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Status report of air quality in Europe for year 2019, using validated data
This report presents summarized information on the status of air quality in Europe in 2019, based on validated air quality monitoring data officially reported by the member and cooperating countries of the EEA. It aims at informing on the status of ambient air quality in Europe in 2019 and on the progress towards meeting the European air quality standards for the protection of health, as well as the WHO air quality guidelines. The report also compares the air quality status in 2019 with the previous three years. The pollutants covered in this report are particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), O3, NO2, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), SO2, CO, benzene and toxic metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb). Measured concentrations above the European air quality standards for PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2 were reported by 21, 7, 24, and 22 European countries for 2019, respectively. Exceedances of the air quality standards for BaP, SO2, CO, and benzene were measured in, respectively, 14, 6, 3, and two European countries in 2019. Exceedances of European standards for toxic metals were reported by one country for Cd and Pb and by three countries for As and Ni.
ETC/ATNI
2021
Air quality European-wide annual maps based on the Air Quality (AQ) e-Reporting validated (E1a) measurement data, the EMEP modelling data and other supplementary data have been regularly produced, using the Regression – Interpolation – Merging Mapping (RIMM) methodology. However, due to the time schedule of production of the validated AQ measurement and the EMEP modelling data, the RIMM air quality maps of a year Y have typically not been available until May of year Y+2. In this report, we examine the AQ interim mapping, based on the preliminary (E2a) measurement and the CAMS Ensemble Forecast modelling data. Such interim maps could be prepared one year earlier than the validated maps. In order to overcome an obstacle of data gaps of E2a data in several areas, so-called pseudo stations data in areas with no E2a data are estimated, based on regression relation between E2a data from year Y and validated E1a data from year Y-1, together with the ratio of the modelling results from years Y and Y-1. The analysis have been performed for the PM10 annual average, the NO2 annual average and the ozone indicator SOMO35, based on the 2017 data. We evaluate these maps using the validated E1a data. Based on the results, we recommend the regular production of the interim AQ maps for the examined indicators, in addition to the regular AQ maps.
ETC/ATNI
2021
The long-term time trends of atmospheric pollutants at eight Arctic monitoring stations are reported. The work was conducted under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) of the Arctic Council. The monitoring stations were: Alert, Canada; Zeppelin, Svalbard; Stórhöfði, Iceland; Pallas, Finland; Andøya, Norway; Villum Research Station, Greenland; Tiksi and Amderma, Russia. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as α- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), α-endosulfan, chlordane, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) showed declining trends in air at all stations. However, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), one of the initial twelve POPs listed in the Stockholm Convention in 2004, showed either increasing or non-changing trends at the stations. Many POPs demonstrated seasonality but the patterns were not consistent among the chemicals and stations. Some chemicals showed winter minimum and summer maximum concentrations at one station but not another, and vice versa. The ratios of chlordane isomers and DDT species showed that they were aged residues. Time trends of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were showing decreasing concentrations at Alert, Zeppelin and Andøya. The Chemicals of Emerging Arctic Concern (CEAC) were either showing stable or increasing trends. These include methoxychlor, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol, and C9-C11 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs). We have demonstrated the importance of monitoring CEAC before they are being regulated because model calculations to predict their transport mechanisms and fate cannot be made due to the lack of emission inventories. We should maintain long-term monitoring programmes with consistent data quality in order to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical control efforts taken by countries worldwide.
Elsevier
2021
The rise of advanced ICT technologies has made it possible to apply low-cost sensor systems for measuring air quality in citizen science projects, including education. High school students in Norway used these sensor systems in a citizen science project to design, carry out, and evaluate their own research projects on air quality. An impact assessment framework was designed to assess the impact of these activities, considering five areas of impact: scientific, social, economic, political, and environmental. In addition, the framework also considers the transformative potential of the citizen science pilot, i.e., the degree to which the pilot can help to change, alter, or replace current systems, and the business-as-usual in one or more fields such as knowledge production or environmental protection. Data for this assessment were gathered in the form of questionnaires that the students had to complete before starting and after finalizing the pilot activities. The results showed positive impacts on learning, a pro-environmental world view, and an increase in pro-science attitudes and interest in scientific and environmental-related topics at the end of the pilot activities. Only weak impacts were measured for behavioral change. The activities showed transformative potential, which makes the student activities an example of good practice for citizen science activities on air quality with low-cost sensors.
