Date
stringlengths 11
18
| Link
stringlengths 62
62
| Title
stringlengths 16
148
| Summary
stringlengths 1
2.68k
| Body
stringlengths 22
13k
⌀ | Category
stringclasses 20
values | Year
int64 2k
2.02k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 12, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190212190852.htm | Wave device could deliver clean energy to thousands of homes | A wave energy technology is being developed that could help generate low-cost electricity for thousands of houses. | The device costs less than conventional designs, has fewer moving parts, and is made of durable materials. It is designed to be incorporated into existing ocean energy systems and can convert wave power into electricity.Small scale experiments in an ocean simulator show that one full-size device could generate the equivalent of 500kW, enough electricity for about 100 homes. Engineers say that their design could be used in fleets of low-cost, easily maintained structures at sea within decades, to take advantage of powerful waves in Scottish waters.Engineers from the University of Edinburgh and from Italy developed their device -- known as a Dielectric Elastomer Generator (DEG) -- using flexible rubber membranes. It is designed to fit on top of a vertical tube which, when placed in the sea, partially fills with water that rises and falls with wave motion.As waves pass the tube, the water inside pushes trapped air above to inflate and deflate the generator on top of the device. As the membrane inflates, a voltage is generated. This increases as the membrane deflates, and electricity is produced. In a commercial device, this electricity would be transported to shore via underwater cables.A scaled-down version of the system was tested in the FloWave facility at the University of Edinburgh, a 25m diameter circular tank that can reproduce any combination of ocean waves and currents.The system could replace conventional designs, involving complex air turbines and expensive moving parts.The study, published in Professor David Ingram, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering, who took part in the study, said: "Wave energy is a potentially valuable resource around Scotland's coastline, and developing systems that harness this could play a valuable role in producing clean energy for future generations." | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 12, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190212160020.htm | Moving artificial leaves out of the lab and into the air | Artificial leaves mimic photosynthesis -- the process whereby plants use water and carbon dioxide from the air to produce carbohydrates using energy from the sun. But even state-of-the-art artificial leaves, which hold promise in reducing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, only work in the laboratory because they use pure, pressurized carbon dioxide from tanks. | But now, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have proposed a design solution that could bring artificial leaves out of the lab and into the environment. Their improved leaf, which would use carbon dioxide -- a potent greenhouse gas -- from the air, would be at least 10 times more efficient than natural leaves at converting carbon dioxide to fuel. Their findings are reported in the journal "So far, all designs for artificial leaves that have been tested in the lab use carbon dioxide from pressurized tanks. In order to implement successfully in the real world, these devices need to be able to draw carbon dioxide from much more dilute sources, such as air and flue gas, which is the gas given off by coal-burning power plants," said Meenesh Singh, assistant professor of chemical engineering in the UIC College of Engineering and corresponding author on the paper.Unhooking the pressurized carbon dioxide supply from these leaves means that they must have a way to collect and concentrate carbon dioxide from the air to drive their artificial photosynthetic reactions.Singh and his colleague Aditya Prajapati, a graduate student in his lab, proposed solving this problem by encapsulating a traditional artificial leaf inside a transparent capsule made of a semi-permeable membrane of quaternary ammonium resin and filled with water. The membrane allows water from inside to evaporate out when warmed by sunlight. As water passes out through the membrane, it selectively pulls in carbon dioxide from the air. The artificial photosynthetic unit inside the capsule is made up of a light absorber coated with catalysts that convert the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, which can be siphoned off and used as a basis for the creation of various synthetic fuels. Oxygen is also produced and can either be collected or released into the surrounding environment."By enveloping traditional artificial leaf technology inside this specialized membrane, the whole unit is able to function outside, like a natural leaf," Singh said.According to their calculations, 360 leaves, each 1.7 meters long and 0.2 meters wide, would produce close to a half-ton of carbon monoxide per day that could be used as the basis for synthetic fuels. Three hundred and sixty of these artificial leaves covering a 500-meter square area would be able to reduce carbon dioxide levels by 10 percent in the surrounding air within 100 meters of the array in one day."Our conceptual design uses readily available materials and technology, that when combined can produce an artificial leaf that is ready to be deployed outside the lab where it can play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," Singh said. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 11, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190211131444.htm | New model predicts how ground shipping will affect future human health, environment | The trucks and trains that transport goods across the United States emit gases and particles that threaten human health and the environment. A University of Illinois-led project developed a new model that predicts through 2050 the impact of different environmental policies on human mortality rates and short- and long-term climate change caused by particulate and greenhouse gas emissions. | The findings are reported in the journal Greenhouse gas and some particulate matter emissions cause the atmosphere to heat up, but at different rates, said Tami Bond, a civil and environmental engineering professor who led the study with graduate student Liang Liu. "Particulate matter washes out of the atmosphere quickly, making its effect on climate short-lived -- unlike greenhouse gases that stay in the atmosphere for decades. Particulate matter has the added drawback of causing inhalation-related diseases," she said.Civil and environmental engineering professor Yanfeng Ouyang and urban and regional planning professor Bumsoo Lee collaborated to make the modeled projections possible, along with researchers from the University of Washington, Pennsylvania State University, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory.The researchers used what they call a "system of systems" approach to model how the increased volume of shipping, mode of transport, population density and environmental policies will factor into the future health and climate impacts of land freight. The model is also set up to identify which scenarios are most harmful to the climate and which are most detrimental to human health."Many studies use models of single systems," Bond said. "For example, trucks on roads, or how people use different goods as the economy grows, or how cities spread as their population increases. These systems all affect each other, so we had to connect them and see how they worked together."A carbon tax, which places a value on greenhouse gases emitted, could entice shippers to switch to more efficient rail transport. The models indicate this could lead to a 24 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over business as usual, the greatest reduction of all scenarios modeled, the study reports.The researchers found that enforcing truck fleet maintenance was an effective way to reduce particulate emissions, cutting the projected mortality rate by about one-third by 2050. The number of misfit, poorly maintained trucks on the road is uncertain, but that attention to overall performance is an important factor in maintaining health, Bond said. The researchers also examined the effect of changing population density in cities.According to the study, increasing urban compactness could reduce freight activity but increase human exposure to particulate pollution. This scenario offers a slight improvement in health benefits over the current urban sprawl trend. However, the answer is not as easy as simply enforcing new environmental policies, Bond said."Yes, environmental policy changes could push us toward cleaner, more efficient modes of land transport or more urban compactness, but we have to think ahead and start building up the infrastructure that supports those changes now," she said. "For example, when petroleum prices spiked about 10 years ago, shippers wanted to switch from trucks to rail, but the capacity was really insufficient."Bond said there are still many scenarios to explore with the new model, including the effects of declining or improved infrastructure and increased traffic congestion. "Our model allows for a lot of flexibility, and this type of 'system of systems' approach should be routine when investigating policy change," she said. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 11, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190211131441.htm | Connection between home energy efficiency and respiratory health in low-income homes | A team of investigators from the Colorado School of Public Health at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and the University of Colorado Boulder has identified that people living in homes with high ventilation are more likely to suffer from respiratory health issues such as asthma. | The findings are published in the February issue of The Colorado Home Energy Efficiency and Respiratory Health (CHEER) study evaluated the impact of air-exchange rates on respiratory health in low-income, urban homes in the cities of Denver, Aurora, Boulder, Loveland and Fort Collins. The study revealed that many homes had high ventilation rates, also known as air-exchange rates -- the rate at which outdoor air replaces indoor air within a room (median 0.54 air changes per hour; range 0.10 to 2.17).The findings show that residents in drafty homes with higher air-exchange rates were more likely to report a chronic cough, asthma and asthma-like symptoms.Notably, people in homes with the highest air-exchange rates were approximately four times more likely to report a chronic cough than people living in households with the lowest air-exchange rates.Similarly, people were two to four times more likely to report asthma or asthma-like symptoms if they lived in households with the highest ventilation rates versus the lowest."The goal of this study was to understand the health impacts of home weatherization practices. Many of these practices focus on reducing air exchange rates between the building interior and outdoor environment," said Elizabeth Carlton, PhD, assistant professor in Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. "We found people in the homes with the highest air-exchange rates -- the leakiest homes -- were considerably more likely to report chronic cough, asthma or asthma-like symptoms. It is possible that in homes with high air-exchange rates, outdoor pollutants are entering the home and affecting health. If true, home-energy efficiency measures may be an effective way to protect health in areas with high pollution such as homes located near major roads."Carlton adds, "The health effects of high-exchange rates in urban areas are not well-documented, and since Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, it's crucial to have a better understanding of the impact of leaky homes."While prior studies have highlighted the potential hazards of low ventilation rates in residences, this study reveals high ventilation rates in many urban-area homes and that these