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Status report of air quality in Europe for year 2023, using validated data
This report presents summarised information on the status of air quality in Europe in 2023, 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 2023 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 2023 with the previous years. The pollutants covered in this report are particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), tropospheric ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), benzene (C6H6) and toxic metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb). Measured concentrations above the European air quality standards for PM10, PM2.5, O3, and NO2 were reported by 18, 6, 20, and 9 reporting countries for 2022, respectively. Exceedances of the air quality standards for BaP, SO2, CO, and benzene were measured in, respectively, 9, 2, 2, and 0 reporting countries in 2023. Exceedances of European standards for toxic metals were reported by 5 stations for As, none for Cd, 1 for Pb and 2 for Ni.
European Topic Centre on Human Health and the Environment (ETC HE)
2025
2025
The influence of aerosols on the Arctic system remains associated with significant uncertainties, particularly concerning black carbon (BC). The polar aerosol station “Island Bely” (IBS), located in the Western Siberian Arctic, was established to enhance aerosol monitoring. Continuous measurements from 2019 to 2022 revealed the long-term effects of light-absorbing carbon. During the cold period, the annual average light-absorption coefficient was 0.7 ± 0.7 Mm−1, decreasing by 2–3 times during the warm period. The interannual mean showed a peak in February (0.9 ± 0.8 Mm−1) then 10 times the lower minimum in June and exhibited high variability in August (0.7 ± 2.2 Mm−1). An increase of up to 1.5 at shorter wavelengths from April to September suggests contribution from brown carbon (BrC). The annual mean equivalent black carbon (eBC) demonstrated considerable interannual variability, with the lowest in 2020 (24 ± 29 ng m−3). Significant difference was observed between Arctic haze and Siberian wildfire periods, with record-high pollution levels in February 2022 (110 ± 70 ng m−3) and August 2021 (83 ± 249 ng m−3). Anthropogenic BC contributed 83 % to the total for the entire study period, and gas flaring, domestic combustion, transportation, and industrial emissions dominated. During the cold season, > 90 % of surface BC was attributed to anthropogenic sources, mainly gas flaring. In contrast, during the warm period, Siberian wildfires contributed to BC concentrations by 48 %. In August 2021, intense smoke from Yakutian wildfires was transported at high altitudes during the region's worst fire season in 40 years.
2025
Reliable quantification of polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs) remains a major challenge, hindering environmental research across diverse matrices. Each sample can contain over 500 homologue groups, collectively producing >1000 m/z ratios that require interference checks. High-resolution mass spectrometry methods vary in ionization signals and data formats and require specialized algorithms for quantification. CPxplorer streamlines data processing through the integration of three modules: (1) CPions generates target ion sets and isotopic thresholds for compound identification into the next module; (2) Skyline performs instrument-independent data integration, interference evaluation, and homologue profiling; and (3) CPquant deconvolves homologues and reports concentrations using reference standards and homologue profiles from Skyline. Evaluation of the workflow with NIST-SRM-2585 dust and ERM-CE100 fish tissue material yielded comparable results across raw data formats from different instruments. Further applications of CPxplorer across diverse matrices, including indoor dust, organic films, silicone wrist bands, and food samples, demonstrated the usefulness in biological and environmental monitoring. Compared to existing tools limited to qualitative detection, CPxplorer enables quantitative outputs, reduces processing time, and expands functionality to PCA-like substances (e.g., BCAs) and PCA degradation products (e.g., OH-PCAs). CPxplorer reduces learning barriers, empowers users to quantify PCAs across various analytical instruments, and contributes to generating comparable results in the field.
2025
Airborne microplastics on the move: Urban Europe as a source to remote regions
This study presents a comprehensive assessment of unique parallel measurements of surface airborne and deposited microplastics (AMPs) across urban and remote sites in Norway, employing pyrolysis-GC/MS for polymer-specific analysis. MPs were detected in nearly all samples, with significantly higher concentrations and fluxes observed in urban areas like Oslo, where tire wear particles (TWP) dominated (>90 % of AMP mass). Seasonal peaks in TWP coincided with the transition to winter tires, while remote sites showed consistent but lower AMP levels, indicating long-range transport (LRT) from European source regions. Parallel measurements of suspended and deposited AMPs revealed consistent polymer signatures, highlighting common sources and transport pathways. Although urban TWP contributions to PM2.5 were generally low, episodic events reached up to 30 %, raising concerns about human exposure. The dual dataset enabled a robust cross-validation of atmospheric loading estimates and facilitated integration into advanced transport models for remote sites. Our findings confirm AMPs as significant components of urban air pollution and subsequent carriers of chemical and biological contaminants to remote regions, emphasizing the need for targeted monitoring and mitigation strategies.