MDPI
2021
Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) is an international partnership of research institutions studying the environment and climate in and around Svalbard. SIOS is developing an efficient observing system, where researchers share technology, experience, and data, work together to close knowledge gaps, and decrease the environmental footprint of science. SIOS maintains and facilitates various scientific activities such as the State of the Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report, international access to research infrastructure in Svalbard, Earth observation and remote sensing services, training courses for the Arctic science community, and open access to data. This perspective paper highlights the activities of SIOS Knowledge Centre, the central hub of SIOS, and the SIOS Remote Sensing Working Group (RSWG) in response to the unprecedented situation imposed by the global pandemic coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease 2019 (COVID-19). The pandemic has affected Svalbard research in several ways. When Norway declared a nationwide lockdown to decrease the rate of spread of the COVID-19 in the community, even more strict measures were taken to protect the Svalbard community from the potential spread of the disease. Due to the lockdown, travel restrictions, and quarantine regulations declared by many nations, most physical meetings, training courses, conferences, and workshops worldwide were cancelled by the first week of March 2020. The resumption of physical scientific meetings is still uncertain in the foreseeable future. Additionally, field campaigns to polar regions, including Svalbard, were and remain severely affected. In response to this changing situation, SIOS initiated several operational activities suitable to mitigate the new challenges resulting from the pandemic. This article provides an extensive overview of SIOS’s Earth observation (EO), remote sensing (RS) and other operational activities strengthened and developed in response to COVID-19 to support the Svalbard scientific community in times of cancelled/postponed field campaigns in Svalbard. These include (1) an initiative to patch up field data (in situ) with RS observations, (2) a logistics sharing notice board for effective coordinating field activities in the pandemic times, (3) a monthly webinar series and panel discussion on EO talks, (4) an online conference on EO and RS, (5) the SIOS’s special issue in the Remote Sensing (MDPI) journal, (6) the conversion of a terrestrial remote sensing training course into an online edition, and (7) the announcement of opportunity (AO) in airborne remote sensing for filling the data gaps using aerial imagery and hyperspectral data. As SIOS is a consortium of 24 research institutions from 9 nations, this paper also presents an extensive overview of the activities from a few research institutes in pandemic times and highlights our upcoming activities for the next year 2021. Finally, we provide a critical perspective on our overall response, possible broader impacts, relevance to other observing systems, and future directions. We hope that our practical services, experiences, and activities implemented in these difficult times will motivate other similar monitoring programs and observing systems when responding to future challenging situations. With a broad scientific audience in mind, we present our perspective paper on activities in Svalbard as a case study.
Earth observation; Remote sensing; COVID-19; Svalbard; Earth System Science; SIOS
MDPI
2021
2021
2021
Impacts of Short-lived Climate Forcers on Arctic Climate, Air Quality, and Human Health
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
2021
Skogens helsetilstand i Norge. Resultater fra skogskadeovervåkingen i 2020.
Skogens helsetilstand påvirkes i stor grad av klima og værforhold, enten direkte ved tørke, frost og vind, eller indirekte ved at klimaet påvirker omfanget av soppsykdommer og insektangrep. Klimaendringene og den forventede økningen i klimarelaterte skogskader gir store utfordringer for forvaltningen av framtidas skogressurser. Det samme gjør invaderende skadegjørere, både allerede etablerte arter og nye som kan komme til Norge i nær framtid. I denne rapporten presenteres resultater fra skogskadeovervåkingen i Norge i 2020 og trender over tid.
I den landsrepresentative skogovervåkingen har kronetettheten hos gran og furu holdt seg stabil i 2020 sammenlignet med tidligere år. Det ble registrert lite misfarging hos bartrærne.
Skadenivået hos både bartrær, bjørk og andre løvtrær var lavere enn i 2019. Abiotiske faktorer med snø, vind og tørke som de viktigste årsakene dominerte skadebildet hos alle treslag.
