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2021
Reviews and syntheses: Arctic fire regimes and emissions in the 21st century
In recent years, the pan-Arctic region has experienced increasingly extreme fire seasons. Fires in the northern high latitudes are driven by current and future climate change, lightning, fuel conditions, and human activity. In this context, conceptualizing and parameterizing current and future Arctic fire regimes will be important for fire and land management as well as understanding current and predicting future fire emissions. The objectives of this review were driven by policy questions identified by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Working Group and posed to its Expert Group on Short-Lived Climate Forcers. This review synthesizes current understanding of the changing Arctic and boreal fire regimes, particularly as fire activity and its response to future climate change in the pan-Arctic have consequences for Arctic Council states aiming to mitigate and adapt to climate change in the north. The conclusions from our synthesis are the following. (1) Current and future Arctic fires, and the adjacent boreal region, are driven by natural (i.e. lightning) and human-caused ignition sources, including fires caused by timber and energy extraction, prescribed burning for landscape management, and tourism activities. Little is published in the scientific literature about cultural burning by Indigenous populations across the pan-Arctic, and questions remain on the source of ignitions above 70∘ N in Arctic Russia. (2) Climate change is expected to make Arctic fires more likely by increasing the likelihood of extreme fire weather, increased lightning activity, and drier vegetative and ground fuel conditions. (3) To some extent, shifting agricultural land use and forest transitions from forest–steppe to steppe, tundra to taiga, and coniferous to deciduous in a warmer climate may increase and decrease open biomass burning, depending on land use in addition to climate-driven biome shifts. However, at the country and landscape scales, these relationships are not well established. (4) Current black carbon and PM2.5 emissions from wildfires above 50 and 65∘ N are larger than emissions from the anthropogenic sectors of residential combustion, transportation, and flaring. Wildfire emissions have increased from 2010 to 2020, particularly above 60∘ N, with 56 % of black carbon emissions above 65∘ N in 2020 attributed to open biomass burning – indicating how extreme the 2020 wildfire season was and how severe future Arctic wildfire seasons can potentially be. (5) What works in the boreal zones to prevent and fight wildfires may not work in the Arctic. Fire management will need to adapt to a changing climate, economic development, the Indigenous and local communities, and fragile northern ecosystems, including permafrost and peatlands. (6) Factors contributing to the uncertainty of predicting and quantifying future Arctic fire regimes include underestimation of Arctic fires by satellite systems, lack of agreement between Earth observations and official statistics, and still needed refinements of location, conditions, and previous fire return intervals on peat and permafrost landscapes. This review highlights that much research is needed in order to understand the local and regional impacts of the changing Arctic fire regime on emissions and the global climate, ecosystems, and pan-Arctic communities.
2021
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
2021
Seasonal to interannual variations in the concentrations of sulfur aerosols (< 2.5 µm in diameter; non sea-salt sulfate: NSS-SO2−4; anthropogenic sulfate: Anth-SO2−4; biogenic sulfate: Bio-SO2−4; methanesulfonic acid: MSA) in the Arctic atmosphere were investigated using measurements of the chemical composition of aerosols collected at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (78.9∘ N, 11.9∘ E) from 2015 to 2019. In all measurement years the concentration of NSS-SO2−4 was highest during the pre-bloom period and rapidly decreased towards summer. During the pre-bloom period we found a strong correlation between NSS-SO2−4 (sum of Anth-SO2−4 and Bio-SO2−4) and Anth-SO2−4. This was because more than 50 % of the NSS-SO2−4 measured during this period was Anth-SO2−4, which originated in northern Europe and was subsequently transported to the Arctic in Arctic haze. Unexpected increases in the concentration of Bio-SO2−4 aerosols (an oxidation product of dimethylsulfide: DMS) were occasionally found during the pre-bloom period. These probably originated in regions to the south (the North Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea) rather than in ocean areas in the proximity of Ny-Ålesund. Another oxidation product of DMS is MSA, and the ratio of MSA to Bio-SO2−4 is extensively used to estimate the total amount of DMS-derived aerosol particles in remote marine environments. The concentration of MSA during the pre-bloom period remained low, primarily because of the greater loss of MSA relative to Bio-SO2−4 and the suppression of condensation of gaseous MSA onto particles already present in air masses being transported northwards from distant ocean source regions (existing particles). In addition, the low light intensity during the pre-bloom period resulted in a low concentration of photochemically activated oxidant species including OH radicals and BrO; these conditions favored the oxidation pathway of DMS to Bio-SO2−4 rather than to MSA, which acted to lower the MSA concentration at Ny-Ålesund. The concentration of MSA peaked in May or June and was positively correlated with phytoplankton biomass in the Greenland and Barents seas around Svalbard. As a result, the mean ratio of MSA to the DMS-derived aerosols was low (0.09 ± 0.07) in the pre-bloom period but high (0.32 ± 0.15) in the bloom and post-bloom periods. There was large interannual variability in the ratio of MSA to Bio-SO2−4 (i.e., 0.24 ± 0.11 in 2017, 0.40 ± 0.14 in 2018, and 0.36 ± 0.14 in 2019) during the bloom and post-bloom periods. This was probably associated with changes in the chemical properties of existing particles, biological activities surrounding the observation site, and air mass transport patterns. Our results indicate that MSA is not a conservative tracer for predicting DMS-derived particles, and the contribution of MSA to the growth of newly formed particles may be much larger during the bloom and post-bloom periods than during the pre-bloom period.