2025
Temporal changes in per and polyfluoroalkyl substances and their associations with type 2 diabetes
We assessed temporal changes of PFAS and associations with T2DM over a period of 30 years in a nested case–control study with repeated measurements. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between 11 PFAS and T2DM at five time-points in 116 cases and 139 controls (3 pre- and 2 post-diagnostic time-points in cases). Mixed linear models were applied to assess if changes in PFAS were related to T2DM status. In the pre-diagnostic time-point T3 (2001), future cases had higher concentrations of PFHpA, PFNA, PFHxS and PFHpS compared to controls. In the post-diagnostic time point T5 (2015/16), PFNA and PFOS were higher in prevalent cases. PFHxS and PFHpS were positively associated with future T2DM at the pre-diagnostic time-point T3, whereas PFTrDA were inversely associated with future T2DM at T1 (1986/87) and prevalent T2DM at T4 (2007/8). Temporal changes in PFAS across the study period showed that cases experienced a greater increase in pre-diagnostic concentrations of PFHpA, PFTrDA, PFHxS and PFOSA, as well as a larger post-diagnostic decrease in PFOSA, compared to controls. This study is the first to show that temporal changes in PFAS are associated with T2DM status for certain PFAS, and associations between PFAS and T2DM vary according to sample year.
2025
Ocean carbon capture isn’t ready to clean up our mess, report finds
Scientists say ocean carbon capture isn’t ready for prime time and warn deep emissions cuts still have to come first
2025
Aerosol hygroscopicity influenced by seasonal chemical composition variations in the Arctic region
In this study, we quantified aerosol hygroscopicity parameter using aerosol microphysical observation data (κphy), analyzing monthly and seasonal trends in κphy by correlating it with aerosol chemical composition over 6 years from April 2007 to March 2013 at the Zeppelin Observatory in Svalbard, Arctic region. The monthly mean κphy value exhibited distinct seasonal variations, remaining high from winter to spring, reaching its minimum in summer, followed by an increase in fall, and maintaining elevated levels in winter. To verify the reliability of κphy, we employed the hygroscopicity parameter calculated from chemical composition data (κchem). The chemical composition and PM2.5 mass concentration required to calculate κchem was obtained through Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis data and the calculation of κchem assumed that Arctic aerosols comprise only five species: black carbon (BC), organic matter (OM), ammonium sulfate (AS), sea salt aerosol less than a diameter of 2.5 μm (SSA2.5), and dust aerosol less than a diameter of 2.5 μm (Dust2.5). The κchem had no distinct correlation but had a similar seasonal trend compared to κphy. The κchem value followed a trend of SSA2.5 and was much higher by a factor of 1.6 ± 0.3 than κphy on average, due to a large proportion of SSA2.5 mass concentration in MERRA-2 reanalysis data. This may be due to the overestimation of sea salt aerosols in MERRA-2 reanalysis. The relationship between monthly mean κphy and the chemical composition used to calculate κchem was also analyzed. The elevated κphy from October to February resulted from the dominant influence of SSA2.5, while the maximum κphy in March was concurrently influenced by increasing AS and Dust2.5 associated with long-range transport from mid-latitude regions during Arctic haze periods and by SSA mass concentration obtained from in-situ sampling, which remained high from the preceding winter. The relatively low κphy from April to September can be attributed to low SSA2.5 and the dominance of organic compounds in the Arctic summer. Either natural sources such as those of marine and terrestrial biogenic origin or long-range-transported aerosols may contribute to the increase in organic aerosols in summer, potentially influencing the reduction in κphy of atmospheric aerosols. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the monthly and seasonal variation of aerosol hygroscopicity calculated using long-term microphysical data, and this result provides evidence that changes in monthly and seasonal hygroscopicity variation occur depending on chemical composition.
2025
2025
We have used the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Earth system model GISS-E2.1 to study the future budgets and trends of global and regional CH4 under different emission scenarios, using both the prescribed GHG concentrations as well as the interactive CH4 sources and sinks setup of the model, to quantify the model performance and its sensitivity to CH4 sources and sinks. We have used the Current Legislation (CLE) and the maximum feasible reduction (MFR) emission scenarios from the ECLIPSE V6b emission database to simulate the future evolution of CH4 sources, sinks, and levels from 2015 to 2050. Results show that the prescribed GHG version underestimates the observed surface CH4 concentrations during the period between 1995 and 2023 by 1%, with the largest underestimations over the continental emission regions, while the interactive simulation underestimates the observations by 2%, with the biases largest over oceans and smaller over the continents. For the future, the MFR scenario simulates lower global surface CH4 concentrations and burdens compared to the CLE scenario, however in both cases, global surface CH4 and burden continue to increase through 2050 compared to present day. In addition, the interactive simulation calculates slightly larger O3 and OH mixing ratios, in particular over the northern hemisphere, leading to slightly decreased CH4 lifetime in the present day. The CH4 forcing is projected to increase in both scenarios, in particular in the CLE scenario, from 0.53 W m−2 in the present day to 0.73 W m−2 in 2050. In addition, the interactive simulations estimate slightly higher tropospheric O3 forcing compared to prescribed simulations, due to slightly higher O3 mixing ratios simulated by the interactive models. While in the CLE, tropospheric O3 forcing continues to increase, the MFR scenario leads to a decrease in tropospheric O3 forcing, leading to a climate benefit. Our results highlight that in the interactive models, the response of concentrations are not necessarily linear with the changes in emissions as the chemistry is non-linear, and dependent on the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to have the CH4 sources and chemical sinks to be represented comprehensively in climate models.
