Complex Hygroscopic Behavior of Ambient Aerosol Particles Revealed by a Piezoelectric Technique.

Understanding the complex interactions between atmospheric aerosols and water vapor in subsaturated regions of the atmosphere is crucial for modeling and predicting aerosol-cloud-radiation-climate interactions. However, the microphysical mechanisms of these interactions for ambient aerosols remain poorly understood. For this study, size-resolved samples were collected from a high-altitude, relatively clean site situated in the Western Ghats of India during the monsoon season, in order to study background and preindustrial processes as a baseline for climate functioning within the context of the most polluted region of the world.

Passive fungal spore release from fruit and vegetable solid waste.

Food substrates in municipal solid wastes processing facilities and open dumpsites are a source for the release of fungal spores into air and can cause potential health and climate effects. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory scale flux chamber to measure the fungal growth and spore release from representative exposed cut fruit and vegetable substrates. The aerosolised spores were measured using an optical particle sizer.

Black carbon over tropical Indian coast during the COVID-19 lockdown: inconspicuous role of coastal meteorology.

Black carbon (BC) aerosols critically impact the climate and hydrological cycle. The impact of anthropogenic emissions and coastal meteorology on BC dynamics, however, remains unclear over tropical India, a globally identified hotspot. In this regard, we have performed in situ measurements of BC over a megacity (Chennai, 12° 59' 26.

Magnetic resonance imaging of enhanced mobility of light non aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) during drying of water wet porous media.

Visualization of NAPLs in multiphase systems in porous media is important for determining contaminant transport in the environment. In this study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to confirm the recent observations of mobilisation of a light non aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) trapped in wet sand under natural drying conditions of the wet porous medium. Visualization of LNAPL (motor oil) and water mobility during the drying of wet glass beads (0.

Enhanced mobility of non aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) during drying of wet sand.

Enhanced upward mobility of a non aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) present in wet sand during natural drying, and in the absence of any external pressure gradients, is reported for the first time. This mobility was significantly higher than that expected from capillary rise. Experiments were performed in a glass column with a small layer of NAPL-saturated sand trapped between two layers of water-saturated sand.

Air quality during demolition and recovery activities in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Air samples were collected during demolition and cleanup operations in the Lakeview district of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in late 2005 during the period immediately after Hurricane Katrina. Three different high-volume air samples were collected around waste collection areas that were created to temporarily hold the debris from the cleanup of residential properties in the area. Particulate concentrations were elevated and included crystalline fibers associated with asbestos.

Vapor-phase transport of explosives from buried sources in soils.

The fate and transport of explosives in the soil pore vapor spaces affects both the potential detection of buried ordnance by chemical sensors and vadose zone transport of explosives residues. The efficacy of chemical sensors and their potential usefulness for detecting buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) is difficult to determine without understanding how its chemical signatures are transported through soil. The objectives of this study were to quantify chemical signature transport through soils under various environmental conditions in unsaturated soils and to develop a model for the same.

Volatilization of contaminants from suspended sediment in a water column during dredging.

Remedial dredging of contaminated bed sediments in rivers and lakes results in the suspension of sediment solids in the water column, which can potentially be a source for evaporation of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) associated with the sediment solids. Laboratory experiments were conducted in an oscillating grid chamber to simulate the suspension of contaminated sediments and flux to air from the surface of the water column. A contaminated field sediment from Indiana Harbor Canal (IHC) and a laboratory-inoculated University Lake (UL) sediment, Baton Rouge, LA, were used in the experiments, where water and solids concentration and particle size distribution were measured in addition to contaminant fluxes to air.

Vapor phase transport of unexploded ordnance compounds through soils.

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) is a source of concern at several U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) sites.