high air-exchange rates may have a negative impact on respiratory health. Based on the findings, the infiltration of outdoor pollutants into leaky homes, such as traffic-related pollutants, could be a significant cause of chronic respiratory issues and an array of health outcomes.The (CHEER) research is a cross-sectional study that enrolled 302 people in 216 non-smoking, low-income homes. A blower door test was conducted and the annual average air-exchange rate (AAER) was estimated for each house. Respiratory health was assessed using a structured questionnaire based on standard instruments. The researchers evaluated the association between AAER and respiratory symptoms, adjusting for relevant variants such as age, sex, location and both indoor and outdoor pollution."This study was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to combine engineering, geography and public health expertise," said Shelly Miller, PhD, professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. "We hope that the results of our research will help rethink how we expend energy in homes for heating and cooling and how we best ventilate homes, especially in under-resourced communities that often live in polluted urban areas."This study was developed under an assistance agreement awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 11, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190211110348.htm | Marine scientists find toxic bacteria on microplastics retrieved from tropical waters | A field survey conducted by a team of marine scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has uncovered toxic bacteria living on the surfaces of microplastics, which are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimetres in size, collected from the coastal areas of Singapore. These bacteria are capable of causing coral bleaching, and triggering wound infections in humans. | The NUS team also discovered a diversity of bacteria, including useful organisms -- such as those that can degrade marine pollutants like hydrocarbons -- in the plastic waste.Dr Sandric Leong, research lead and Senior Research Fellow at the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), said, "Microplastics form a large proportion of plastic pollution in marine environments. Marine organisms may consume bits of microplastics unintentionally, and this could lead to the accumulation and subsequent transfer of marine pathogens in the food chain. Hence, understanding the distribution of microplastics and identifying the organisms attached to them are crucial steps in managing the plastic pollution on a national and global scale."This study is the first to examine the bacterial community on microplastics found in tropical coastal regions. The results were first published in the journal There are currently more than 150 million tons of plastics in the ocean. Microplastics, in particular, pose an evident problem as many marine organisms, such as shrimps, mussels and fish, often mistake these tiny plastics for food.Compared to microplastics on land, microplastics in aquatic ecosystems take a much longer time to degrade due to the presence of salt and a lower temperature in the ocean. As a result, they present a habitable environment for marine biota to colonise. Yet, despite their prevalence, the distribution of microplastics along the coasts of tropical regions is not well studied.Dr Leong and Ms Emily Curren, a PhD student from TMSI and the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, embarked on a six-month study to examine the bacterial communities on microplastics collected from coastal regions of Singapore.Between April and July 2018, the research team collected and examined 275 pieces of microplastics from three beaches along the coastline of Singapore, namely Lazarus Island, Sembawang Beach, and Changi Beach. By using high-throughput sequencing techniques, the team discovered more than 400 different types of bacteria across all the microplastics collected.Species of the bacteria In contrast, the bacteria The research team also uncovered species of marine This study demonstrates that microplastics are a rich habitat that is home to many types of bacteria, including toxic ones. The NUS research team will conduct further studies to examine the origin of the bacteria species transported by the microplastics. This will allow the identification of non-native species that threaten the existing biodiversity, and provide insights on managing the urgent issue of marine plastic pollution. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 11, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190211083221.htm | Skyglow over key wildlife areas | Light pollution affects the skies over most of the world's key wildlife areas, new research shows. | The study, by the University of Exeter and Birdlife International, focussed on "skyglow" -- light scattered and reflected into the atmosphere that can extend to great distances.Researchers found less than a third of the world's Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) have completely pristine night skies, and more than half lie entirely under artificially bright skies.Night-time light has been shown to have wide-ranging effects on individual species and entire ecosystems."These results are troubling because we know many species can respond even to small changes in night-time light," said lead author Dr Jo Garrett, of the University of Exeter."Night-time lighting is known to affect microbes, plants and many groups of animals such crustaceans, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals."It has an enormous range of effects, including causing trees to produce leaves earlier in the season and birds to sing earlier in the day, changing the proportion of predators in animal communities, and changing the cycling of carbon in ecosystems. Some effects can occur at very low light levels."KBAs are places identified by the KBA Partnership as being important for preserving global biodiversity, and the new study uses a recent atlas of skyglow to see how KBAs are affected."Pristine" skies were defined as those with artificial light no more than 1% above the natural level.At 8% or more above natural conditions, light pollution extends from the horizon to the zenith (straight upwards) and the entire sky can be considered polluted.The findings showed:"Unsurprisingly, the likelihood of skyglow tends to increase in areas with higher GDP, and in areas with higher human population density," said senior author Professor Kevin Gaston."This suggests that the proportion of KBAs experiencing skyglow will increase in parallel with the development of economies."Skyglow could be reduced by limiting outdoor lighting to levels and places where it is needed, which would also result in considerable cost savings and lower energy use." | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 8, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190208124703.htm | How bees stay cool on hot summer days | If you've ever walked past a bee's nest on a hot summer day, you've probably been too focused avoiding getting stung, rather than stopping to wonder how all those bees stay cool. Don't worry, Harvard scientists have braved the stingers to ask and answer that question for you. | Honey bees live in large, congested nest cavities, often in tree hollows with narrow openings. When it gets hot inside the nest, a group of bees crawl to the entrance and use their wings as fans to draw hot air out and allow cooler air to move in. The question is, how do bees self-organize into these living ventilating units?Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) have developed a framework that explains how bees use environmental signals to collectively cluster and continuously ventilate the hive."Over millennia, social insects such as bees have evolved to harness and exploit flows and forces and collectively solve physiological problems such as mechanical stabilization, thermoregulation and ventilation on scales much larger than the individual," said L Mahadevan, de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, Physics, and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and senior author of the study. "A combination of measurements and computational models quantify and explain how fanning bees create an emergent large-scale flow pattern to ventilate their nests.""We have demonstrated that bees don't need a sophisticated recruitment or communications scheme to keep their nests cool," said Jacob Peters, a postdoctoral fellow in SEAS and OEB, and first author of the paper. "Instead the fanning response of individual bees to temperature variations, and the physics of fluid flow leads to their collective spatial organization, which happens to lead to an efficient cooling solution."The paper is published in the Experiments began in the dog days of the summer of 2017. Over the course of several weeks, Peters, Mahadevan and former postdoctoral fellow at SEAS Orit Peleg monitored a group of artificial beehives in Harvard University's Concord Field Station.The research team measured temperature, air flow into and out of the nest, and the position and density of bees fanning at the nest entrance. They observed that rather than spreading out across the entirety of the nest entrance, the bees clustered at the hottest areas and kept those areas, which had the highest air outflow, separate from the cooler areas with the highest air inflow. Importantly, they found that different bees had different temperature thresholds above which they would begin fanning, so that collectively they were better at responding to temperature variations.In modeling the system, the researchers found that all these behaviors linked to the environmental physics of the nest. Fanning outward allows the bees to sense the upstream nest temperature; different thresholds of temperature allows for more continuous ventilation and more stable hive temperatures; and, because of the physics of friction and flow, clustering to separate inflow from outflow allows more cool air to enter the nest because of the physics of friction and flow."Our study demonstrates how harnessing the dynamics of the physical environment allows for large-scale organization of a physiological process," said Peleg, who co-authored the paper and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder."Although this is a physics-focused story, biological variation with roots in genetics and evolution likely plays a big role in order for this system to work," said Peters. "Our theory suggests that not only does individual variability in temperature threshold lead to a more stable hive temperature but also this diversity is critical to the stability of the patterning of fanning behavior which is required for efficient ventilation.""In everything from large HVAC systems to the fans that cool our computers, bioinspired, self-organizing systems may be able to adapt and respond to specific demands better than current systems," said Peters."More broadly, our study highlights, yet again, the need to consider both biological organisms and their physical environments to understand the richness of collective eco-physiology, a hallmark of life itself," said Mahadevan.