Kjemiske analyser av luft og nedbør i den intensive skogovervåkingen viser at det fortsatt er høyest verdier av antropogene svovel- og nitrogenforbindelser på den sørligste overvåkingsflata i Birkenes grunnet langtransportert forurensing. Den høyeste konsentrasjonen av nitrogendioksid i luft ble målt på stasjonen i Hurdal i 2020, noe som skyldes utslipp fra veitrafikken i regionen. Det var lave nivåer av bakkenært ozon i Norge i 2020 og ingen overskridelser av UNECEs grenseverdi på 5000 ppb-timer for skog. Vegetasjonsanalysene fra Hurdal har påvist en endring i bunn-vegetasjonens artssammensetning grunnet økt lystilgang og mye barnålstrø. Både hogst utenfor overvåkingsflata og flere skrantende, råteangrepne og døde grantrær i flata har bidratt til økt lystilgang og til større strømengde på bakken. Mange grantrær på flata i Hurdal er sterkt preget av råte med lav kronetetthet og mye misfarging. Flere trær på flata har dødd de seinere årene som følge av råteskader, ofte i kombinasjon med andre faktorer som vindfelling og skader etter tørken i 2018 med påfølgende barkbilleangrep.
Overvåking av bjørkemålere har vist at fjellbjørkeskogen både i Nord-Norge og fjellregionene i sørlige halvdel av landet har vært utsatt for betydelige utbrudd av bjørkemålere i løpet av perioden 2012–2018. Overvåkingsdata fra 2019 og 2020 tyder imidlertid på at målerbestandene nå er lave eller i sterk tilbakegang i det meste av landet. I Troms har målerbestandene allerede nådd et bunnpunkt, og bestandene er nedadgående også i fjellet i Sør-Norge. Vi forventer derfor at skogen i mesteparten av Norge vil bli mindre utsatt for angrep av bjørkemålere de neste par årene.
De fleste fylkene hadde en økning i fangstverdiene i barkbilleovervåkingen i 2020-sesongen. Alle fangstverdiene var imidlertid under 10 000 biller per felle, mens de høyeste verdiene ved slutten av utbruddet på 1970-tallet var rundt 25 000 biller per felle. Fylkene rundt Oslofjorden hadde noen lokale tilfeller av tørke- og barkbilleskader. Det ble ikke funnet noen tydelig økning av fellefangstene i tiden for en annen generasjon, men modellberegninger viser at stor granbarkbille har nok døgngrader til å gjennomføre to generasjoner før overvintring.
I august 2020 ble soppen Diplodia sapinea funnet på sterkt skadet vrifuru i Ås kommune. Tidligere har det blitt gjort noen få funn av soppen på andre bartrearter i det samme området. D. sapinea er vanlig i varmere strøk på flere kontinenter, spesielt på furuarter. De pågående klima-endringene har trolig bidratt til at soppen har kunnet spre og etablere seg mot nord, men vi kan heller ikke utelukke innførsel av soppen via plantemateriale til bruk i grøntanlegg eller skog. D. sapinea er trolig bare i etableringsfasen i Norge, og har til dags dato gjort liten skade på våre stedegne bartrær.....
NIBIO
2021
Main sources controlling atmospheric burdens of persistent organic pollutants on a national scale
National long-term monitoring programs on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in background air have traditionally relied on active air sampling techniques. Due to limited spatial coverage of active air samplers, questions remain (i) whether active air sampler monitoring sites are representative for atmospheric burdens within the larger geographical area targeted by the monitoring programs, and thus (ii) if the main sources affecting POPs in background air across a nation are understood. The main objective of this study was to explore the utility of spatial and temporal trends in concert with multiple modelling approaches to understand the main sources affecting polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in background air across a nation. For this purpose, a comprehensive campaign was carried out in summer 2016, measuring POPs in background air across Norway using passive air sampling. Results were compared to a similar campaign in 2006 to assess possible changes over one decade. We furthermore used the Global EMEP Multi-media Modeling System (GLEMOS) and the Flexible Particle dispersion model (FLEXPART) to predict and evaluate the relative importance of primary emissions, secondary emissions, long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT) and national emissions in controlling atmospheric burdens of PCB-153 on a national scale. The concentrations in air of both PCBs and most of the targeted OCPs were generally low, with the exception of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). A limited spatial variability for all POPs in this study, together with predictions by both models, suggest that LRAT dominates atmospheric burdens across Norway. Model predictions by the GLEMOS model, as well as measured isomeric ratios, further suggest that LRAT of some POPs are dictated by secondary emissions. Our results illustrate the utility of combining observations and mechanistic modelling approaches to help identify the main factors affecting atmospheric burdens of POPs across a nation, which, in turn, may be used to inform both national monitoring and control strategies.
