Response of South Asia PM pollution to ammonia emission changes and associated impacts on human health.

Countries in South Asia are suffering severe PM pollution with rapid economic development, impacting human health and the environment. Whilst much attention has been given to understanding the contribution of primary emissions, the contribution of agriculture to PM concentrations, especially from agricultural ammonia (NH) emissions, remains less explored. Using an advanced regional atmospheric chemistry and transport modelling system (WRF-EMEP) with a new estimate of anthropogenic NH emissions inputs, we estimate the influence of agricultural NH emissions on surface PM in South Asia and evaluate the health impacts and the economic losses attributable to PM in 2018.

Diesel exhaust and ozone adversely affect pollinators and parasitoids within flying insect communities.

The effects of air pollution on human and animal health, and on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, are wide-ranging. This potentially includes the disruption of valuable services provided by flying insects (e.g.

The potential of high temporal resolution automatic measurements of PM composition as an alternative to the filter-based manual method used in routine monitoring.

Under the EU Air Quality Directive (AQD) 2008/50/EC member states are required to undertake routine monitoring of PM composition at background stations. The AQD states for PM speciation this should include at least: nitrate , sulfate , chloride (Cl), ammonium (NH4), sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). Until 2017, it was the responsibility of each country to determine the methodology used to report the composition for the inorganic components of PM.

Emission inventory of inorganic trace gases from solid residential fuels over the National Capital Territory of India.

In developing nations, solid residential fuels are the major sources of primary energy for various domestic activities. To date, the emission inventory of inorganic trace gases over National Capital Territory (NCT) was prepared using either default or country-specific emission factors. In this paper, we report (for the first time) the spatial variation of emission factors (EFs) of inorganic trace gases (SO, NO, NO, CO, CO, and CH) from the residential fuels used in slums and rural areas of NCT determined using dilution chamber in the laboratory.

Monitoring of carbon-water fluxes at Eurasian meteorological stations using random forest and remote sensing.

Simulating the carbon-water fluxes at more widely distributed meteorological stations based on the sparsely and unevenly distributed eddy covariance flux stations is needed to accurately understand the carbon-water cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. We established a new framework consisting of machine learning, determination coefficient (R), Euclidean distance, and remote sensing (RS), to simulate the daily net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE) and water flux (WF) of the Eurasian meteorological stations using a random forest model or/and RS. The daily NEE and WF datasets with RS-based information (NEE-RS and WF-RS) for 3774 and 4427 meteorological stations during 2002-2020 were produced, respectively.

Mapping the effects of ozone pollution and mixing on floral odour plumes and their impact on plant-pollinator interactions.

The critical ecological process of animal-mediated pollination is commonly facilitated by odour cues. These odours consist of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often with short chemical lifetimes, which form the strong concentration gradients necessary for pollinating insects to locate a flower. Atmospheric oxidants, including ozone pollution, may react with and chemically alter these VOCs, impairing the ability of pollinators to locate a flower, and therefore the pollen and nectar on which they feed.

Extreme Concentrations of Nitric Oxide Control Daytime Oxidation and Quench Nocturnal Oxidation Chemistry in Delhi during Highly Polluted Episodes.

Delhi, India, suffers from periods of very poor air quality, but little is known about the chemical production of secondary pollutants in this highly polluted environment. During the postmonsoon period in 2018, extremely high nighttime concentrations of NO (NO and NO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were observed, with median NO mixing ratios of ∼200 ppbV (maximum of ∼700 ppbV). A detailed chemical box model constrained to a comprehensive suite of speciated VOC and NO measurements revealed very low nighttime concentrations of oxidants, NO, O, and OH, driven by high nighttime NO concentrations.

Reduced-form and complex ACTM modelling for air quality policy development: A model inter-comparison.

Simulation models can be valuable tools in supporting development of air pollution policy. However, exploration of future scenarios depends on reliable and robust modelling to provide confidence in outcomes which cannot be tested against measurements. Here we focus on the UK Integrated Assessment Model, a fast reduced-form model with a purpose to support policy development with modelling of multiple alternative future scenarios, and the EMEP4UK model which is a complex Eulerian Atmospheric Chemistry Transport Model requiring significant computing resources.

Review of methods for assessing deposition of reactive nitrogen pollutants across complex terrain with focus on the UK.

This review is a summary of the most up-to-date knowledge regarding assessment of atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen ( ) pollutants across complex terrain in the UK. Progress in the understanding of the mechanisms and quantification of deposition in areas of complex topography is slow, as no concerted attempts to measure the components of in complex terrain have been made in the last decade. This is likely due to the inherent complexity of the atmospheric processes and chemical interactions which contribute to deposition in these areas.

Direct observations of CO emission reductions due to COVID-19 lockdown across European urban districts.

The measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 included restrictions of people's mobility and reductions in economic activities. These drastic changes in daily life, enforced through national lockdowns, led to abrupt reductions of anthropogenic CO emissions in urbanized areas all over the world. To examine the effect of social restrictions on local emissions of CO, we analysed district level CO fluxes measured by the eddy-covariance technique from 13 stations in 11 European cities.

Anthropogenic air pollutants reduce insect-mediated pollination services.

Common air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NO), emitted in diesel exhaust, and ozone (O), have been implicated in the decline of pollinating insects. Reductionist laboratory assays, focused upon interactions between a narrow range of flowering plant and pollinator species, in combination with atmospheric chemistry models, indicate that such pollutants can chemically alter floral odors, disrupting the cues that foraging insects use to find and pollinate flowers. However, odor environments in nature are highly complex and pollination services are commonly provided by suites of insect species, each exhibiting different sensitivities to different floral odors.

Passive breath monitoring of livestock: using factor analysis to deconvolve the cattle shed.

