A Satellite-Based Indicator for Diagnosing Particulate Nitrate Sensitivity to Precursor Emissions: Application to East Asia, Europe, and North America.

Particulate nitrate is a major component of fine particulate matter (PM) and a key target for improving air quality. Its formation is varyingly sensitive to emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO ≡ NO + NO), ammonia (NH), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Diagnosing the dominant sensitivity is critical for effective pollution control.

Transpacific Transport of Asian Peroxyacetyl Nitrate (PAN) Observed from Satellite: Implications for Ozone.

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is produced in the atmosphere by photochemical oxidation of non-methane volatile organic compounds in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NO), and it can be transported over long distances at cold temperatures before decomposing thermally to release NO in the remote troposphere. It is both a tracer and a precursor for transpacific ozone pollution transported from East Asia to North America. Here, we directly demonstrate this transport with PAN satellite observations from the infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer (IASI).

Ethylene industrial emitters seen from space.

Volatile organic compounds are emitted abundantly from a variety of natural and anthropogenic sources. However, in excess, they can severely degrade air quality. Their fluxes are currently poorly represented in inventories due to a lack of constraints from global measurements.

On the weekly cycle of atmospheric ammonia over European agricultural hotspots.

The presence of a weekly cycle in the abundance of an atmospheric constituent is a typical fingerprint for the anthropogenic nature of its emission sources. However, while ammonia is mainly emitted as a consequence of human activities, a weekly cycle has never been detected in its abundances at large scale. We expose here for the first time the presence of a weekend effect in the NH total columns measured by the IASI satellite sounder over the main agricultural source regions in Europe: northwestern Europe (Belgium-the Netherlands-northwest Germany), the Po Valley, Brittany, and, to a lesser extent, the Ebro Valley.

Rapid rise in premature mortality due to anthropogenic air pollution in fast-growing tropical cities from 2005 to 2018.

Tropical cities are experiencing rapid growth but lack routine air pollution monitoring to develop prescient air quality policies. Here, we conduct targeted sampling of recent (2000s to 2010s) observations of air pollutants from space-based instruments over 46 fast-growing tropical cities. We quantify significant annual increases in nitrogen dioxide (NO) (1 to 14%), ammonia (2 to 12%), and reactive volatile organic compounds (1 to 11%) in most cities, driven almost exclusively by emerging anthropogenic sources rather than traditional biomass burning.

IASI-Derived Sea Surface Temperature Data Set for Climate Studies.

Sea surface temperature (SST) is an essential climate variable, that is directly used in climate monitoring. Although satellite measurements can offer continuous global coverage, obtaining a long-term homogeneous satellite-derived SST data set suitable for climate studies based on a single instrument is still a challenge. In this work, we assess a homogeneous SST data set derived from reprocessed Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) level-1 (L1C) radiance data.

Monthly Patterns of Ammonia Over the Contiguous United States at 2-km Resolution.

Monthly, high-resolution (∼2 km) ammonia (NH) column maps from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) were developed across the contiguous United States and adjacent areas. Ammonia hotspots (95th percentile of the column distribution) were highly localized with a characteristic length scale of 12 km and median area of 152 km. Five seasonality clusters were identified with k-means++ clustering.

Ubiquitous atmospheric production of organic acids mediated by cloud droplets.

Atmospheric acidity is increasingly determined by carbon dioxide and organic acids. Among the latter, formic acid facilitates the nucleation of cloud droplets and contributes to the acidity of clouds and rainwater. At present, chemistry-climate models greatly underestimate the atmospheric burden of formic acid, because key processes related to its sources and sinks remain poorly understood.

Record high levels of atmospheric ammonia over India: Spatial and temporal analyses.

Atmospheric ammonia (NH) is an alkaline gas and a prominent constituent of the nitrogen cycle that adversely affects ecosystems at higher concentrations. It is a pollutant, which influences all three spheres such as haze formation in the atmosphere, soil acidification in the lithosphere, and eutrophication in water bodies. Atmospheric NH reacts with sulfur (SO) and nitrogen (NO) oxides to form aerosols, which eventually affect human health and climate.

Complex refractive index of volcanic ash aerosol in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet.

Very fine silicate-rich volcanic ash, generated by explosive volcanic eruptions, can efficiently be traced downwind with infrared satellite sounders. Their measurements can also be used to derive physical parameters, such as optical depths and effective radii. However, one of the key requirements for accurate retrievals is a good knowledge of the complex refractive index (CRI) of the ash under investigation.

Estimating exposure to hydrogen sulfide from animal husbandry operations using satellite ammonia as a proxy: Methodology demonstration.

Husbandry trace gases that have climate change implications such as carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH) and ammonia (NH) can be quantified through remote sensing; however, many husbandry gases with health implications such as hydrogen sulfide (HS), cannot. This pilot study demonstrates an approach to derive HS concentrations by coupling in situ and remote sensing data. Using AMOG (AutoMObile trace Gas) Surveyor, a mobile air quality and meteorology laboratory, we measured in situ concentrations of CH, CO, NH, HS, and wind at a southern California university research dairy.

Atmospheric ammonia (NH) emanations from Lake Natron's saline mudflats.

In a recent global analysis of satellite-derived atmospheric NH data, a hotspot was observed in the vicinity of Lake Natron, Tanzania. The lake is in the centre of an endorheic (limited drainage) basin and has shallow, saline-alkaline waters. Its remote location and the absence of nearby large anthropogenic sources suggest that the observed NH is mainly of natural origin.

Industrial and agricultural ammonia point sources exposed.

Through its important role in the formation of particulate matter, atmospheric ammonia affects air quality and has implications for human health and life expectancy. Excess ammonia in the environment also contributes to the acidification and eutrophication of ecosystems and to climate change. Anthropogenic emissions dominate natural ones and mostly originate from agricultural, domestic and industrial activities.