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 8, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190208115318.htm | Seasons change: Researchers provide new definition for major Indian monsoon season | Toward the end of every year, the Northeast Indian Monsoon (NEM) batters southern India with torrents of driving rain, but climatologists have never precisely defined when the monsoon begins and ends. | Now, FSU Professor of Meteorology Vasu Misra has used detailed surface temperature analyses to identify the start and end dates of the NEM season. His work provides an objective and reliable definition that could yield new, actionable insight.Misra's method identifies the average onset and demise dates of the NEM season as November 6 and March 13 respectively, a significant departure from prior definitions that tied the monsoon season to the calendar months of October, November and December.His study was published in the journal Misra's work resolves a longstanding question among climate scholars, but more than that, his surface area-based approach provides valuable information to millions of people whose health and livelihoods are intimately linked to seasonal climatic rhythms."The traditional NEM definition ignores the variations in surface temperature," Misra said. "Studies have shown that infant and elder mortality, cerebrovascular and respiratory disease incidences and agricultural -- particularly rice -- production are sensitive to surface temperature. We feel that the sensitivities of human health and agricultural production makes monitoring of the season as we define it quite important."The prior October, November and December definition provided a convenient framework for studying the NEM, which is responsible for 30 to 60 percent of the affected region's annual rainfall. However, this model proved problematic on a number of levels.The calendar month definition ignored pronounced variations in surface temperatures and length of the NEM season. It also failed to account for situations when the preceding summer monsoon season might bleed into the NEM.Rather than defining the season by calendar months or rainfall rates, which are highly variable and difficult to track, Misra and his team developed a system based on seasonal changes in surface temperatures, which can be more easily predicted and modeled."We allow for variable onset and demise date of the season, which allows for a varying length of the season from year to year," Misra said. "We show that length of the NEM varies significantly, which has been ignored until now. Although we use surface temperature over the southeast part of India, we clearly show that it co-varies with surface temperatures throughout India and is therefore quite representative of the variability across the subcontinent."Misra said this new objective and versatile surface temperature-based definition will be a valuable tool for researchers or public officials concerned with Indian agriculture, public policy, health care and more.He expects his team's new definition of the NEM season could have important implications in areas ranging from the study of disease transmission, which is affected by the cold temperatures that accompany the NEM, to the understanding of air pollution, which is often exacerbated in the NEM regions as temperatures cool.Amit Bhardwaj, a postdoctoral researcher at Florida State, co-authored this study. The research was funded by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and the Earth System Science Organization in the Indian Government's Ministry of Earth Sciences. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 7, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190207111317.htm | Green water-purification system works without heavy metals or corrosive chemicals | Scientists at the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and Yangzhou University (YZU) in Jiangsu have developed an effective and energy-efficient technique for purifying water by using graphitic carbon nitride sheets. | Their prototype, presented February 7 in the journal "The future application of photocatalytic disinfection technology can significantly relieve clean-water scarcity and global energy shortage," says Dan Wang, a professor at the Institute of Process Engineering and a senior author on the paper.Unlike traditional water-purification processes using ultraviolet light, chlorination, or ozone disinfection, photocatalytic methods offer environmentally safe water treatment -- as long as they use the right catalyst. But unfortunately, these greener catalysts tend to be less efficient than metal-based varieties. Widely studied carbon-based catalysts, such as carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide, aren't quite effective enough for practical water-treatment purposes because they fail to produce enough reactive oxygen to overcome pathogens.The team from IPE and YZU manages to bypass these failings with a unique catalytic design. They utilize nanosheets of graphitic carbon nitride, an ultra-thin two-dimensional material with the right electronic properties to absorb the light and generate reactive oxygen. This configuration helped to facilitate the reaction by generating plenty of hydrogen peroxide, which efficiently kills bacteria by oxidizing their cell walls and wreaking havoc on their chemical structures.Ultimately, Wang believes that these results, as well as the simplicity of the design and inexpensive materials, mean the technology should be relatively easy to develop on a larger scale. "The scale-up for both the catalysts and the device is not difficult," he says. "The construction of this material is completely metal-free, and one of the key components, the plastic bag, is commercialized, which makes it easy to obtain."The team intends to hone the technique before it is ready for commercial use. As the next steps, they plan to improve efficiency by expanding the edge of the material's ability to absorb photons, develop antibacterial fibers, and refine the nanosheet preparation process.However, he acknowledges that this bacteria-killing system is not intended to single-handedly purify water. "Purification needs other devices for removing heavy-metal ions, adjusting pH, and removing residue," he says. "We need to combine our system with others to meet water-purification requirements." | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 6, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190206131956.htm | Millions of tons of plastic waste could be turned into clean fuels, other products | The United Nations estimates that more than 8 million tons of plastics flow into the oceans each year. A new chemical conversion process could transform the world's polyolefin waste, a form of plastic, into useful products, such as clean fuels and other items. | "Our strategy is to create a driving force for recycling by converting polyolefin waste into a wide range of valuable products, including polymers, naphtha (a mixture of hydrocarbons), or clean fuels," said Linda Wang, the Maxine Spencer Nichols Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University and leader of the research team developing this technology. "Our conversion technology has the potential to boost the profits of the recycling industry and shrink the world's plastic waste stock."Wang, Kai Jin, a graduate student, and Wan-Ting (Grace) Chen, a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue, are the inventors of the technology, which can convert more than 90 percent of polyolefin waste into many different products, including pure polymers, naphtha, fuels, or monomers. The team is collaborating with Gozdem Kilaz, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering Technology, and her doctoral research assistant, Petr Vozka, in the Fuel Laboratory of Renewable Energy of the School of Engineering Technology, to optimize the conversion process to produce high-quality gasoline or diesel fuels.The conversion process incorporates selective extraction and hydrothermal liquefaction. Once the plastic is converted into naphtha, it can be used as a feedstock for other chemicals or further separated into specialty solvents or other products. The clean fuels derived from the polyolefin waste generated each year can satisfy 4 percent of the annual demand for gasoline or diesel fuels. Some results of Wang's study were published Jan. 29 in Wang became inspired to create this technology after reading about the plastic waste pollution of the oceans, ground water, and the environment. Of all the plastics produced over the past 65 years (8.3 billion tons), about 12 percent have been incinerated and only 9 percent have been recycled. The remaining 79 percent have gone into landfills or the oceans. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2050 the oceans will hold more plastic waste than fish if the waste continues to be dumped into bodies of water.Wang said the technology could convert up to 90 percent of the polyolefin plastic."Plastic waste disposal, whether recycled or thrown away, does not mean the end of the story," Wang said. "These plastics degrade slowly and release toxic microplastics and chemicals into the land and the water. This is a catastrophe, because once these pollutants are in the oceans, they are impossible to retrieve completely."The work aligns with Purdue's Giant Leaps celebration, acknowledging the global advancements in sustainability as part of Purdue's 150th anniversary. This is one of the four themes of the yearlong celebration's Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.Wang said she hopes her technology will stimulate the recycling industry to reduce the rapidly rising amount of plastic waste. She and her team are looking for investors or partners to assist with demonstrating this technology at a commercial scale.Wang's technology is patented through the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 6, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190206131921.htm | Melting ice sheets may cause 'climate chaos' according to new modelling | The weather these days is wild and will be wilder still within a century -- in part, because the water from melting ice sheets off Greenland and in the Antarctic will cause extreme weather and unpredictable temperatures around the globe. A study published today in | "Under current global government policies, we are heading towards 3 or 4 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels, causing a significant amount of melt water from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets to enter Earth's oceans. According to our models, this melt water will cause significant disruptions to ocean currents and change levels of warming around the world," says Associate Professor Nick Golledge from Victoria University of Wellington's Antarctic Research Centre in New Zealand. He led the international research team made up of scientists from Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Germany and the USA.The research team combined highly detailed simulations of the complex climate effects of the melting with satellite observations of recent changes to the ice sheets. As a result, the researchers have been able to create more reliable and accurate predictions of what will occur under current climate policies.Professor Natalya Gomez, from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at McGill contributed to the study by modelling projected changes to water levels around the globe as ice melts into the ocean. The ice sheet simulations suggest that the fastest increase in the rise of sea levels is likely to occur between 2065 and 2075. Melting ice sheets will affect water temperatures and circulation patterns in the world's oceans, which will in turn affect air temperatures -- in a complex ice-ocean-atmosphere feedback loop."Water levels would not simply rise like a bathtub," says Gomez. "Some areas in the world, such as the island nations in the Pacific, would experience a large rise in sea level, while close to the ice sheets the sea level would actually fall."However, the effects of ice sheet melt are far more widespread than simply leading to changes in sea levels. As warmer melt water enters the oceans, for example in the North Atlantic Ocean, major ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream will be significantly weakened. This will lead to warmer air temperatures in the high Arctic, Eastern Canada and Central America, and cooler temperatures over northwestern Europe on the other side of the Atlantic.According to the researchers, current global climate policies set in place under the Paris Agreement do not take into account the full effects of ice sheet melt likely to be seen in future."Sea level rise from ice sheet melt is already happening and has been accelerating in recent years. Our new experiments show that this will continue to some extent even if Earth's climate is stabilized. But they also show that if we drastically reduce emissions, we can limit future impacts," says Golledge.The research was funded by NASA, New Zealand's Royal Society Te Aparangi, the Antarctic Research Centre, the New Zealand Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and NSF Antarctic Glaciology Program. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 6, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190206104551.htm | Scientists to create new 'chemical noses' to rid the environment of industrial pollutants | Scientists from five European countries have joined forces to develop next-generation 'chemical noses' to remove industrial pollutants from the environment. The European Commission allocated 2.9 million euros to finance the Horizon2020 FET-OPEN project INITIO that will bring together researchers from TalTech and five other universities as well as experts from an Interspectrum OÜ operating in Estonia and an Italian company in an international research project. | The supramolecular chemistry research group of the School of Science of Tallinn University of Technology has, for five years, been engaged in building new-generation receptor-molecules that would detect and send signals on pesticides and other industrial pollutants hazardous to the environment. Such smart 'electronic-nose-devices' would allow harmful toxins to be removed before their release into the environment.The head of the supramolecular chemistry research group, Professor Riina Aav says, "Dealing with pollutants in the environment is becoming an ever-increasing problem. One relatively unknown reason for this is that many agricultural pesticides and pharmaceutical drugs that enter the environment are 'chiral', which means they exist in two non-superimposable forms (like left and right hands). This molecular quirk makes it difficult for the pollution control technologies to identify and remove many of these pollutants and this cannot be achieved by traditional methods for analysis."'Chirality' of substances also has an impact on the environment whereto they are released. For example, one of their forms may be more toxic than the other and the chirality of the molecules may directly affect their environmental degradation. Chiral pollutants are found in pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, freon substitutes, dyes, antibiotics and many other drugs. In most cases we have no idea about their environmental impact.The collaborating INITIO consortium will address this major issue by first engineering molecules that act as receptors -- that recognize specific pollutants -- and then integrate them with smart nanostructures to create devices that can be deployed directly in the field to detect and destroy the pollutants. These devices will essentially function as 'chemical noses' by sniffing out the specific industrial pollutants, thus facilitating their removal and destruction.Our research group will build the receptor-molecules for these chemical noses. We will make container molecules, the 'hemicucurbiturils', which were recently developed in the project funded by Estonian Research Council. Our researchers will also build chiral molecular systems with recognition and signaling functions to flag the presence of specific pollutants, e.g. through changing colour," Professor Aav says.The collaborative project will end in 2021 and the ultimate goal of the project is to develop a much more effective technology for cleaning the environment. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 6, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190206091356.htm | Recycled gypsum as an agricultural product | Warren Dick has worked with gypsum for more than two decades. You'd think he'd be an expert on drywall and plastering because both are made from gypsum. But the use of gypsum that Dick studies might be unfamiliar to you: on farmland. | "Gypsum is a good source of both calcium and sulfur, which crops need for good yields," says Dick. "We also found that it improves many other soil characteristics. Gypsum helps soil better absorb water and reduces erosion. It also cuts down on phosphorus movement from soils to lakes and streams and improves the quality of various fruits and vegetables, among other benefits."Gypsum is a mineral that is naturally found concentrated in various places and can be mined out of the ground. But Dick's research focuses on gypsum recovered from coal-fired electricity generating power plants.Gypsum that comes from coal plants is called flue-gas desulfurization gypsum, as it comes from the process that 'scrubs' sulfur out of the smoke stacks to reduce air pollution. "The gypsum that is recovered has good quality," says Dick. "The gypsum particles are small and uniform in size making them quite reactive. This can be a real benefit in agriculture. We also determined that it is safe for agricultural use through many studies. Reusing it for agricultural purposes, instead of putting it in landfills, provides multiple wins."Gypsum is high in both calcium and sulfur. In addition, the chemical formula of gypsum makes those nutrients more available to plants than some other common sources of these nutrients. Chemically speaking, gypsum is calcium sulfate. Its use is often confused with that of lime, which is calcium carbonate.Gypsum will change soil pH very slightly, yet it can promote better root development of crops, especially in acid soils, even without a big pH change. This is because the gypsum counteracts the toxic effect of soluble aluminum on root development. Aluminum occurs naturally in soil and often isn't a problem for crops. But when soil becomes acidic, the aluminum is available to plants -- and it can stunt or kill them.Another bonus of gypsum is that it is a moderately-soluble mineral. This means the calcium can move further down into the soil than the calcium from lime (calcium carbonate). This can inhibit aluminum uptake at depth and promote deeper rooting of plants. When roots are more abundant and can grow deeper into the soil profile, they can take up more water and nutrients, even during the drier periods of a growing season.Although moderately soluble, gypsum can be an excellent source of sulfur over several growing seasons. Research found that the sulfur is available not only in the year applied, but can continue to supply sulfur for one or two years after, depending on the initial application rate. Gypsum as a sulfur fertilizer has benefitted corn, soybean, canola, and alfalfa.Gypsum can also help improve soil structure. Many of us look at soil as a uniform, static substance. In reality, soil is a mixture of inorganic particles, organic particles, and a complex mixture of pore spaces, water, and soil microbes. Its composition changes through weather events like rainstorms, by tillage, or as plants pull nutrients for growth. Farmers have to manage their soil well in order to maintain good crop yields year after year.Improving soil structure helps farmers with some common agricultural problems. Adding gypsum to the soil reduces erosion by increasing the ability of soil to soak up water after precipitation, thus reducing runoff. Gypsum application also improves soil aeration and water percolation through the soil profile. A recent study showed the benefit of gypsum application to improve movement of water through the profile to tile drains. It also reduces phosphorus movement out of the field.No matter what solutions farmers are trying to implement when using gypsum, they have several options for application. Of course, the type of application method will be determined by the reasons to use gypsum. Finely crushed gypsum can be dissolved in irrigation water and applied that way. Farmers can take gypsum and apply it to the topsoil prior to planting or right after harvest. It can also be applied to hay fields after hay cutting. If tilling is needed (again, dependent on the soil conditions), gypsum can be worked into the soil with the tilling equipment.Although gypsum has been used in agriculture for more than 250 years, the benefits it provides are still being studied. In addition, the re-use of gypsum by-products from coal power plants reduces the need to mine gypsum from geologic deposits. It also saves landfill space. Gypsum can't solve every agricultural problem, but it is a proven resource to add nutrients and improve soil structure."It's a great example of recycling a waste product and using it in a beneficial way," Dick says.Dick, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University, presented "Crop and Environmental Benefits of Gypsum as a Soil Amendment" at the November 2018 meeting of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America. The meeting abstract and recorded presentation can be found here. Research funding was obtained from a variety of federal, state, and commercial sources. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 4, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190204142310.htm | Early spring rain boosts methane from thawing permafrost by 30 percent | Arctic permafrost is thawing as the Earth warms due to climate change. In some cases, scientists predict that this thawing soil will release increasing amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, that is known to trap more heat in our planet's atmosphere. | Now a University of Washington-led team has found a new reason behind increased methane emissions from a thawing permafrost bog in Alaska: Early spring rainfall warms up the bog and promotes the growth of plants and methane-producing microbes. The team showed that early precipitation in 2016 warmed the bog about three weeks earlier than usual, and increased the bog's methane emissions by 30 percent compared to previous years. These results were recently published in "In general, the chance of generating methane goes up with increased rainfall because soils get waterlogged. But what we see here is different," said corresponding author Rebecca Neumann, an associate professor in the UW Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. "Early rainfall sent a slog of warm water moving into our bog. We believe microbes in the bog got excited because they were warmed up, so they released nutrients from the soil that allowed more plant growth. Methane production and emission are tightly linked with soil temperature and plant growth."Our results emphasize that these permafrost regions are sensitive to the thermal effects of rain, and because we're anticipating that these environments are going to get wetter in the future, we could be seeing increases in methane emissions that we weren't expecting."In northern latitudes, bogs form when ice-rich permafrost thaws. The thawed area sinks relative to the surrounding landscape as the ice melts, and soil becomes waterlogged, creating a wetland with grassy plants called sedges growing across the surface.Neumann and her team studied a thawing permafrost bog located about 20 miles from Fairbanks, Alaska, from 2014 through 2016. Over the years, the researchers tracked methane emissions in and around the bog, sedge plant growth and soil temperature at 16 different depths.In 2016 the team saw temperatures at the edge of the bog increase 20 days earlier, and cumulative methane emissions across the bog increase by 30 percent as compared to the previous years."We saw the plants going crazy and methane emissions going bonkers," Neumann said. "2016 had above average rainfall, but so did 2014. So what was different about this year?"The key turned out to be the timing of the precipitation: The spring rainfall started earlier in 2016 compared to 2014. In the spring the ground is colder than the air. So the rain, which is the same temperature as the air, warms up the ground as it enters the soil. The earlier the spring rains come, the sooner the soil in the surrounding forest gets saturated. Any surplus rain then flows down into the bog, rapidly warming the bog soils.The warm soil aids microbes living in the bog and speeds up their metabolisms. Normally microbes use oxygen to break down organic matter, and they release carbon dioxide into the air. But in waterlogged soils, like a bog created by permafrost thaw, there's no oxygen around. So the microbes have to use whatever is available, and they end up converting organic matter into methane."It's the bottom of the barrel in terms of energy production for them," Neumann said. "The microbes in this bog on some level are like 'Oh man, we're stuck making methane because that's