Respiratory and metabolic diseases in livestock cost the agriculture sector billions each year, with delayed diagnosis a key exacerbating factor. Previous studies have shown the potential for breath analysis to successfully identify incidence of disease in a range of livestock. However, these techniques typically involve animal handling, the use of nasal swabs or fixing a mask to individual animals to obtain a sample of breath.

Sources of non-methane hydrocarbons in surface air in Delhi, India.

Rapid economic growth and development have exacerbated air quality problems across India, driven by many poorly understood pollution sources and understanding their relative importance remains critical to characterising the key drivers of air pollution. A comprehensive suite of measurements of 90 non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) (C-C), including 12 speciated monoterpenes and higher molecular weight monoaromatics, were made at an urban site in Old Delhi during the pre-monsoon (28-May to 05-Jun 2018) and post-monsoon (11 to 27-Oct 2018) seasons using dual-channel gas chromatography (DC-GC-FID) and two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC-FID). Significantly higher mixing ratios of NMHCs were measured during the post-monsoon campaign, with a mean night-time enhancement of around 6.

Avoiding high ozone pollution in Delhi, India.

Surface ozone is a major pollutant threatening public health, agricultural production and natural ecosystems. While measures to improve air quality in megacities such as Delhi are typically aimed at reducing levels of particulate matter (PM), ozone could become a greater threat if these measures focus on PM alone, as some air pollution mitigation steps can actually lead to an increase in surface ozone. A better understanding of the factors controlling ozone production in Delhi and the impact that PM mitigation measures have on ozone is therefore critical for improving air quality.

Potential and limitation of air pollution mitigation by vegetation and uncertainties of deposition-based evaluations.

The potential to capture additional air pollutants by introducing more vegetation or changing existing short vegetation to woodland on first sight provides an attractive route for lowering urban pollution. Here, an atmospheric chemistry and transport model was run with a range of landcover scenarios to quantify pollutant removal by the existing total UK vegetation as well as the UK urban vegetation and to quantify the effect of large-scale urban tree planting on urban air pollution. UK vegetation as a whole reduces area (population)-weighted concentrations significantly, by 10% (9%) for PM, 30% (22%) for SO, 24% (19%) for NH and 15% (13%) for O, compared with a desert scenario.

A chronology of global air quality.

Air pollution has been recognized as a threat to human health since the time of Hippocrates, 400 BC. Successive written accounts of air pollution occur in different countries through the following two millennia until measurements, from the eighteenth century onwards, show the growing scale of poor air quality in urban centres and close to industry, and the chemical characteristics of the gases and particulate matter. The industrial revolution accelerated both the magnitude of emissions of the primary pollutants and the geographical spread of contributing countries as highly polluted cities became the defining issue, culminating with the great smog of London in 1952.

Vertical profiles of biogenic volatile organic compounds as observed online at a tower in Beijing.

Vertical profiles of isoprene and monoterpenes were measured by a proton transfer reaction-time of flight-mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) at heights of 3, 15, 32, 64, and 102 m above the ground on the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) tower in central Beijing during the winter of 2016 and the summer of 2017. Isoprene mixing ratios were larger in summer due to much stronger local emissions whereas monoterpenes were lower in summer due largely to their consumption by much higher levels of ozone. Isoprene mixing ratios were the highest at the 32 m in summer (1.

Temporal characteristics and vertical distribution of atmospheric ammonia and ammonium in winter in Beijing.

To understand the temporal characteristics and vertical distributions of ammonia (NH) and ammonium (NH) in urban Beijing, we conducted ground-based and tower-based measurements of gaseous NH and submicron aerosol composition. The average mixing ratio of NH was 16.5 ± 7.

Seasonal fluxes of carbon monoxide from an intensively grazed grassland in Scotland.

Fluxes of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured using a fast-response quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer and the eddy covariance method at a long-term intensively grazed grassland in southern Scotland. Measurements lasted 20 months from April 2016 to November 2017, during which normal agricultural activities continued. Observed fluxes followed a regular diurnal cycle, peaking at midday and returning to values near zero during the night, with occasional uptake observed.

Measurement of NO(x) fluxes from a tall tower in Central London, UK and comparison with emissions inventories.

Direct measurements of NOx concentration and flux were made from a tall tower in central London, UK as part of the Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) project. Fast time resolution (10 Hz) NO and NO2 concentrations were measured and combined with fast vertical wind measurements to provide top-down flux estimates using the eddy covariance technique. Measured NOx fluxes were usually positive and ranged from close to zero at night to 2000-8000 ng m(-2) s(-1) during the day.

Quantifying missing annual emission sources of heavy metals in the United Kingdom with an atmospheric transport model.

An atmospheric chemical transport model was adapted to simulate the concentration and deposition of heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, vanadium, and zinc) in the United Kingdom. The model showed that wet deposition was the most important process for the transfer of metals from the atmosphere to the land surface. The model achieved a good correlation with annually averaged measurements of metal concentrations in air.

Culturally competent practice in a pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing program in the United States: a mixed-methods study.

Aim: This study examined how one pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing program at a public university in the southeastern United States integrated concepts and issues of culture and culturally competent practice into its curriculum.

Background: Teaching and learning about culturally competent practice in pre-licensure nursing programs are essential to ensure a culturally competent health care workforce.

Method: A mixed-methods case study approach was used.

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.

The cycling of organic nitrogen through the atmosphere.

Atmospheric organic nitrogen (ON) appears to be a ubiquitous but poorly understood component of the atmospheric nitrogen deposition flux. Here, we focus on the ON components that dominate deposition and do not consider reactive atmospheric gases containing ON such as peroxyacyl nitrates that are important in atmospheric nitrogen transport, but are probably not particularly important in deposition. We first review the approaches to the analysis and characterization of atmospheric ON.