2021
We synthesized N2O emissions over North America using 17 bottom-up (BU) estimates from 1980–2016 and five top-down (TD) estimates from 1998 to 2016. The BU-based total emission shows a slight increase owing to U.S. agriculture, while no consistent trend is shown in TD estimates. During 2007–2016, North American N2O emissions are estimated at 1.7 (1.0–3.0) Tg N yr−1 (BU) and 1.3 (0.9–1.5) Tg N yr−1 (TD). Anthropogenic emissions were twice as large as natural fluxes from soil and water. Direct agricultural and industrial activities accounted for 68% of total anthropogenic emissions, 71% of which was contributed by the U.S. Our estimates of U.S. agricultural emissions are comparable to the EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, which includes estimates from IPCC tier 1 (emission factor) and tier 3 (process-based modeling) approaches. Conversely, our estimated agricultural emissions for Canada and Mexico are twice as large as the respective national GHG inventories.
2021
Low-risk removal of embedded surface soiling on delicate heritage objects can require novel alternatives to traditional cleaning systems. Edvard Munch’s monumental Aula paintings (1911–16) have a long history of exposure to atmospheric pollution and cleaning campaigns that have compromised the appearance and the condition of these important artworks. Soiling removal from porous and water-sensitive, unvarnished oil paintings continues to be a major conservation challenge. This paper presents the approach and results of research into the effect and efficiency of three novel systems used for soiling removal: soft particle blasting, CO2-snow blasting, and Nanorestore Gel® Dry and Peggy series hydrogels. Cleaning tests were performed on accelerated-aged and artificially soiled mock-ups consisting of unvarnished oil paint and chalk-glue grounds. Visual and analytical assessment (magnification using a light microscope and scanning electron microscope, as well as colour- and gloss measurement) was carried out before and after mock-up cleaning tests and the results were compared to those obtained using the dry polyurethane sponges employed in the most recent Aula surface cleaning campaign (2009–11). Although the results varied, the Nanorestore Gel® series proved promising with respect to improved soiling removal efficiency, and reduced pigment loss for the water-sensitive surfaces evaluated, compared to dry sponges.
2021
The Arctic middle atmosphere was affected by major sudden stratospheric warmings (SSW) in February 2018 and January 2019, respectively. In this article, we report for the first time the impact of these two events on the middle atmospheric nitric oxide (NO) abundance. The study is based on measurements obtained during two dedicated observation campaigns, using the Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (SMR) aboard the Odin satellite, measuring NO globally since 2003. The SSW of February 2018 was similar to other, more dynamically quiet, Arctic winters in term of NO downward transport from the upper mesosphere–lower thermosphere to lower altitudes (referred to as energetic particle precipitation indirect effect EPP-IE). On the contrary, the event of January 2019 led to one of the strongest EPP-IE cases observed within the Odin operational period. Important positive NO anomalies were indeed observed in the lower mesosphere–upper stratosphere during the three months following the SSW onset, corresponding to NO volume mixing ratios more than 50 times higher than the climatological values. These different consequences on the middle atmospheric composition are explained by very different dynamical characteristics of these two SSW events.
2021
2021
This report analyses evolution and trends of air quality in Europe, based on a 15-year time series of spatial data fusion maps for the years 2005-2019. The analysis has been performed for PM10 annual average, the ozone indicator SOMO35 and NO2 annual average. For the purpose of the Eionet Report - ETC/ATNI 2021/11 trend analysis, a consistent reconstruction of the full 15-year time series of air quality maps has been performed, based on a consistent mapping methodology and input data. For the reconstruction, the Regression – Interpolation – Merging Mapping (RIMM) methodology as routinely used in the regular European-wide annual mapping has been applied.
The trend analysis has been performed based on time series of the aggregated data for individual countries, for large European regions and for the entire mapping area, both for spatial and population-weighted aggregations. In addition, maps of trends have been constructed based on the trend estimates for all grid cells of a map.