all this bog is allowing us to do.'"At the same time, the sedge plants are also fueled by the warmer soil. In 2016 the team found more of these plants at the warmer edges of the bog. Sedges, like most plants, take carbon dioxide from the air to make their food, which they send to their roots to help them grow. Sometimes the food leaks out of the roots into the soil where it can become food for the microbes. So more sedges directly fuel the microbes to make more methane.In addition, sedges contain hollow, air-filled tubes that allow oxygen to flow from the air to their roots. These tubes also allow the microbes' methane to escape the bog and enter the atmosphere."The plants are really doing two things," Neumann said. "They're providing yummy carbon that lets the microbes make more methane than they would have otherwise. The plants also provide a conduit that allows methane to escape into the atmosphere. They're a double whammy for methane production and emission."As the Earth warms, these northern latitude regions are expected to experience more rainfall. If this rain falls in spring or early summer, these areas could release more methane into the atmosphere than is currently predicted. Neumann and her team plan to examine methane emissions from other bogs to see if this pattern holds true across northern latitudes."In general, the ability of rain to transport thermal energy into soils has been underappreciated," Neumann said. "Our study shows that by affecting soil temperature and methane emissions, rain can increase the ability of thawing permafrost landscapes to warm the climate." | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 4, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190204140614.htm | A warming world increases air pollution | Climate change is warming the ocean, but it's warming land faster and that's really bad news for air quality all over the world, says a new University of California, Riverside study. | The study, published February 4 in Aerosols are tiny solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere. They can come from natural sources, like dust or wildfires, or human-made sources such as vehicle and industrial emissions. Aerosols affect the climate system, including disturbances to the water cycle, as well as human health. They also cause smog and other kinds of air pollution that can lead to health problems for people, animals, and plants."A robust response to an increase in greenhouse gases is that the land is going to warm faster than the ocean. This enhanced land warming is also associated with increased continental aridity," explained first author Robert Allen, an associate professor of earth sciences at UC Riverside.The increase in aridity leads to decreased low cloud cover and less rain, which is the main way that aerosols are removed from the atmosphere.To determine this, the researchers ran simulations of climate change under two scenarios. The first assumed a business-as-usual warming model, in which warming proceeds at a constant, upward rate. The second model probed a scenario in which the land warmed less than expected.In the business-as-usual scenario, enhanced land warming increased continental aridity and, subsequently, the concentration of aerosols that leads to more air pollution. However, the second model -- which is identical to the business-as-usual model except the land warming is weakened -- leads to a muted increase in continental aridity and air pollution. Thus, the increase in air pollution is a direct consequence of enhanced land warming and continental drying.The results show that the hotter Earth gets, the harder it's going to be to keep air pollution down to a certain level without strict control over the sources of aerosols.Because the researchers wanted to understand how greenhouse gas warming affects air pollution, they assumed no change to human-made, or anthropogenic, aerosol emissions."That's probably not going to be true because there's a strong desire to reduce air pollution, which involves reducing anthropogenic aerosol emissions," cautioned Allen. "So this result represents an upper bound."But it also suggests that if the planet keeps warming, larger reductions in anthropogenic aerosol emissions will be required to improve air quality."The question is what level of air quality are we going to accept," said Allen. "Even though California has some of the strictest environmental laws in the country we still have relatively poor air quality, and it's much worse in many countries."Unless anthropogenic emission reductions occur, a warmer world will be associated with more aerosol pollution. | Pollution | 2,019 |
February 1, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190201114130.htm | Lettuce show you how to restore oil-soaked soil | Rice University engineers have figured out how soil contaminated by heavy oil can not only be cleaned but made fertile again. | How do they know it works? They grew lettuce.Rice engineers Kyriacos Zygourakis and Pedro Alvarez and their colleagues have fine-tuned their method to remove petroleum contaminants from soil through the age-old process of pyrolysis. The technique gently heats soil while keeping oxygen out, which avoids the damage usually done to fertile soil when burning hydrocarbons cause temperature spikes.While large-volume marine spills get most of the attention, 98 percent of oil spills occur on land, Alvarez points out, with more than 25,000 spills a year reported to the Environmental Protection Agency. That makes the need for cost-effective remediation clear, he said."We saw an opportunity to convert a liability, contaminated soil, into a commodity, fertile soil," Alvarez said.The key to retaining fertility is to preserve the soil's essential clays, Zygourakis said. "Clays retain water, and if you raise the temperature too high, you basically destroy them," he said. "If you exceed 500 degrees Celsius (900 degrees Fahrenheit), dehydration is irreversible."The researchers put soil samples from Hearne, Texas, contaminated in the lab with heavy crude, into a kiln to see what temperature best eliminated the most oil, and how long it took.Their results showed heating samples in the rotating drum at 420 C (788 F) for 15 minutes eliminated 99.9 percent of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and 94.5 percent of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), leaving the treated soils with roughly the same pollutant levels found in natural, uncontaminated soil.The paper appears in the American Chemical Society journal "We also learned we can do it with less energy than other methods, and we have detoxified the soil so that we can safely put it back," he said.Heating the soil to about 420 C represents the sweet spot for treatment, Zygourakis said. Heating it to 470 C (878 F) did a marginally better job in removing contaminants, but used more energy and, more importantly, decreased the soil's fertility to the degree that it could not be reused."Between 200 and 300 C (392-572 F), the light volatile compounds evaporate," he said. "When you get to 350 to 400 C (662-752 F), you start breaking first the heteroatom bonds, and then carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds triggering a sequence of radical reactions that convert heavier hydrocarbons to stable, low-reactivity char."The true test of the pilot program came when the researchers grew Simpson black-seeded lettuce, a variety for which petroleum is highly toxic, on the original clean soil, some contaminated soil and several pyrolyzed soils. While plants in the treated soils were a bit slower to start, they found that after 21 days, plants grown in pyrolyzed soil with fertilizer or simply water showed the same germination rates and had the same weight as those grown in clean soil."We knew we had a process that effectively cleans up oil-contaminated soil and restores its fertility," Zygourakis said. "But, had we truly detoxified the soil?"To answer this final question, the Rice team turned to Bhagavatula Moorthy, a professor of neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine, who studies the effects of airborne contaminants on neonatal development. Moorthy and his lab found that extracts taken from oil-contaminated soils were toxic to human lung cells, while exposing the same cell lines to extracts from treated soils had no adverse effects. The study eased concerns that pyrolyzed soil could release airborne dust particles laced with highly toxic pollutants like PAHs.''One important lesson we learned is that different treatment objectives for regulatory compliance, detoxification and soil-fertility restoration need not be mutually exclusive and can be simultaneously achieved," Alvarez said.Wen Song, a visiting scholar at Rice and a student at the University of Jinan and Shandong University, China, is lead author of the paper. Co-authors are Rice alumna Julia Vidonish of Arcadis U.S., Seattle; Rice postdoctoral researcher Pingfeng Yu; Roopa Kamath, an environmental adviser at Chevron; Chun Chu, a research associate at Baylor College of Medicine; and Baoyu Gao, a professor of environmental engineering at Shandong University. Alvarez is the George R. Brown Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice. Zygourakis is the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a professor of bioengineering.The research was supported by Chevron U.S.A., the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Tongji Gao Tingyao | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 31, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190131143347.htm | Passing aircraft wring extra snow and rain out of clouds | Planes flying over rain or snow can intensify the precipitation by as much as 10-fold, according to a new study. | The rain- and snow-bursts are not caused by emissions from the aircraft but are the peculiar consequence of the aircrafts' wings passing though clouds of supercooled water droplets in cloud layers above a layer of active rain or snow.Under the right conditions, this effect can boost rain and snow storms over airports, where many planes intersect the cloud layer on approach and descent."The interesting thing about this feature is that it is caused by aircraft, but it is not caused by pollution," said Dimitri Moisseev, a researcher at the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the lead author of the new study in AGU's Although the bands of enhanced precipitation are artificially created, the physical process jump-started by the passage of planes can occur naturally, which makes them useful laboratories for studying the formation of precipitation, according to Moisseev. Observing them may help meteorologists "nowcast" natural rain and snow conditions 2 to 6 hours into the future, which is essential for airport operations."When you, like myself, look at the radar data every day there is always something interesting going on," Moisseev said. "Surprisingly enough, there's always new things that we cannot explain still."Moisseev discovered curious streamers of heightened precipitation in scans from the campus radar antenna at the University of Helsinki Kumpula. The unnaturally straight patches of intense precipitation appeared against a background of lighter rain or snow and seemed to bend toward the nearby Helsinki-Vantaa airport.Their shapes looked intriguingly like the inverse of cloud formations known as fallstreaks, hole-punch or canal clouds, phenomena which can occur when aircraft fly through clouds of water droplets that are colder than 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) -- but aren't freezing.The new study demonstrates that a similar phenomenon can enhance or elicit rain or snowfall from cloud layers underlying these supercooled cloud layers.Both tiny water droplets and ice crystals form clouds. Pure water can stay liquid down to -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) without dust particles or other suitable surfaces present to seed crystallization into ice. So water droplets that condense into clouds can be much colder than the typical freezing point of 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Such supercooled liquid clouds are common in low- to mid-level