Elsevier
2021
2021
2021
The alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge. The aims of hCOMET were to establish reference values for the level of DNA damage in humans, to investigate the effect of host factors, lifestyle and exposure to genotoxic agents, and to compare different sources of assay variability. A database of 19,320 subjects was generated, pooling data from 105 studies run by 44 laboratories in 26 countries between 1999 and 2019. A mixed random effect log-linear model, in parallel with a classic meta-analysis, was applied to take into account the extensive heterogeneity of data, due to descriptor, specimen and protocol variability. As a result of this analysis interquartile intervals of DNA strand breaks (which includes alkali-labile sites) were reported for tail intensity, tail length, and tail moment (comet assay descriptors). A small variation by age was reported in some datasets, suggesting higher DNA damage in oldest age-classes, while no effect could be shown for sex or smoking habit, although the lack of data on heavy smokers has still to be considered. Finally, highly significant differences in DNA damage were found for most exposures investigated in specific studies. In conclusion, these data, which confirm that DNA damage measured by the comet assay is an excellent biomarker of exposure in several conditions, may contribute to improving the quality of study design and to the standardization of results of the comet assay in human populations.
Elsevier
2021
Emission changes are the main driver of all air pollutant trends. For NO2 and PM10, both the GAM and the CTM results indicate that emission changes contribute to at least 90% of the 2000-2017 trend. For ozone peaks (as 4MDA8), meteorology can be important. The GAM model estimates that it contributes to an increase counteracting mitigation effort up to a magnitude of 20 to 80% (compared to the effect of emission and background changes) in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, and Italy. Given the good skill of the GAM model to capture meteorological effect, this estimate can be considered quite robust.
The relative contribution of agriculture and industry to the total PM10 mass has been reduced by around 30% for both sectors, but the similarity of evolution is not directly linked to the emission trends in the respective sectors. The relationship between emissions and concentrations is nonlinear and depends on availability of precursor gases to form ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate. The relative contribution of traffic sources to PM10 has been reduced with around 20%, while the trend attributed to residential heating is marginal. The heating sector has become a relatively more important contributor to the aerosol pollution and needs more attention. The model also indicates that the natural contributions (such as sea salt and dust) has had little impact on the long-term changes in PM10.
The analysis includes observational data only from stations with data available for at least 14 years in the period 2000-2017. This drastically reduces the number of monitoring sites included in the analysis and the spatial representativity of the assessment, with bias towards countries benefiting from a long-term monitoring network.
Further improvements of models as well as observational basis are needed to reduce the uncertainties. Understanding organic aerosols from the residential heating sector should be a priority.
ETC/ATNI
2021
The health risk related to exposure to air pollution (fine particulate matter - PM2.5, ozone - O3, and nitrogen dioxide - NO2) in 2019 was estimated in terms of number of premature deaths and years of life lost related to exposure to for 41 European countries, including the 27 EU Member States. In 2019, air pollution continued to drive a significant burden of premature death and disease in the 41 countries reporting to EEA: 373,000 premature deaths were attributed to chronic exposure to PM2.5; 47,700 premature deaths were attributed to chronic NO2 exposure; 19,070 premature deaths were attributed to acute O3 exposure. The analysis on the EU’s progress to reach the 2030 target established in the Zero Pollution Action Plan shows a steady decrease in the number of premature deaths along the years, and if it continues to fall at a comparable rate in the future, then the target would be achieved by 2032. Had the new WHO air quality guideline level for PM2.5 of 5 µg/m3 been attained already in 2019 everywhere in Europe, the number of estimated premature deaths would have been at least 58 % lower. On the other hand, the attainment of the EU limit value for PM2.5 of 25 µg/m3 would have left the estimated number of premature deaths unchanged in EU-27.