For the European-wide aggregations across the whole mapping area, statistically significant downward trend have been estimated for PM10 and NO2, while no significant trend was detected in the case of ozone.
ETC/ATNI
2021
2021
Method for high resolution emission estimations from construction sites. Phase I: Mapping input data
This report presents the results from exploring the available input data to develop a model for estimating air pollutants and GHG-emissions based on a bottom-up approach, including both exhaust and non-exhaust emissions. The availability of
reliable input data is the limiting factor and the most critical part of designing such a bottom-up approach. In this study, we have focussed on assessing input data that allow defining; i) the exact location and area affected during building and construction; ii) the starting and finalization dates; iii) the type of construction activity; iv) the non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) activity within building and construction; v) roads in the vicinity of construction sites.
NILU
2021
Development of Renewable Energy and its Impact on Air Quality. Co-benefits and Trade-Offs.
This study is an continuation of the work initiated in the European Topic Centre on Climate Change Mitigation and Energy (ETC/CME; report 2019/8) on the effect of the development of renewable energy sources (RES) since 2005 on emissions of anthropogenic air pollutants, which found that RES have led to an estimated increase of primary particulate matter emissions and a decrease of emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides. The current study aims at evaluating the impact of these emission changes on air quality and human health by using the air quality model CHIMERE to understand the distribution of emissions. To this end, the emissions corresponding to a reference scenario and to different scenarios of development of renewable energy sources were spatialized over Europe based on the spatialization of emissions used within the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). The CHIMERE model was applied to calculate, for the year 2016, the impact of the different scenarios on air quality. Finally, the possible impact on human health was assessed. We also include a specific section devoted to residential emission spatialization techniques to review the related uncertainties.
According to the simulation results using emissions based on official data, significant increases of particulate matter concentrations exceeding 1 μg/m3 were found for some countries, linked primarily to the increase in residential wood burning when comparing 2005 with 2016. Exceptions were Portugal and Greece (two countries that decreased their use of biomass for heating). At the scale of the EU27+UK, in 2016, the interplay between emission increases due to biomass use and emission decreases due to all other RES growth is estimated to be responsible for around 9 200 premature deaths and 97 000 years of life lost. As such, the increase in solid biomass heating alone, (due particularly by the high emissions of fine particulate matter from domestic stoves), is estimated to be responsible for an increase of around 10 700 premature deaths and 113 000 years of life lost in 2016. These premature deaths could have been prevented by promoting the development of other RES than solid biomass heating.
Similar results were found at the European scale with simulations using emissions based on expert estimates but with strong differences according to the country. The differences are mostly due to differences in emissions that may not account for semi-volatile organic compounds for some countries. Excluding heating with biomass, all other RES use appears to have led to small reductions of particulate matter concentrations across the Union, with air quality benefits estimated at 1 600 avoided premature deaths and 16 000 prevented years of life lost in 2016. This is because the deployment of RES other than heating from solid biomass from 2005 to 2016 only lead to small changes in emissions of pollutants. However, these sources represented only 13% of the heating and electricity production in 2016.
ETC/ATNI
2021
Vurdering av CLEO for norske reindriftsutøvere
Denne rapporten er en evaluering av Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network ved bruk av erfaringene fra pilottestene utført i perioden 2016-2020 av arktiske akademikere, urfolksinstitusjoner og samisk samfunn i Norge. Rapporten prøver å finne svar på hvordan man kan tilrettelegge for innrapportering av observasjoner på lokale miljøendringer blant norske reindriftsutøvere samt opprettholde en utstrakt bruk. Dette for å skape engasjement, bevisstgjøring, forsterke lokale stemmer og identifisere svar på viktige miljøutfordringer og mulige handlinger, og søke konstruktive og respektfulle måter å dele informasjon og samarbeid mellom ulike kunnskapssystemer.
Rapporten konkluderer med at for å gjøre det mulig for norske reindriftsutøvere å rapportere inn observasjoner av klimaendringer i miljøet, og legge til rette for en utstrakt og kontinuerlig bruk, bør det bygges en egen Sápmi løsning.
