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Unchanged PM2.5 levels over Europe during COVID-19 were buffered by ammonia
The coronavirus outbreak in 2020 had a devastating impact on human life, albeit a positive effect on the environment, reducing emissions of primary aerosols and trace gases and improving air quality. In this paper, we present inverse modelling estimates of ammonia emissions during the European lockdowns of 2020 based on satellite observations. Ammonia has a strong seasonal cycle and mainly originates from agriculture. We further show how changes in ammonia levels over Europe, in conjunction with decreases in traffic-related atmospheric constituents, modulated PM2.5. The key result of this study is a −9.8 % decrease in ammonia emissions in the period of 15 March–30 April 2020 (lockdown period) compared to the same period in 2016–2019, attributed to restrictions related to the global pandemic. We further calculate the delay in the evolution of the ammonia emissions in 2020 before, during, and after lockdowns, using a sophisticated comparison of the evolution of ammonia emissions during the same time periods for the reference years (2016–2019). Our analysis demonstrates a clear delay in the evolution of ammonia emissions of −77 kt, which was mainly observed in the countries that imposed the strictest travel, social, and working measures. Despite the general drop in emissions during the first half of 2020 and the delay in the evolution of the emissions during the lockdown period, satellite and ground-based observations showed that the European levels of ammonia increased. On one hand, this was due to the reductions in SO2 and NOx (precursors of the atmospheric acids with which ammonia reacts) that caused less binding and thus less chemical removal of ammonia (smaller loss – higher lifetime). On the other hand, the majority of the emissions persisted because ammonia mainly originates from agriculture, a primary production sector that was influenced very little by the lockdown restrictions. Despite the projected drop in various atmospheric aerosols and trace gases, PM2.5 levels stayed unchanged or even increased in Europe due to a number of reasons that were attributed to the complicated system. Higher water vapour during the European lockdowns favoured more sulfate production from SO2 and OH (gas phase) or O3 (aqueous phase). Ammonia first reacted with sulfuric acid, also producing sulfate. Then, the continuously accumulating free ammonia reacted with nitric acid, shifting the equilibrium reaction towards particulate nitrate. In high-free-ammonia atmospheric conditions such as those in Europe during the 2020 lockdowns, a small reduction in NOx levels drives faster oxidation toward nitrate and slower deposition of total inorganic nitrate, causing high secondary PM2.5 levels.
2025
2025
2025
The winter of 2023/24 exhibited remarkable stratospheric dynamics with multiple sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Based on the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA5) polar-cap-averaged 10 hPa zonal wind, three major SSWs are identified. Two of the three SSWs were short-lived, lasting under 7 d. In this study, we give an overview of the three SSWs that occurred in the winter of 2023/24 and focus on the impact of tropospheric forcing on their duration. Blocking high-pressure systems are shown to modulate wave activity flux into the stratosphere through interactions with tropospheric planetary waves, depending on their location. The rapid termination of the first SSW (14–19 January 2024) is linked to a developing high-pressure system over the North Pacific. The second SSW (16–22 February 2024) terminated quickly due to more contributing factors, one of which was a high-pressure system that developed over the Far East. The third SSW (3–28 March 2024) was a long-duration canonical event extending to levels below 100 hPa. In contrast to the two short-lived SSWs in the winter of 2023/24, tropospheric forcing was sustained around the SSW onset in March 2024, allowing a long event to develop. We also note that conditions for these SSWs were particularly favorable due to external factors, including an easterly Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), the presence of El Niño conditions of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, and the proximity to the solar maximum.
2025
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VKM skal lage oversikt over hvilke krav som bør stilles til konsekvensutredninger ved planlegging av nye vindkraftprosjekter. Det er laget en protokoll som beskriver hvordan VKM vil gå frem for å løse oppdraget.
Bakgrunn for oppdraget
Et vindkraftverk kan forurense omgivelsene både under etablering, drift og avvikling. Dersom området ligger innenfor et vanntilsigsområde for drikkevann, kan det utgjøre en forurensningsfare for drikkevannet.
Mattilsynet er høringsinstans når vindkraftverk skal etableres, og de ønsker en oversikt over hvilke krav som bør stilles til konsekvensutredningene.
Dette er en bestilling fra Mattilsynet, som fører tilsyn med drikkevann.
