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This paper describes the Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE. EPISODE was developed to address a need for an urban air quality model in support of policy, planning, and air quality management in the Nordic, specifically Norwegian, setting. It can be used for the calculation of a variety of airborne pollutant concentrations, but we focus here on the implementation and application of the model for NO2 pollution. EPISODE consists of an Eulerian 3D grid model with embedded sub-grid dispersion models (e.g. a Gaussian plume model) for dispersion of pollution from line (i.e. roads) and point sources (e.g. chimney stacks). It considers the atmospheric processes advection, diffusion, and an NO2 photochemistry represented using the photostationary steady-state approximation for NO2. EPISODE calculates hourly air concentrations representative of the grids and at receptor points. The latter allow EPISODE to estimate concentrations representative of the levels experienced by the population and to estimate their exposure. This methodological framework makes it suitable for simulating NO2 concentrations at fine-scale resolution (<100 m) in Nordic environments. The model can be run in an offline nested mode using output concentrations from a global or regional chemical transport model and forced by meteorology from an external numerical weather prediction model; it also can be driven by meteorological observations. We give a full description of the overall model function and its individual components. We then present a case study for six Norwegian cities whereby we simulate NO2 pollution for the entire year of 2015. The model is evaluated against in situ observations for the entire year and for specific episodes of enhanced pollution during winter. We evaluate the model performance using the FAIRMODE DELTA Tool that utilises traditional statistical metrics, e.g. root mean square error (RMSE), Pearson correlation R, and bias, along with some specialised tests for air quality model evaluation. We find that EPISODE attains the DELTA Tool model quality objective in all of the stations we evaluate against. Further, the other statistical evaluations show adequate model performance but that the model scores greatly improved correlations during winter and autumn compared to the summer. We attribute this to the use of the photostationary steady-state scheme for NO2, which should perform best in the absence of local ozone photochemical production. Oslo does not comply with the NO2 annual limit set in the 2008/50/EC directive (AQD). NO2 pollution episodes with the highest NO2 concentrations, which lead to the occurrence of exceedances of the AQD hourly limit for NO2, occur primarily in the winter and autumn in Oslo, so this strongly supports the use of EPISODE for application to these wintertime events. Overall, we conclude that the model is suitable for an assessment of annual mean NO2 concentrations and also for the study of hourly NO2 concentrations in the Nordic winter and autumn environment. Further, in this work we conclude that it is suitable for a range of policy applications specific to NO2 that include pollution episode analysis, evaluation of seasonal statistics, policy and planning support, and air quality management. Lastly, we identify a series of model developments specifically designed to address the limitations of the current model assumptions. Part 2 of this two-part paper discusses the CityChem extension to EPISODE, which includes a number of implementations such as a more comprehensive photochemical scheme suitable for describing more chemical species and a more diverse range of photochemical environments, as well as a more advanced treatment of the sub-grid dispersion.
2020
2003
2007
2011
The turbulent future brings a breath of fresh air
Ventilation of health hazardous aerosol pollution within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) – the lowest layer of the atmosphere – is dependent upon turbulent mixing, which again is closely linked to the height of the PBL. Here we show that emissions of both CO2 and absorbing aerosols such as black carbon influence the number of severe air pollution episodes through impacts on turbulence and PBL height. While absorbing aerosols cause increased boundary layer stability and reduced turbulence through atmospheric heating, CO2 has the opposite effect over land through surface warming. In future scenarios with increasing CO2 concentrations and reduced aerosol emissions, we find that around 10% of the world’s population currently living in regions with high pollution levels are likely to experience a particularly strong increase in turbulence and PBL height, and thus a reduction in intense pollution events. Our results highlight how these boundary layer processes provide an added positive impact of black carbon mitigation to human health.
Springer Nature
2023
2016
The Troll Observing Network (TONe): plugging observation holes in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
Understanding how Antarctica is changing and how these changes influence the rest of the Earth is fundamental to the future robustness of human society. Strengthening our understanding of these changes and their implications requires dedicated, sustained and coordinated observations of key Antarctic indicators. The Troll Observing Network (TONe), now under development, is Norway’s contribution to the global need for sustained, coordinated, complementary and societally relevant observations from Antarctica. When fully implemented within the coming three years, TONe will be a state-of-the-art, multi-platform, multi-disciplinary observing network in data-sparse Dronning Maud Land. A critical part of the network is a data management system that will ensure broad, free access to all TONe data to the international research community.
2024
2024
2008
2012
The ubiquitous and global ecological footprint arising from the rapidly increasing rates of plastic production, use, and release into the environment is an important modern environmental issue. Of increasing concern are the risks associated with at least 16,000 chemicals present in plastics, some of which are known to be toxic, and which may leach out both during use and once exposed to environmental conditions, leading to environmental and human exposure. In response, the United Nations member states agreed to establish an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, the global plastics treaty. The resolution acknowledges that the treaty should prevent plastic pollution and its related impacts, that effective prevention requires consideration of the transboundary nature of plastic production, use and pollution, and that the full life cycle of plastics must be addressed. As a group of scientific experts and members of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, we concur that there are six essential “pillars” necessary to truly reduce plastic pollution and allow for chemical detoxification across the full life cycle of plastics. These include a plastic chemical reduction and simplification, safe and sustainable design of plastic chemicals, incentives for change, holistic approaches for alternatives, just transition and equitable interventions, and centering human rights. There is a critical need for scientifically informed and globally harmonized information, transparency, and traceability criteria to protect the environment and public health. The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment must be upheld, and thus it is crucial that scientists, industry, and policy makers work in concert to create a future free from hazardous plastic contamination.
Elsevier
2024
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2018