cloud layers.Air pressure changes from passing aircraft can trigger these supercooled water droplets to freeze into ice crystals. Air expands abruptly in the wake of wing and propeller tips, causing a dramatic local drop in pressure and temperature. Inside a cloud of water droplets that is already supercooled between -15 to -20 degrees Celsius (5 to -4 degrees Fahrenheit), the passing aircraft can drop the temperature below -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) and instigate the formation of ice crystals.The new ice crystals help freeze more supercool water droplets, setting off a chain reaction of crystal formation in a widening circle around the path of the aircraft. When the crystals fall, they create holes or streaks of clear air in the cloud, sometimes opening a window of blue sky if the cloud layer is thin. In most cases, the ice crystals evaporate before they reach the ground.Meteorologists have known that passing aircraft can freeze water droplets into ice crystals and previous work had suggested that the process could enhance rain and snow in underlying clouds, but the effect had not been captured in detail.Andrew Heymsfield, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and a researcher unaffiliated with the new study, had noted the potential for inadvertent seeding of supercooled clouds over airports in a previous paper about the formation and spread of aircraft-induced holes in clouds. He observed similar arcs of heightened snowfall in radar data collected near Denver, Colorado's former Stapleton Airport in 1992."We know that planes can trigger precipitation. The authors of this study have a lot of cases, with wonderful data from ground-based instruments -- radar, lidar -- good information about particle size and concentration, and radiosonde data to show the likely temperature for formation," Heymsfield said. "They succeeded in documenting the phenomenon."To find out if the streamers of heightened precipitation could be caused by aircraft, Moisseev and his colleagues reviewed 11 years of the University of Helsinki's weather radar data and found 17 days with repeat cases of the characteristic linear streamers between December 2008 and January 2018.They examined flightpaths near the airport to see whether the streamers could be caused by passing aircraft. Flightpaths archived to 2011 confirmed aircraft passed within 2-10 kilometers (1-6 miles) of the intense precipitation streamers in most of the cases observed."The intensified precipitation basically follows the track of an airplane above the cloud," Moisseev said. "It could extend over hundreds of kilometers, but the cross-section would be maybe 100 meters. So it's a very narrow, long feature."The additional ice crystals raise the rate at which crystals collide to form larger snowflakes, intensifying snowfall, according to the authors.This could happen if an airplane flies directly through a precipitating cloud, but the authors suspect something more complicated is going on, because their data locates the starting height of rain and snow enhancement far above the layer that is already precipitating.The new study concludes the airplane-generated ice crystals most likely fall from a supercooled upper cloud layer into a lower layer that is actively raining or snowing, begetting more rain or snow from the lower cloud layer.Satellite data support this scenario, showing a top layer of clouds composed of supercool droplets or a mix of ice and water, poised at about the right temperature to turn to ice crystals under the influence of aircraft. This upper, supercool layer floats at the typical approach altitude of planes flying into the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.Rain and snow artificially enhanced by air traffic has useful clues for natural precipitation and the factors affecting the efficiency of formation, according to Moisseev. The streamers are accidental experiments that allow the researchers to observe the effect along the path of the aircraft, and just outside it, and ask questions the kinds of microphysical processes taking place. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 31, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190131101057.htm | Children exposed to air pollution at school may be at greater risk of overweight and obesity | Exposure to air pollution, particularly at school, could be associated with a higher risk of overweight and obesity during childhood. This is the conclusion of a study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa," performed with 2,660 children between 7 and 10 years of age from 39 schools in Barcelona. | A few studies have associated exposure to air pollution with a higher risk of child obesity and overweight. However, these studies focused mainly on exposure at home, without considering the school environment.The study, published in On one hand, the research team collected data on the children's weight and height and calculated their body mass index and obesity and overweight status. On the other hand, they used sensors in the schoolyard to measure the levels of outdoor pollution -- nitrogen dioxide (NO2), elemental carbon (EC), particle matter (PM2.5) and ultrafine particles -during one week in summer and another week in winter. They also estimated exposure levels to NO2, NOx, PM2.5, PM10 and PMcoarse at the home address."We observed that children exposed to medium or high levels of air pollution at school -ultrafine particles, NO2, PM2.5 and EC- had a higher risk of obesity and overweight as compared to those exposed to lower levels," concludes first author Jeroen de Bont, researcher at ISGlobal and IDIAP Jordi Gol. Exposure to high levels of PM10 at home was also associated with higher risk of obesity or overweight during childhood, although in this case the analysis was done with estimates of exposure levels."The study has however some limitations, which means that the results are to be cautiously interpreted," says Martine Vrijheid, ISGlobal researcher and study coordinator. "Being a cross-sectional study, we only have data at one time-point, and we do not have enough data to establish the nature of the association. To draw more solid conclusions, we need new longitudinal studies that follow the study participants over time," she adds.Regarding the mechanisms linking air pollution and overweight, some animal studies suggest that pollution can induce oxidative stress, insulin resistance and systemic inflammation, factors that are known to contribute to obesity," explains de Bont.Most children were exposed to air pollution levels above those recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), both at school and home. Specifically, over 75% were exposed to PM2.5 levels above those recommended (10?g/m3) and more than 50% breathed NO2 levels above those considered as safe (40?g/m3). | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 30, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190130161701.htm | Unexpected link between air pollutants from plants and humanmade emissions | Scientists are a step closer to understanding what controls fine particulate matter in the Earth's atmosphere after identifying new linkages between natural contaminants and with human-made pollutants. | Fine particulate matter is an air pollutant that can negatively impact human health when levels in air are too high and can also influence climate.The breakthrough could lead to stronger, more accurate climate-related legislation and cleaner air say the researchers. The international team, led by The University of Manchester and Forschungszentrum Jülichhung in Germany, were investigating the impact of Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) in our air.SOA comprise of extremely small particles and are made in the atmosphere from natural and human-made emissions. They are produced through complex interactions between sunlight and volatile organic compounds from trees, plants, cars or industrial emissions.These tiny particles seriously affect people's physical and mental health and are the major contributing factor to the premature deaths of an estimated 5.5 million people around the world, every year. The influence of these particles on climate is also responsible for the largest contributory uncertainty to human-made effects on the radiation balance affecting climate change.The international team studied the formation of fine SOA particles from different vapours emitted from natural plants and from mixtures of human-made and natural vapours reacting in the lab. In all cases, they found that a lower mass of particles was made when the same amount of vapour was reacted in a mixture than when it was reacted on its own.Lead author, Professor Gordon McFiggans, from Manchester's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, explains: "It has long been recognised that we need to consider the full mixture of vapours when predicting the amount of secondary pollutants such as ozone."Our findings now show that we also need to know what human-made and natural trace compounds are present in the real atmosphere in order to quantify particulate pollution."The study is the first study of its kind to look at the influence of these complex mixtures of vapours on the atmospheric particle mass concentration.Professor Thomas Mentel, co-author from FZJ, added: "By carefully designing the experiment, we managed to understand two different ways that the amount of particles formed are reduced in mixtures. We have found that the trace compounds not only compete for the reactant, but also the products of these reactions can themselves react to prevent efficient particle formation."By including this experimentally observed effect in a global air quality model, we have shown that the fine particle mass can be substantially affected under real atmospheric conditions, not just those in the lab."This observational quantification of the interaction between vapours that can form particles provides the first glimpse of how pollutants will interact in the complex mixtures found in the real atmosphere.Professor McFiggans concluded: "Our work provides a roadmap towards understanding the future contribution of particulate matter to air quality and climate. By including these results and those from further experiments into numerical models, we will be able to provide the right advice to policymakers." | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 30, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190130075809.htm | Counties with dirtier air have more stroke deaths | In a nationwide study, counties with dirtier air had higher rates of stroke deaths and shorter life expectancies, according to preliminary research to be presented in Honolulu at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2019, a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. | Researchers examined the average yearly levels air pollution (PM2.5) that contains fine inhalable particles. Produced by diesel engines and the burning of coal, biomass and kerosene, this type of air pollution has previously been shown to enter the circulatory system and harm health.Analyzing health data and pollution monitoring information from 1,561 counties across the United States between 2005 and 2010, researchers found the yearly average for fine air pollution ranged from 7.2 to 14.7 (average 11.75) micrograms per cubic meter."Overall, the annual average was at a level considered acceptable. However, 51 percent of counties had an annual average exceeding 12 micrograms per cubic meter, the annual average limit of the National Air Quality Standards for PM2.5 set by the Environmental Protection Agency (December 2012)," said Longjian Liu, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia.When researchers examined associations between county average PM2.5 pollution levels and health measures (age-adjusted rates in adults 35 years and older), they found:"To reduce the risk of stroke, clinicians should consider their patients' likely exposure to air pollution along with other risk factors. They can ask patients whether they live or work in an urban industrial area or whether they are aware of sources of pollution near their home or workplace. Clinicians can then encourage at-risk patients to take measures to reduce their exposure when possible, such as avoiding major roadways during rush hour traffic, keeping car windows closed and setting the air conditioner to circulate internal air," Liu said.The researchers are currently analyzing other findings that emerged from the county comparisons, including associations between higher levels of PM2.5 pollution and a greater risk of other leading causes of death, including coronary heart disease, heart failure and cancer.The study did not have separate information on the number of clot-caused and bleeding strokes. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 24, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190124141636.htm | Lubricant for oil tankers | If ship hulls were coated with special high-tech air trapping materials, up to one percent of global CO | Ships are among the worst fuel guzzlers in the world. Together, they burn an estimated 250 million tonnes per year and emit around one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air -- about the same amount as the whole of Germany emits over the same period. The main reason for this is the high degree of drag between hull and water, which constantly slows the ship down. Depending on the type of ship, drag accounts for up to 90 percent of energy consumption. This also makes it a huge economic factor: After all, fuel consumption is responsible for half of transport costs.Drag can be significantly reduced using technical tricks. For example, the so-called "microbubbles technology" actively pumps air bubbles under the hull. The ship then travels over a bubble carpet, which reduces drag. However, the production of the bubbles consumes so much energy that the total savings effect is very small.Novel high-tech coatings may promise a solution. They are able to hold air for long periods of even weeks. "Around ten years ago, we were already able to demonstrate on a prototype that in principle it is possible to reduce drag by up to ten percent," explains Dr. Matthias Mail from the Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants at the University of Bonn, one of the authors of the study. "Our partners at Rostock University later achieved a 30-percent reduction with another material developed by us." Since then, various working groups have taken up the principle and developed it further. The technology is not yet mature enough for practical use. Nevertheless, the authors forecast a fuel-saving potential of at least five percent in the medium term, but more likely even 20 percent.In their publication in the journal Taking into account the reduced growth of barnacles and other aquatic organisms, which causes enormous additional drag loss, this quantity even rises to almost 300 million tonnes. This corresponds to almost one percent of global COThe high-tech layers are based on models from nature, such as the floating fern Salvinia has tiny egg-beater-like hairs on the surface of its leaves. These are water-repellent at their base, but hydrophilic at their tip. With these hair-tips, the aquatic fern firmly "pins" a water layer around itself. Its little dress of trapped air kept in place by the water layer. Perhaps this principle will soon cause a sensation in a completely different context: as a potent lubricant for oil tankers. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 22, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190122125541.htm | Air pollutants from US forest soils will increase with climate change | A study from Indiana University has found that trees influence whether soil can remove or emit gases that cause smog, acid rain and respiratory problems. | The chemicals, collectively known as reactive nitrogen oxides, are produced by soil bacteria that feed on naturally occurring ammonium -- as well as nitrogen fertilizers from industrial and agricultural sources that enter soil from the atmosphere.The study is reported Jan. 18 in the "This study has profound implications for future air quality," said Jonathan Raff, associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington. "Human activities, such as fire suppression, fertilizer use and climate change, are causing forest populations to shift from stands of trees whose soils do not emit these gases to those that do."Reactive nitrogen oxide gases from fossil fuel burning have been well curbed over the past several decades due to effective policy," he added. "However, our study shows that, as forests change, we can expect higher background levels of nitrogen oxides, which could make it more difficult for some regions to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for nitrogen oxides and ozone."Raff's laboratory is one of the few university-based facilities in the country able to accurately measure reactive nitrogen oxides emitted from soil. The gases include nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid."In forests, these gases are really under the radar, partly because they're so difficult to detect," said Ryan Mushinski, a postdoctoral researcher at IU who led the study. "A lot of people also simply don't think about soil as a significant producer of harmful air chemicals."Although it's known that certain types of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria can emit reactive nitrogen from soil, researchers at IU discovered that trees can be divided into two groups: those that enhance nitrogen oxide-releasing bacteria activity, and those that don't.Tree species that promote the release of nitrogen oxides include maple, sassafras and tulip poplar. The growth of these trees pushes out other species, such as oak, beech and hickory, whose associated microbes absorb reactive nitrogen oxides rather than release them.The study, which is the first to identify forested regions in the U.S. that emit reactive nitrogen oxides based upon soil types, was facilitated by a review of soil data from 78,000 forest plots across country from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program. The analysis was made possible in part due to work led by Richard Phillips, an associate professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology, who is a co-author on the study. Phillips has pioneered research that connects specific tree species with specific soil types based upon their underground fungal networks.Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio are the states expected to have the highest emissions of nitrogen oxides from forest soil, according to the new study. Higher emissions are also expected from forests along the Mississippi River and some regions of the eastern U.S.Nitrogen oxide concentrations are regulated under the Clean Air Act, and the EPA regularly monitors their levels. But Mushinski said current rules are not enough to curtail rises in soil emissions, since air quality standards do not regulate fertilizer use or nitrogen deposition.In addition to pollution regulation, he suggests that revised land management policies permitting greater use of controlled burns could slow the gradual change in forest composition. These fires are an effective way to clear out tree species that promote the soil that emits reactive nitrogen gases."It's difficult because people really like trees such as maples and poplars," he said. "But without greater awareness or policy changes, we're not going to see a reduction in the harmful gases they encourage."This work relates to Prepared for Environmental Change, the second of Indiana University's Grand Challenges initiatives, which brings together a broad, bipartisan coalition of government, business, nonprofit and community leaders to help Indiana better prepare for the challenges that environmental change brings to the state's economy, health and livelihood. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 21, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190121115352.htm | North Sea rocks could act as large-scale renewable energy stores | Rocks in the seabed off the UK coast could provide long-term storage locations for renewable energy production, new research suggests. | An advanced technique could be used to trap compressed air in porous rock formations found in the North Sea using electricity from renewable technologies.The pressurised air could later be released to drive a turbine to generate large amounts of electricity.Using the technique on a large scale could store enough compressed air to meet the UK's electricity needs during winter, when demand is highest, the study found.The approach could help deliver steady and reliable supplies of energy from renewable sources -- such as wind and tidal turbines -- and aid efforts to limit global temperature rise as a result of climate change.However, the amount of energy produced by many renewable technologies varies depending on weather conditions. There is a need for new processes that can store energy cheaply and reliably for months at a time, researchers say.Engineers and geoscientists from the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde used mathematical models to assess the potential of the process, called compressed air energy storage (CAES).The team then predicted the UK's storage capacity by combining these estimates with a database of geological formations in the North Sea.Porous rocks beneath UK waters could store about one and a half times the UK's typical electricity demand for January and February, they found.Compressed air energy storage would work by using electricity from renewables to power a motor that generates compressed air. This air would be stored at high pressure in the pores found in sandstone, using a deep well drilled into the rock. During times of energy shortage, the pressurised air would be released from the well, powering a turbine to generate electricity that is fed into the grid.A similar process storing air in deep salt caverns has been used at sites in Germany and the US.Locating wells close to sources of renewable energy -- such as offshore wind turbines -- would make the process more efficient, cheaper and reduce the amount of undersea cables required, the team says.The study is published in the journal Dr Julien Mouli-Castillo, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, who led the study, said: "This method could make it possible to store renewable energy produced in the summer for those chilly winter nights. It can provide a viable, though expensive, option to ensure the UK's renewable electricity supply is resilient between seasons. More research could help to refine the process and bring costs down." | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 21, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190121115335.htm | In China, a link between happiness and air quality | For many years, China has been struggling to tackle high pollution levels that are crippling its major cities. Indeed, a recent study by researchers at Chinese Hong Kong University has found that air pollution in the country causes an average of 1.1 million premature deaths each year and costs its economy $38 billion. | Now researchers at MIT have discovered that air pollution in China's cities may be contributing to low levels of happiness amongst the country's urban population.In a paper published in the journal The paper also includes co-first author Jianghao Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Matthew Kahn of the University of Southern California, Cong Sun of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and Xiaonan Zhang of Tsinghua University in Beijing.Despite an annual economic growth rate of 8 percent, satisfaction levels amongst China's urban population have not risen as much as would be expected.Alongside inadequate public services, soaring house prices, and concerns over food safety, air pollution -- caused by the country's industrialization, coal burning, and increasing use of cars -- has had a significant impact on quality of life in urban areas.Research has previously shown that air pollution is damaging to health, cognitive performance, labor productivity, and educational outcomes. But air pollution also has a broader impact on people's social lives and behavior, according to Zheng.To avoid high levels of