NILU
2021
2021
Integrated water vapor during rain and rain-free conditions above the Swiss Plateau
Water vapor column density, or vertically-integrated water vapor (IWV), is monitored by ground-based microwave radiometers (MWR) and ground-based receivers of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). For rain periods, the retrieval of IWV from GNSS Zenith Wet Delay (ZWD) neglects the atmospheric propagation delay of the GNSS signal by rain droplets. Similarly, it is difficult for ground-based dual-frequency single-polarisation microwave radiometers to separate the microwave emission of water vapor and cloud droplets from the rather strong microwave emission of rain. For ground-based microwave radiometry at Bern (Switzerland), we take the approach that IWV during rain is derived from linearly interpolated opacities before and after the rain period. The intermittent rain periods often appear as spikes in the time series of integrated liquid water (ILW) and are indicated by ILW ≥ 0.4 mm. In the present study, we assume that IWV measurements from radiosondes are not affected by rain. We intercompare the climatologies of IWV(rain), IWV(no rain), and IWV(all) obtained by radiosonde, ground-based GNSS atmosphere sounding, ground-based MWR, and ECMWF reanalysis (ERA5) at Payerne and Bern in Switzerland. In all seasons, IWV(rain) is 3.75 to 5.94 mm greater than IWV(no rain). The mean IWV differences between GNSS and radiosonde at Payerne are less than 0.26 mm. The datasets at Payerne show a better agreement than the datasets at Bern. However, the MWR at Bern agrees with the radiosonde at Payerne within 0.41 mm for IWV(rain) and 0.02 mm for IWV(no rain). Using the GNSS and rain gauge measurements at Payerne, we find that IWV(rain) increases with increase of the precipitation rate during summer as well as during winter. IWV(rain) above the Swiss Plateau is quite well estimated by GNSS and MWR though the standard retrievals are limited or hampered during rain periods.
2021
Implementing Citizen Science in Primary Schools: Engaging Young Children in Monitoring Air Pollution
Most European cities have air pollution levels that exceed the threshold for human health protection. Children are sensitive to air pollution and thus it is important to ensure they are not exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants. In order to make a positive change toward cleaner air, a joint effort is needed, involving all civil society actors. Schools and local communities have a decisive role, and can, for example, become engaged in citizen science initiatives and knowledge coproduction. In 2019, with the aim of raising awareness for air quality, NILU developed a citizen science toolbox to engage primary schools in monitoring air quality using a simple and affordable measuring method based on paper and petroleum jelly. This is a very visual method, where the students can clearly see differences from polluted and non-polluted places by looking at “how dirty” is the paper. In addition to the qualitative analysis, we have developed an air meter scale making possible for the students to obtain an indicative measurement of the air pollution level. The comparison between the paper and petroleum jelly method against reference PM10 data collected at two official air quality stations showed a good agreement. The method is a strong candidate for dust monitoring in citizen science projects, making participation possible and empowering people with simple tools at hand. The toolbox is targeted at primary schools and children aged 6–12 years, although it can easily be adapted to other age groups. The main objective of the toolbox is to involve young children who are usually not targeted in air quality citizen science activities, to develop research skills and critical thinking, as well as increase their awareness about the air they breathe. The toolbox is designed to engage students in hands-on activities, that challenge them to create hypotheses, design scientific experiments, draw conclusions and find creative solutions to the air pollution problem. The toolbox includes all the necessary material for the teachers, including guidance, background information and templates facilitating the incorporation in the school curricula. The toolbox was launched as part of the Oslo European Green Capital in March 2019 and was later included as part of the European Clean Air Day initiative coordinated by the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) working group on air quality. A total of 30 schools and 60 4th grade classes (aged 8–9 years) participated in the Oslo campaign. The citizen science approach employed in the schools, combined the four key elements that promote knowledge integration: elicit ideas, add new ideas, distinguish among ideas and reflect and sort out ideas. Although the main goal of the study was to provide simple but robust tools for engaging young children in air quality monitoring, we also carried out ex-ante and ex-post evaluations in 12 of the participating classes using a 10-question multiple choice test to have an indication of the contribution of the activity to knowledge integration. The results show that there is an increase in the number of correct answers, as well as a reduction in the misconceptions after conducting the activity. These results indicate that applying a citizen science approach improved science instruction and helped knowledge integration by including students' views and taking advantage of the diverse ideas students generated. Citizen science gives learners an insight into the ways that scientists generate solutions for societal problems. But more important, citizen science provides a way to differ from the classic view of the learner as an absorber of information, by considering the social context of instruction and making the topic personally relevant.
2021
DNA damage in circulating leukocytes measured with the comet assay may predict the risk of death
The comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis, is the most common method used to measure strand breaks and a variety of other DNA lesions in human populations. To estimate the risk of overall mortality, mortality by cause, and cancer incidence associated to DNA damage, a cohort of 2,403 healthy individuals (25,978 person-years) screened in 16 laboratories using the comet assay between 1996 and 2016 was followed-up. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated a worse overall survival in the medium and high tertile of DNA damage (p < 0.001). The effect of DNA damage on survival was modelled according to Cox proportional hazard regression model. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.42 (1.06–1.90) for overall mortality, and 1.94 (1.04–3.59) for diseases of the circulatory system in subjects with the highest tertile of DNA damage. The findings of this study provide epidemiological evidence encouraging the implementation of the comet assay in preventive strategies for non-communicable diseases.
2021