1. |
- de Hoogh, Kees, et al.
(author)
-
Comparing land use regression and dispersion modelling to assess residential exposure to ambient air pollution for epidemiological studies
- 2014
-
In: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 73, s. 382-392
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Land-use regression (LUR) and dispersion models (DM) are commonly used for estimating individual air pollution exposure in population studies. Few comparisons have however been made of the performance of these methods. Objectives: Within the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) we explored the differences between LUR and DM estimates for NO2, PM10 and PM2.5. Methods: The ESCAPE study developed LUR models for outdoor air pollution levels based on a harmonised monitoring campaign. In thirteen ESCAPE study areas we further applied dispersion models. We compared LUR and DM estimates at the residential addresses of participants in 13 cohorts for NO2; 7 for PM10 and 4 for PM2.5. Additionally, we compared the DM estimates with measured concentrations at the 20-40 ESCAPE monitoring sites in each area. Results: The median Pearson R (range) correlation coefficients between LUR and DM estimates for the annual average concentrations of NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 were 0.75 (0.19-0.89), 0.39 (0.23-0.66) and 0.29 (0.22-0.81) for 112,971 (13 study areas), 69,591 (7) and 28,519(4) addresses respectively. The median Pearson R correlation coefficients (range) between DM estimates and ESCAPE measurements were of 0.74(0.09-0.86) for NO2; 0.58 (0.36-0.88) for PM10 and 0.58 (0.39-0.66) for PM2.5. Conclusions: LUR and dispersion model estimates correlated on average well for NO2 but only moderately for PM10 and PM2.5, with large variability across areas. DM predicted a moderate to large proportion of the measured variation for NO2 but less for PM10 and PM2.5.
|
|
2. |
- Denby, Bruce, et al.
(author)
-
ESTIMATING DOMESTIC WOOD BURNING EMISSIONS OF PARTICULATE MATTER IN TWO NORDIC CITIES BY COMBINING AMBIENT AIR OBSERVATIONS WITH RECEPTOR AND DISPERSION MODELS
- 2010
-
In: Chemical Industry and Chemical Engineering Quarterly. - 1451-9372. ; 16:3, s. 237-241
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The major emission source of primary PM2 (5) in many Nordic countries is wood burning for domestic heating Though direct measurements of wood burning emissions are possible under controlled conditions, emission inventories for urban scale domestic heating are difficult to calculate and remain uncertain As an alternative method for estimating these emissions, this paper makes use of ambient air measurements chemical analysis of filter samples receptor models, dispersion models, and simple inverse modelling methods to infer the emission strengths A comparison of dispersion models with receptor models indicates that the dispersion models tend to overestimate the contribution from wood burning The inverse modelling results are found to agree with those from the receptor modelling Though both the receptor and inverse modelling point to an overestimation of the wood burning emissions of PM2 (5), it is not possible to assign this solely to errors in the emissions inventory as a dispersion model error can be significant It is recommended to improve plume rise and urban canopy meteorological descriptions in the dispersion models before these models are of sufficient quality to allow quantitative assessments of emission inventories
|
|
3. |
- Klein, Thomas, et al.
(author)
-
Interactions of physical, chemical, and biological weather calling for an integrated approach to assessment, forecasting, and communication of air quality.
- 2012
-
In: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 41:8, s. 851-64
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article reviews interactions and health impacts of physical, chemical, and biological weather. Interactions and synergistic effects between the three types of weather call for integrated assessment, forecasting, and communication of air quality. Today's air quality legislation falls short of addressing air quality degradation by biological weather, despite increasing evidence for the feasibility of both mitigation and adaptation policy options. In comparison with the existing capabilities for physical and chemical weather, the monitoring of biological weather is lacking stable operational agreements and resources. Furthermore, integrated effects of physical, chemical, and biological weather suggest a critical review of air quality management practices. Additional research is required to improve the coupled modeling of physical, chemical, and biological weather as well as the assessment and communication of integrated air quality. Findings from several recent COST Actions underline the importance of an increased dialog between scientists from the fields of meteorology, air quality, aerobiology, health, and policy makers.
|
|
4. |
- Laurén, Ari, et al.
(author)
-
Nitrogen and Carbon Dynamics and the Role of Enchytraeid Worms in Decomposition of L, F and H Layers of Boreal Mor
- 2012
-
In: Water, Air and Soil Pollution. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0049-6979 .- 1573-2932. ; 223:7, s. 3701-3719
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Decomposition of organic material releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and ammonium (NH4-N) into soil water. Each of the decomposition products contributes differently to overall export of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) to water courses. Our aim was to study the quantity and composition of the released C and N as affected by the organic material and soil fauna, represented by enchytraeid worms. We measured the release rate of carbon dioxide, and calculated the release rates for DOC and dissolved N in soil from repeated measurements of DOC and N pools during laboratory incubation of litter (L), fermented (F) and humus (H) layers of boreal forest mor. The intermediate decomposition products, DOC and DON, were characterised according to the molecule size. The release rate of the decomposition products was higher for fresh than for old organic material. The majority of N and C were released as NH4-N and CO2, respectively. The amount of extractable organic N in soil decreased by time but DON increased. Enchytraeids stimulated N mineralisation and the release of large molecule size DOC, particularly in L layer. The results suggest that organic N in extractable form biodegrades effectively, and that soil fauna have an important role in the decomposition. The results were interpreted from the water quality point of view and the implications of the results to modelling of decomposition and export of DOC and dissolved N to recipient water bodies are discussed. In the modelling context, the novelty of the study is the description of the intermediate decomposition products and the division of the dissolved organic compounds into low molecular weight and high molecular weight fractions.
|
|
5. |
- Wang, Meng, et al.
(author)
-
Long-term exposure to elemental constituents of particulate matter and cardiovascular mortality in 19 European cohorts : Results from the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects
- 2014
-
In: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 66, s. 97-106
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality have been widely recognized. However, health effects of long-term exposure to constituents of PM on total CVD mortality have been explored in a single study only. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the association of PM composition with cardiovascular mortality. Methods: We used data from 19 European ongoing cohorts within the framework of the ESCAPE (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects) and TRANSPHORM (Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter) projects. Residential annual average exposure to elemental constituents within particle matter smaller than 2.5 and 10 pm (PM2.5 and PM10) was estimated using Land Use Regression models. Eight elements representing major sources were selected a priori (copper, iron, potassium, nickel, sulfur, silicon, vanadium and zinc). Cohort-specific analyses were conducted using Cox proportional hazards models with a standardized protocol. Random-effects metaanalysis was used to calculate combined effect estimates. Results: The total population consisted of 322,291 participants, with 9545 CVD deaths. We found no statistically significant associations between any of the elemental constituents in PM2.5 or PM10 and CVD mortality in the pooled analysis. Most of the hazard ratios (HRs) were close to unity, e.g. for PM10 Fe the combined HR was 0.96 (0.84-1.09). Elevated combined HRs were found for PM2.5 Si (1.17, 95% Cl: 0.93-1.47), and S in PM2.5 (1.08,95% Cl: 0.95-1.22) and PM10 (1.09,95% Cl: 0.90-132). Conclusion: In a joint analysis of 19 European cohorts, we found no statistically significant association between long-term exposure to 8 elemental constituents of particles and total cardiovascular mortality.
|
|