Validation of mobile in situ measurements of dairy husbandry emissions by fusion of airborne/surface remote sensing with seasonal context from the Chino Dairy Complex.

Mobile in situ concentration and meteorology data were collected for the Chino Dairy Complex in the Los Angeles Basin by AMOG (AutoMObile trace Gas) Surveyor on 25 June 2015 to characterize husbandry emissions in the near and far field in convoy mode with MISTIR (Mobile Infrared Sensor for Tactical Incident Response), a mobile upwards-looking, column remote sensing spectrometer. MISTIR reference flux validated AMOG plume inversions at different information levels including multiple gases, GoogleEarth imagery, and airborne trace gas remote sensing data. Long-term (9-yr.

Ammonia Emissions May Be Substantially Underestimated in China.

China is a global hotspot of atmospheric ammonia (NH) emissions and, as a consequence, very high nitrogen (N) deposition levels are documented. However, previous estimates of total NH emissions in China were much lower than inference from observed deposition values would suggest, highlighting the need for further investigation. Here, we reevaluated NH emissions based on a mass balance approach, validated by N deposition monitoring and satellite observations, for China for the period of 2000 to 2015.

Erratum: Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature22974.

An inter-laboratory comparison study on transfer, persistence and recovery of DNA from cable ties.

To address questions on the activity that led to the deposition of biological traces in a particular case, general information on the probabilities of transfer, persistence and recovery of cellular material in relevant scenarios is necessary. These figures may be derived from experimental data described in forensic literature when conditions relevant to the case were included. The experimental methodology regarding sampling, DNA extraction, DNA typing and profile interpretation that were used to generate these published data may differ from those applied in the case and thus the applicability of the literature data may be questioned.

Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions.

Aerosols have a potentially large effect on climate, particularly through their interactions with clouds, but the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain. Large volcanic eruptions produce sulfur dioxide, which in turn produces aerosols; these eruptions thus represent a natural experiment through which to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions. Here we show that the massive 2014-2015 fissure eruption in Holuhraun, Iceland, reduced the size of liquid cloud droplets-consistent with expectations-but had no discernible effect on other cloud properties.

Remote sensing and in situ measurements of methane and ammonia emissions from a megacity dairy complex: Chino, CA.

Methane (CH) and ammonia (NH) directly and indirectly affect the atmospheric radiative balance with the latter leading to aerosol generation. Both have important spectral features in the Thermal InfraRed (TIR) that can be studied by remote sensing, with NH allowing discrimination of husbandry from other CH sources. Airborne hyperspectral imagery was collected for the Chino Dairy Complex in the Los Angeles Basin as well as in situ CH, carbon dioxide (CO) and NH data.

Using satellite-based measurements to explore spatiotemporal scales and variability of drivers of new particle formation.

New particle formation (NPF) can potentially alter regional climate by increasing aerosol particle (hereafter particle) number concentrations and ultimately cloud condensation nuclei. The large scales on which NPF is manifest indicate potential to use satellite-based (inherently spatially averaged) measurements of atmospheric conditions to diagnose the occurrence of NPF and NPF characteristics. We demonstrate the potential for using satellite-based measurements of insolation (UV), trace gas concentrations (sulfur dioxide (SO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ammonia (NH), formaldehyde (HCHO), and ozone (O)), aerosol optical properties (aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Ångström exponent (AE)), and a proxy of biogenic volatile organic compound emissions (leaf area index (LAI) and temperature ()) as predictors for NPF characteristics: formation rates, growth rates, survival probabilities, and ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations at five locations across North America.

Analysis of 36 Y-STR marker units including a concordance study among 2085 Dutch males.

The genotypes of 36 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) marker units were analysed in a Dutch population sample of 2085 males. Profiling results were compared for several partially overlapping kits, i.e.

Collaborative EDNAP exercise on the IrisPlex system for DNA-based prediction of human eye colour.

The IrisPlex system is a DNA-based test system for the prediction of human eye colour from biological samples and consists of a single forensically validated multiplex genotyping assay together with a statistical prediction model that is based on genotypes and phenotypes from thousands of individuals. IrisPlex predicts blue and brown human eye colour with, on average, >94% precision accuracy using six of the currently most eye colour informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (HERC2 rs12913832, OCA2 rs1800407, SLC24A4 rs12896399, SLC45A2 (MATP) rs16891982, TYR rs1393350, and IRF4 rs12203592) according to a previous study, while the accuracy in predicting non-blue and non-brown eye colours is considerably lower. In an effort to vigorously assess the IrisPlex system at the international level, testing was performed by 21 laboratories in the context of a collaborative exercise divided into three tasks and organised by the European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) Group of the International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG).

Developmental validation of the HIrisPlex system: DNA-based eye and hair colour prediction for forensic and anthropological usage.

Forensic DNA Phenotyping or 'DNA intelligence' tools are expected to aid police investigations and find unknown individuals by providing information on externally visible characteristics of unknown suspects, perpetrators and missing persons from biological samples. This is especially useful in cases where conventional DNA profiling or other means remain non-informative. Recently, we introduced the HIrisPlex system, capable of predicting both eye and hair colour from DNA.

Towards a climate-dependent paradigm of ammonia emission and deposition.

Existing descriptions of bi-directional ammonia (NH3) land-atmosphere exchange incorporate temperature and moisture controls, and are beginning to be used in regional chemical transport models. However, such models have typically applied simpler emission factors to upscale the main NH3 emission terms. While this approach has successfully simulated the main spatial patterns on local to global scales, it fails to address the environment- and climate-dependence of emissions.