A European aerosol phenomenology - 9: Light absorption properties of carbonaceous aerosol particles across surface Europe.

Carbonaceous aerosols (CA), composed of black carbon (BC) and organic matter (OM), significantly impact the climate. Light absorption properties of CA, particularly of BC and brown carbon (BrC), are crucial due to their contribution to global and regional warming. We present the absorption properties of BC (b) and BrC (b) inferred using Aethalometer data from 44 European sites covering different environments (traffic (TR), urban (UB), suburban (SUB), regional background (RB) and mountain (M)).

PM-bound trace elements in pan-European urban atmosphere.

Although many studies have discussed the impact of Europe's air quality, very limited research focused on the detailed phenomenology of ambient trace elements (TEs) in PM in urban atmosphere. This study compiled long-term (2013-2022) measurements of speciation of ambient urban PM from 55 sites of 7 countries (Switzerland, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, UK), aiming to elucidate the phenomenology of 20 TEs in PM in urban Europe. The monitoring sites comprised urban background (UB, n = 26), traffic (TR, n = 10), industrial (IN, n = 5), suburban background (SUB, n = 7), and rural background (RB, n = 7) types.

Widespread Pesticide Distribution in the European Atmosphere Questions their Degradability in Air.

Risk assessment of pesticide impacts on remote ecosystems makes use of model-estimated degradation in air. Recent studies suggest these degradation rates to be overestimated, questioning current pesticide regulation. Here, we investigated the concentrations of 76 pesticides in Europe at 29 rural, coastal, mountain, and polar sites during the agricultural application season.

Variability of the Atmospheric PM Microbiome in Three Climatic Regions of France.

Primary Biogenic Organic Aerosols (PBOA) were recently shown to be produced by only a few types of microorganisms, emitted by the surrounding vegetation in the case of a regionally homogeneous field site. This study presents the first comprehensive description of the structure and main sources of airborne microbial communities associated with temporal trends in Sugar Compounds (SC) concentrations of PM in 3 sites under a climatic gradient in France. By combining sugar chemistry and DNA Metabarcoding approaches, we intended to identify PM-associated microbial communities and their main sources at three sampling-sites in France, under different climates, during the summer of 2018.

The fingerprint of the summer 2018 drought in Europe on ground-based atmospheric CO measurements.

During the summer of 2018, a widespread drought developed over Northern and Central Europe. The increase in temperature and the reduction of soil moisture have influenced carbon dioxide (CO) exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in various ways, such as a reduction of photosynthesis, changes in ecosystem respiration, or allowing more frequent fires. In this study, we characterize the resulting perturbation of the atmospheric CO seasonal cycles.

Airborne concentrations and chemical considerations of radioactive ruthenium from an undeclared major nuclear release in 2017.

In October 2017, most European countries reported unique atmospheric detections of aerosol-bound radioruthenium (Ru). The range of concentrations varied from some tenths of µBq·m to more than 150 mBq·m The widespread detection at such considerable (yet innocuous) levels suggested a considerable release. To compare activity reports of airborne Ru with different sampling periods, concentrations were reconstructed based on the most probable plume presence duration at each location.

Empirical calibration of uranium releases in the terrestrial environment of nuclear fuel cycle facilities.

In the present paper the activity of uranium isotopes measured in plants and aerosols taken downwind of the releases of three nuclear fuel settlements was compared between them and with the activity measured at remote sites. An enhancement of U activity as well as U/U anomalies and U are noticeable in wheat, grass, tree leaves and aerosols taken at the edge of nuclear fuel settlements, which show the influence of uranium chronic releases. Further plants taken at the edge of the studied sites and a few published data acquired in the same experimental conditions show that the U activity in plants is influenced by the intensity of the U atmospheric releases.

Atmospheric particulate deposition in temperate deciduous forest ecosystems: interactions with the canopy and nutrient inputs in two beech stands of Northeastern France.

As wood harvests are expected to increase to satisfy the need for bio-energy in Europe, quantifying atmospheric nutrient inputs in forest ecosystems is essential for forest management. Current atmospheric measurements only take into account the <0.45 μm fraction and dry deposition is generally modeled.

Exogen hair characterization in human scalp.

Background/aim: Classically, the hair cycle is described as a sequence of three successive phases: a hair-growth phase named anagen, a regression phase or catagen and a resting phase or telogen. In rodents, it appears that the resting hair follicle population contains also a new phase that has been identified recently as the exogen phase of the hair cycle. This phase leads to the release of the telogen club and results in hair shedding.