Om protokollen
VKM har utarbeidet en protokoll for hvordan vi skal løse oppdraget som går på å utarbeide krav til informasjon om, og risikovurdering av farene ved søknad om etablering av vindkraftverk. Protokollen favner bruk av kjemiske stoffer og annen aktuell forurensing som kan utgjøre en risiko for drikkevann gjennom hele vindkraftverkets livsløpssyklus (anlegg, drift, vedlikehold og avvikling)
2025
Little is known about the exposure of aquatic biota to tire and road wear particles (TRWP) washed away from roads. Mussels were exposed for 7 days to model TRWP (m-TRWP), produced by milling tire tread particles with pure sand, and analyzed for 21 tire-related compounds by liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Upon exposure to 0.5 g/L of m-TRWP, 15 compounds were determined from 944 μg/kg wet weight (diphenylguanidine, DPG) over 18 μg/kg for an oxidation product of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6-PPDQ) to 0.6 μg/kg (4-hydroxydiphenyl amine). Transfer into mussels was highest for PTPD, DTPD and 6-PPDQ and orders of magnitude lower for 6-PPD. During 7 days depuration the concentration of all determined chemicals decreased to remaining concentrations between ~50 % (PTPD, DTPD) and 6 % (6-PPD). Suspect and non-target screening found 37 additional transformation products (TPs) of tire additives, many of which did not decrease in concentration during depuration, among them ten likely TPs of DPG, two of 6-PPD and PTPD and two of 1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline. A wide variety of chemicals is taken up by mussels upon exposure to m-TRWP and a wide range of TPs is formed, enabling the differentiation of biomarkers of exposure to TRWP and biomarkers of exposure to tire-associated chemicals.
2025
2025
Sex and Gender Dimensions in Hazard and Risk Assessment of Engineered Nanomaterials
The knowledge on hazards and risks connected to human exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) is still very limited, despite several decades of research and regulatory efforts at the international level. In particular, sex/gender‐related responses to such exposure have not been clearly articulated so far in any of the existing guidance documents or regulatory relevant opinions provided to the parties involved in the risk assessment and risk management of ENMs. We aimed to demonstrate the relevance of the sex/gender dimension for the characterization of the risks and hazards associated with ENMs by analyzing existing scientific data on sex‐related differences in response to ENMs exposure. This was achieved by performing an extensive review of in vivo mammalian toxicity studies published in PubMed and Web of Science databases. Further analysis was performed only for data reported in publications that satisfied scientific quality criteria assessed using the GUIDEnano approach. Finally, we demonstrated the importance of the sex/gender dimension for safety testing of ENMs in the future and provided recommendations on how to include the sex/gender dimension in toxicity testing of ENMs to ensure precise, transparent, and reliable conclusions in the process of hazard and risk assessments. This article is categorized under: Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Regulatory and Policy Issues in Nanomedicine
2025
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2025
Best Practice Protocol for the validation of Aerosol, Cloud, and Precipitation Profiles (ACPPV)
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites - CEOS
2025
Introduction
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to effects on human lipid profiles, with several epidemiological studies reporting associations between specific PFAS and blood lipid concentrations. However, these associations have been inconsistent, and most studies have focused on cross-sectional analyses with limited repeated measurements.
Objective
In this study, we investigated associations between serum PFAS concentrations and major blood lipid classes over a 30-year period (1986–2016) and up to five time points. Lipids analyzed included total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG).
Methods
This study included 145 participants from The Tromsø Study, Norway, who donated plasma samples three to five times over the study period. Linear mixed-effects (LME) models assessed longitudinal associations between PFAS and lipid classes, while multiple linear regression (MLR) models were used for cross-sectional associations.
Results
LME models demonstrated positive longitudinal associations between perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA), and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA) with TC. Additionally, PFOA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, and PFTrDA were associated with LDL-C, and PFUnDA and summed perfluorooctane sulfonate isomers (∑PFOS) with HDL-C. Cross-sectional analyses corroborated positive associations between the six PFAS compounds and TC at least three times, but the LDL-C and HDL-C associations were not confirmed. Summed perfluorooctane sulfonamide isomers (∑PFOSA) showed a negative association with LDL-C longitudinally, but this was not confirmed cross-sectionally. No associations were observed between PFAS and TG, longitudinally or cross-sectionally.
Conclusion
Concentrations of multiple PFAS were positively associated with blood lipids in longitudinal analyses, with the most consistent associations observed between six PFCA compounds and TC. These findings highlight the need for further investigation into these complex associations.
2025
Alarmerende funn: Advarer: - Om dette fortsetter blir det ille
Metanutslipp på Svalbard øker i takt med et varmere klima. Nå advarer forskerne om at utslippene vil kunne overstige olje- og energisektoren.
2025