2025
2025
2025
2025
Tire particles can enter the marine environment e.g. through direct discharge of road runoff, sewage systems or riverine inputs. Their fate in marine waters remains largely unknown, though the deep sea could be a final sink as for other marine litter. To simulate these conditions, we investigated in laboratory-controlled conditions the effects of high-hydrostatic pressure [20 MPa] vs atmospheric pressure [0.1 MPa] on the leaching of 17 organic compounds from cryo-milled tire tread particles (μm sized) and crumb rubber particles (mm sized) into natural seawater. We monitored the abundance of heterotrophic prokaryotes in the leachates over the 14 day exposure period under biotic conditions. Abiotic controls were employed to delineate the influence of prokaryotes on the fate of leached chemicals. Our results showed leaching of dissolved organic carbon and target chemicals under all experimental conditions, with higher concentrations of certain target chemicals under high-hydrostatic pressure conditions (e.g., 1,3-diphenylguanidine [DPG]: max. 703 (20 MPa) vs 119 μg/L (0.1 MPa) from cryo-milled tire tread particles under biotic conditions). Under abiotic conditions leaching was weaker for DPG and other chemicals, with contrasting trends for chemicals prone to biotransformation. In crumb rubber leachates chemical concentrations increased with time, but showed no significant differences between biotic/abiotic or high-hydrostatic/atmospheric pressure conditions. Prokaryotic abundance increased in all samples containing tire particles compared to seawater controls, indicating the use of the rubber and/or leached chemicals as an energy source.
2025
NO2-måling i omgivelsene til Eramet Sauda
På oppdrag fra Eramet Sauda AS har NILU utført målinger av NO2 i omgivelsene til smelteverket i Sauda. Målingene ble utført med NOx-monitor ved Birkelandsvegen nordøst for bedriften. I tillegg ble NO2 målt med passive prøvetakere ved 3 steder i Sauda. Måleperioden varte fra 30. august 2024 til 10. mars 2025. Norske grenseverdier for luftkvalitet (NO2) og luftkvalitetskriterier ble overholdt ved Birkelandsvegen for alle midlingsperioder. Formålet med prosjektet var å vurdere effekten av det nye energigjenvinningsanlegget (bestående av 7 gassmotorer) på NO2 konsentrasjonen. Det ble ikke funnet noen sammenheng mellom vindretning fra sør-sørvest (fra bedriften mot målestasjonen), motordrift og NO2 konsentrasjonene målt ved måleboden.
NILU
2025
Kartlegging av utslipp fra aktiviteter i Oslo Havn
Stiftelsen NILU har utarbeidet en utslippsberegning for aktiviteter på land ved Oslo Havn. Arbeidet omfatter innhenting av aktivitetsdata og utslippsfaktorer fra relevante kilder. Utslippet er beregnet for Dagens situasjon 2023 og framskrevet til 2030 og 2040. For 2040 er det også regnet på effekten av å bytte til bio-basert brensel i fabrikkene.
NILU
2025
Impact of leakage during HFC-125 production on the increase in HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 emissions
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are ozone-depleting substances whose production and consumption have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol in non-Article 5 (mainly developed) countries and are currently being phased out in the rest of the world. Here, we focus on two HCFCs, HCFC-123 and HCFC-124, whose emissions are not decreasing globally in line with their phase-out. We present the first measurement-derived estimates of global HCFC-123 emissions (1993–2023) and updated HCFC-124 emissions for 1978–2023. Around 5 Gg yr−1 of HCFC-123 and 3 Gg yr−1 of HCFC-124 were emitted in 2023. Both HCFC-123 and HCFC-124 are intermediates in the production of HFC-125, a non-ozone-depleting hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) that has replaced ozone-depleting substances in many applications. We show that it is possible that the observed global increase in HCFC-124 emissions could be entirely due to leakage from the production of HFC-125, provided that its leakage rate is around 1 % by mass of HFC-125 production. Global emissions of HCFC-123 have not decreased despite its phase-out for production under the Montreal Protocol, and its use in HFC-125 production may be a contributing factor to this. Emissions of HCFC-124 from western Europe, the USA and East Asia have either fallen or not increased since 2015 and together cannot explain the entire increase in the derived global emissions of HCFC-124. These findings add to the growing evidence that emissions of some ozone-depleting substances are increasing due to leakage and improper destruction during fluorochemical production.
2025
2025