ETC/ATNI
2021
This paper presents a modelling study on the fate of CHBr3 and its product gases in the troposphere within the context of tropical deep convection. A cloud-scale case study was conducted along the west coast of Borneo, where several deep convective systems were triggered on the afternoon and early evening of 19 November 2011. These systems were sampled by the Falcon aircraft during the field campaign of the SHIVA project and analysed using a simulation with the cloud-resolving meteorological model C-CATT-BRAMS at 2×2 km resolution that represents the emissions, transport by large-scale flow, convection, photochemistry, and washout of CHBr3 and its product gases (PGs). We find that simulated CHBr3 mixing ratios and the observed values in the boundary layer and the outflow of the convective systems agree. However, the model underestimates the background CHBr3 mixing ratios in the upper troposphere, which suggests a missing source at the regional scale. An analysis of the simulated chemical speciation of bromine within and around each simulated convective system during the mature convective stage reveals that >85 % of the bromine derived from CHBr3 and its PGs is transported vertically to the point of convective detrainment in the form of CHBr3 and that the remaining small fraction is in the form of organic PGs, principally insoluble brominated carbonyls produced from the photo-oxidation of CHBr3. The model simulates that within the boundary layer and free troposphere, the inorganic PGs are only present in soluble forms, i.e. HBr, HOBr, and BrONO2, and, consequently, within the convective clouds, the inorganic PGs are almost entirely removed by wet scavenging. We find that HBr is the most abundant PG in background lower-tropospheric air and that this prevalence of HBr is a result of the relatively low background tropospheric ozone levels at the regional scale. Contrary to a previous study in a different environment, for the conditions in the simulation, the insoluble Br2 species is hardly formed within the convective systems and therefore plays no significant role in the vertical transport of bromine. This likely results from the relatively small quantities of simulated inorganic bromine involved, the presence of HBr in large excess compared to HOBr and BrO, and the relatively efficient removal of soluble compounds within the convective column.
2021
Hydrolysis of FTOH precursors, a simple method to account for some of the unknown PFAS
There is a growing concern over a suspected presense of unknown perfluoroaliphatic substances (PFAS) in consumer goods and in the environment. Such unknown substances, possibly with high molecular weight, might be precursors of hazardous or controlled known PFAS. Recent studies confirmed that total organic fluorine (TOF) content often can not be explained by the measured target PFAS. One of the suspected classes of such unknowns are polymers with fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) residues in a side chain. In this report we suggest hydrolysis of precursors, as a complementary method to account for the unknown PFAS. It was shown here that hydrolysis allows to preserve structural information on the perlfuorinated parts of the precursors, which can be an advantage for the purpose of accurate risk assessment or source identification. A convenient procedure for hydrolysis with 4% sodium hydroxide inwater-methanol mixture (1:9) at 60 C for 16 h was shown to convert model substances - FTOH acrylate, methacrylate and isobutyrate esters as well as FTOH phenylcarbamate to free FTOHs. Analysis of extracts of textile samples with preliminary hydrolysis and without it showed up to 1300-fold higher level of “hidden” FTOHs.
Elsevier
2021
Observational studies suggest that part of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) variability may be attributed to the spectral ultra-violet (UV) irradiance variations associated to the 11-year solar cycle. The observed maximum surface pressure response in the North Atlantic occurs 2–4 years after solar maximum, and some model studies have identified that atmosphere–ocean feedbacks explain the multi-year lag. Alternatively, medium-to-high energy electron (MEE) precipitation, which peaks in the declining phase of the solar cycle, has been suggested as a potential cause of this lag. We use a coupled (ocean–atmosphere) climate prediction model and a state-of-the-art MEE forcing to explore the respective roles of irradiance and MEE precipitation on the NAO variability. Three decadal ensemble experiments were conducted over solar cycle 23 in an idealized setting. We found a weak ensemble-mean positive NAO response to the irradiance. The simulated signal-to-noise ratio remained very small, indicating the predominance of internal NAO variability. The lack of multi-annual lag in the NAO response was likely due to lagged solar signals imprinted in temperatures below the oceanic mixed-layer re-emerging equatorward of the oceanic frontal zones, which anchor ocean–atmosphere feedbacks. While there is a clear, yet weak, signature from UV irradiance in the atmosphere and upper ocean over the North Atlantic, enhanced MEE precipitation on the other hand does not lead to any systematic changes in the stratospheric circulation, despite its marked chemical signatures.
MDPI
2021
2021
2021