Fant 9758 publikasjoner. Viser side 321 av 391:
2020
Social-Environmental Analysis for the Management of Coastal Lagoons in North Africa
This study provides an overview of 11 lagoons in North Africa, from the Atlantic to the Eastern Mediterranean. Lagoons are complex, transitional, coastal zones providing valuable ecosystem services that contribute to the welfare of the human population. The main economic sectors in the lagoons included fishing, shellfish harvesting, and salt and sand extraction, as well as maritime transport. Economic sectors in the areas around the lagoons and in the watershed included agriculture, tourism, recreation, industrial, and urban development. Changes were also identified in land use from reclamation, changes in hydrology, changes in sedimentology from damming, inlet modifications, and coastal engineering. The human activities in and around the lagoons exert multiple pressures on these ecosystems and result in changes in the environment, affecting salinity, dissolved oxygen, and erosion; changes in the ecology, such as loss of biodiversity; and changes in the delivery of valuable ecosystem services. Loss of ecosystem services such as coastal protection and seafood affect human populations that live around the lagoons and depend on them for their livelihood. Adaptive management frameworks for social–ecological systems provide options that support decision makers with science-based knowledge to deliver sustainable development for ecosystems. The framework used to support the decision makers for environmental management of these 11 lagoons is Drivers–Activities–Pressures–State Change–Impact (on Welfare)–Responses (as Measures).
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020
Costs and benefits of implementing an Environmental Speed Limit in a Nordic city
We present a comprehensive study on the impacts and associated changes in costs resulting from the implementation of Environmental Speed Limits (ESLs), as a measure to reduce PM10 and associated health effects. We present detailed modelled emissions (i.e., CO2, NOx, PM2.5 and PM10), concentration levels (i.e., PM2.5 and PM10) and population exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 under three scenarios of ESL implementation for the Metropolitan Area of Oslo. We find that whilst emissions of NOx and CO2 do not seem to show significant changes with ESL implementation, PM10 emissions are reduced by 6–12% and annual concentration levels are reduced up to 8%, with a subsequent reduction in population exposure. The modelled data is used to carry out a detailed analysis to quantify the changes in private and social costs for the roads in Oslo where ESL are implemented today. This involves assessments related to human health, climate, fuel consumption, time losses and the incidence of traffic accidents. For a scenario using actual speed data from ESL implementation, our study shows a net benefit associated with the implementation of ESLs, whilst for a theoretical scenario with strict speed limit compliance we find a net increase in costs. This is largely due to variation in costs due to time losses between the scenarios, although uncertainties are high.
Elsevier
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
The geographic distribution of NO2-concentrations in air in the area around E16 Arna – Vågsbotn (Bergen) was mapped by
NILU after request by Statens vegvesen. Measurements were carried out with passive air samplers at 10 sites in the area
Gaupås-Kalsås-Blinde. The project was carried out in winter (28. January – 24. March 2020) in an area which often is subject to inversion conditions in wintertime.
The winter 2019-2020 proved to be a mild winter, no inversion conditions were registered. The NO2-concentration was highest in the first week and decreased gradually every week. During the two last weeks, traffic was reduced as a consequence of pandemia measures. The average concentration at the most polluted site over the entire measurement period was 22.9 μg/m3. Comparison of results from the measurement area with observations from monitoring stations in Bergen showed that the NO2-level close to E16 was as high as at traffic stations in Bergen.
NILU
2020
Equinor Mongstad. Spredningsberegninger av utslipp til luft.
NILU has performed dispersion calculations for emissions of NOx, SOx and particles to air from Mongstad refinery north of Bergen on the west coast of Norway. Hourly mean concentrations have been calculated using the Gaussian model CONCX. All hourly mean values are below Norwegian threshold values. Regional model calculations using the WRF-EMEP model system, show low values of NOx, SOx and particles in the vicinity of the Mongstad refinery. All calculated values are below Norwegian threshold values. Deposition calculations show that 12 % of nitrogen, 17 % of sulphur and 18 % of PM10 from Mongstad are deposited within the innermost model grid (105 x 105 km2). As an additional study, the components lead, mercury, chromium, PCB7, cadmium and arsenic have been assessed. The contribution from Mongstad refinery is small.
NILU
2020
2020
Atmospheric turbulence and in particular its effect on tracer dispersion may be measured by cameras sensitive to the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) sunlight by sulfur dioxide (SO2), a gas that can be considered a passive tracer over short transport distances. We present a method to simulate UV camera measurements of SO2 with a 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer model which takes input from a large eddy simulation (LES) of a SO2 plume released from a point source. From the simulated images the apparent absorbance and various plume density statistics (centre-line position, meandering, absolute and relative dispersion, and skewness) were calculated. These were compared with corresponding quantities obtained directly from the LES. Mean differences of centre-line position, absolute and relative dispersions, and skewness between the simulated images and the LES were generally found to be smaller than or about the voxel resolution of the LES. Furthermore, sensitivity studies were made to quantify how changes in solar azimuth and zenith angles, aerosol loading (background and in plume), and surface albedo impact the UV camera image plume statistics. Changing the values of these parameters within realistic limits has negligible effects on the centre-line position, meandering, absolute and relative dispersions, and skewness of the SO2 plume. Thus, we demonstrate that UV camera images of SO2 plumes may be used to derive plume statistics of relevance for the study of atmospheric turbulent dispersion.
2020
2020
2020
Survey of emissions of volatile organic chemicals from handheld toys for children above 3 years
NILU
2020
Grenseområdene Norge-Russland. Luft- og nedbørkvalitet, årsrapport 2019.
The nickel smelters in northwest-Russia emit large quantities of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and heavy metals. These emissions lead to enhanced concentrations of environmental pollutants in the border areas. The monitoring programme shows that air quality in the border areas was in compliance with Norwegian critical levels for SO2 for the calendar year 2019, as well as for seasonal mean for winter 2018/19. In January 2019, there were two episodes with elevated concentrations of SO2 at Svanvik. At 25 January 2019, the local population was notified by SMS. Target values for Ni and As were met.
NILU
2020