsknings-, utvecklings- och utredningsbehov.Syftet med rapporten är att den ska utgöra ett underlag för att minska emissioner och spridning av mikroplast från vägtrafiken. Ett mål med rapporten är att sammanställa och sprida kunskap om mikroplast från däck- och vägslitage och att redogöra för nuvarande kunskapsläge. Ytterligare ett mål är att identifiera kunskaps- och forskningsbehov avseende mikroplast från vägtrafiken.Underlaget till denna kunskapssammanställning utgörs av vetenskapliga artiklar och rapporter samt facklitteratur och information från branschen och från experter.
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| 9. |
- Järlskog, Ida, 1991
(författare)
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Occurrence of Traffic-Derived Microplastics in Different Matrices in the Road Environment
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The prevalence of microplastic contamination has raised concerns about the potential risk and impact on the global environment. Traffic-derived microplastics, i.e., tire wear particles (TWP), polymer-modified bitumen, and road markings contribute to the emissions, and TWP are assumed to be one of the largest sources of microplastic emissions. Due to analytical difficulties, there is still a knowledge gap regarding transport routes, environmental concentrations, and toxicity. This thesis aims to investigate the occurrence of traffic-derived microplastics in several traffic environments and thereby increase the understanding of the particles. Samples were collected on the road surface (Paper I‒IV), in the stormwater (Paper I, II, and IV), in the air (Paper IV), and in material collected by a street sweeper (Paper I‒II). In addition to environmental samples, a road-simulator was used to generate TWP in a controlled environment enabling comparison between tire types and brands resulting in a deeper understanding of the characteristics and physicochemical properties of TWP (Paper V). Different sample preparation steps such as optimised density separation, solvent cleaning, and size fractionation have been assessed, and several analytical methods light microscopy, SEM/EDX, FTIR, and pyr-GC/MS have been evaluated and used for the analysis of traffic-derived particles. Further, a novel method, automated SEM/EDX single particle analysis coupled to a machine learning classifier, has been developed for the analysis of TWP and other traffic-derived particles (Paper III, implemented in Paper IV). The automated SEM/EDX determined the size, shape, surface texture, and elemental composition of the different particles, and was able to categorize the particles into several subclasses: TWP, bitumen, road markings, metals, organics, and minerals. The estimated absolute masses showed that the fine fraction (2‒20 µm) corresponds to more than 50w% of the TWP and bitumen wear particles independently of the sample matrix indicating that TWP can both affect the PM10 concentrations and be transported long distances through water and air (Paper IV). Further, it was concluded that the stormwater system is an important transport route for traffic-derived particles, especially since the road runoff in Sweden is not commonly treated prior to release to recipients. Street sweeping as a potential measure to prevent the spreading of TWP was evaluated in Paper I‒II. Even though the street sweeper collects considerable amounts of material containing high concentrations of TWP, metals, and organic pollutants, no clear reduction was detected neither on the road surface nor in the stormwater. Besides traffic-derived microplastics, Paper II analysed metals and organic pollutants. The results showed concentrations of metals, PAH, phthalates, and aliphatic hydrocarbons exceeding the national guidelines. The result from this thesis contributes to an increased knowledge about the properties and composition of TWP as well as the occurrence of traffic-derived microplastics in different environments. The results can be used as validation against theoretical emissions and transport models. The results have also highlighted the importance of including fine particles (<20 µm) in forthcoming works.
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| 10. |
- Kalantari, Zahra, et al.
(författare)
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Quantifying the hydrological impact of simulated changes in land use on peak discharge in a small catchment
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 466, s. 741-754
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A physically-based, distributed hydrological model (MIKE SHE) was used to quantify overland runoff in response to four extreme rain events and four types of simulated land use measure in a catchment in Norway. The current land use in the catchment comprises arable lands, forest, urban areas and a stream that passes under a motorway at the catchment outlet. This model simulation study demonstrates how the composition and configuration of land use measures affect discharge at the catchment outlet differently in response to storms of different sizes. For example, clear-cutting on 30% of the catchment area produced a 60% increase in peak discharge and a 10% increase in total runoff resulting from a 50-year storm event in summer, but the effects on peak discharge were less pronounced during smaller storms. Reforestation of 60% of the catchment area was the most effective measure in reducing peak flows for smaller (2-, 5- and 10-year) storms. Introducing grassed waterways reduced water velocity in the stream and resulted in a 28% reduction in peak flow at the catchment outlet for the 50-year storm event. Overall, the results indicate that the specific effect of land use measures on catchment discharge depends on their spatial distribution and on the size and timing of storm events.
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