air pollution, for example, people may move to cleaner cities or green buildings, buy protective equipment such as face masks and air purifiers, and spend less time outdoors."Pollution also has an emotional cost," Zheng says. "People are unhappy, and that means they may make irrational decisions."On polluted days, people have been shown to be more likely to engage in impulsive and risky behavior that they may later regret, possibly as a result of short-term depression and anxiety, according to Zheng."So we wanted to explore a broader range of effects of air pollution on people's daily lives in highly polluted Chinese cities," she says.To this end, the researchers used real-time data from social media to track how changing daily pollution levels impact people's happiness in 144 Chinese cities.In the past, happiness levels have typically been measured using questionnaires. However, such surveys provide only a single snapshot; people's responses tend to reflect their overall feeling of well-being, rather than their happiness on particular days."Social media gives a real-time measure of people's happiness levels and also provides a huge amount of data, across a lot of different cities," Zheng says.The researchers used information on urban levels of ultrafine particulate matter -- PM 2.5 concentration -- from the daily air quality readings released by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. Airborne particulate matter has become the primary air pollutant in Chinese cities in recent years, and PM 2.5 particles, which measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter, are particularly dangerous to people's lungs.To measure daily happiness levels for each city, the team applied a machine-learning algorithm to analyze the 210 million geotagged tweets from China's largest microblogging platform, Sina Weibo.The tweets cover a period from March to November 2014. For each tweet, the researchers applied the machine-trained sentiment analysis algorithm to measure the sentiment of the post. They then calculated the median value for that city and day, the so-called expressed happiness index, ranging from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating a very negative mood, and 100 a very positive one.Finally, the researchers merged this index with the daily PM2.5 concentration and weather data.They found a significantly negative correlation between pollution and happiness levels. What's more, women were more sensitive to higher pollution levels than men, as were those on higher incomes.When the researchers looked at the type of cities that the tweets originated from, they found that people from the very cleanest and very dirtiest cities were the most severely affected by pollution levels.This may be because those people who are particularly concerned about their health and air quality tend to move to clean cities, while those in very dirty cities are more aware of the damage to their health from long-term exposure to pollutants, Zheng says.Zheng now hopes to continue her research into the impact of pollution on people's behavior, and to investigate how China's politicians will respond to the increasing public demand for cleaner air. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 22, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190122104611.htm | We need to rethink everything we know about global warming | For a while now, the scientific community has known that global warming is caused by humanmade emissions in the form of greenhouse gases and global cooling by air pollution in the form of aerosols. | However, new research published in Aerosols are tiny particles that float in the air. They can form naturally (e.g., desert dust) or artificially (e.g., smoke from coal, car exhaust). Aerosols cool our environment by enhancing cloud cover that reflect the sunlight (heat) back to space.As for the first, clouds form when wind rises and cools. However, cloud composition is largely determined by aerosols. The more aerosol particles a shallow cloud contains, the more small water droplets it will hold. Rain happens when these droplets bind together. Since it takes longer for small droplets to bind together than it does for large droplets, aerosol-filled or "polluted" clouds contain more water, live in the sky longer (while they wait for droplets to bind and rain to fall, after which the clouds will dissipate) and cover a greater area. All the while, the aerosol-laden clouds reflect more solar energy back into space, thereby cooling the Earth's overall temperature.To what extent do aerosols cool down our environment? To date, all estimates were unreliable because it was impossible to separate the effects of rising winds which create the clouds, from the effects of aerosols which determine their composition. Until now.Rosenfeld and his colleague Yannian Zhu from the Meteorological Institute of Shaanxi Province in China developed a new method that uses satellite images to separately calculate the effect of vertical winds and aerosol cloud droplet numbers. They applied this methodology to low-lying cloud cover above the world's oceans between the Equator and 40S. With this new method, Rosenfeld and his colleagues were able to more accurately calculate aerosols' cooling effects on the Earth's energy budget. And, they discovered that aerosols' cooling effect is nearly twice higher than previously thought.However, if this is true then how come the earth is getting warmer, not cooler? For all of the global attention on climate warming, aerosol pollution rates from vehicles, agriculture and power plants is still very high. For Rosenfeld, this discrepancy might point to an ever deeper and more troubling reality. "If the aerosols indeed cause a greater cooling effect than previously estimated, then the warming effect of the greenhouse gases has also been larger than we thought, enabling greenhouse gas emissions to overcome the cooling effect of aerosols and points to a greater amount of global warming than we previously thought," he shared.The fact that our planet is getting warmer even though aerosols are cooling it down at higher rates than previously thought brings us to a Catch-22 situation: Global efforts to improve air quality by developing cleaner fuels and burning less coal could end up harming our planet by reducing the number of aerosols in the atmosphere, and by doing so, diminishing aerosols' cooling ability to offset global warming.According to Rosenfeld, another hypothesis to explain why Earth is getting warmer even though aerosols have been cooling it down at an even a greater rate is a possible warming effect of aerosols when they lodge in deep clouds, meaning those 10 kilometers or more above the Earth. Israel's Space Agency and France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) have teamed up to develop new satellites that will be able to investigate this deep cloud phenomenon, with Professor Rosenfeld as its principal investigator.Either way, the conclusion is the same. Our current global climate predictions do not correctly take into account the significant effects of aerosols on clouds on Earth's overall energy balance. Further, Rosenfeld's recalculations mean fellow scientists will have to rethink their global warming predictions -- which currently predict a 1.5 to 4.5-degree Celsius temperature increase by the end of the 21st century -- to provide us a more accurate diagnosis -- and prognosis -- of the Earth's climate. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 21, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190121103411.htm | Ecological benefits of part-night lighting revealed | Switching off street lights to save money and energy could have a positive knock-on effect on our nocturnal pollinators, according to new research. | A study, led by experts from Newcastle and York universities, has shown that turning off the lights even for just part of the night is effective at restoring the natural behaviour of moths.The important role moths play in the pollination of plants -- potentially even including key food crops such as peas, soybean and oilseed rape -- is often overlooked. But recent studies show that moths supplement the day-time work of bees and other pollinating insects.Night-lighting disrupts nocturnal pollination by attracting moths upwards, away from the fields and hedgerows so they spend less time feeding and therefore pollinating. But in this latest study, published today in Dr Darren Evans, Reader in Ecology and Conservation at Newcastle University, who supervised the study, said that at a time when local authorities are switching off the street lamps to save money, this study highlighted the environmental benefits of part-night lighting."Artificial light at night is an increasingly important driver of global environmental change and sky brightness is increasing by about 6% a year," he explains."Understanding the ecological impact of this artificial light on the ecosystem is vital."We know that light pollution significantly alters moth activity and this in turn is disrupting their role as pollinators. But what our study showed was that while full-night lighting caused significant ecological disruption, part-night lighting did not appear to have any strong effect on pollination success or quality."Ecological light pollution is increasingly linked to adverse effects on human health and wildlife. Disrupting the natural patterns of light and dark, artificial light "has the potential to affect every level of biological organisation," explains Evans, from cells to whole communities.In the last decade, many local authorities have changed their street lighting regime in a bid to cut costs and save energy. This includes switching off or dimming the lights at certain times of the night as well as replacing the traditional high-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs with energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs).In the study, the team analysed the impact of a range of scenarios on the pollination of moth-pollinated flowers placed underneath street lights. These included both types of lighting (HPS and LED), run either all night or switched off at midnight. Results were compared to pollination under natural darkness.They found that regardless of the type of light, full-night light caused the greatest ecological disruption. There was no difference between LED and HPS bulbs in the part-night scenarios and in both cases, the disruption to the plants' pollination was minimal compared to full darkness.Lead author Dr Callum Macgregor, a Postdoctoral Research Associate from the University of York, said:"Often, as conservationists, we have to make difficult trade-offs between development and environmental protection."However, our study suggests that turning off street lights in the middle of the night is a win-win scenario, saving energy and money for local authorities whilst simultaneously helping our nocturnal wildlife." | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 11, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190111112854.htm | Feds, states can help biochar live up to its soil-saving potential | Even though every dollar spent on soil improvement can save much more in environmental costs down the road, startup costs can sometimes make it hard for farmers to implement best environmental practices. A team of researchers from Rice and North Dakota State universities argues that this is especially true for using biochar, but that the problem can be addressed through well-designed policy. | Biochar is a porous, charcoal-like material produced via pyrolysis, the high-temperature decomposition of biomass. Studies show biochar improves soil water properties and enhances agricultural production by an average of 15 percent. It also reduces nutrient leaching, increases nitrogen available to plants and reduces the release of nitrogenous gases, which can improve local air quality.A policy study led by Ghasideh Pourhashem, a former postdoctoral fellow at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy and now an assistant professor at North Dakota State, surveys existing government programs and details how they support the use of biochar to enhance agricultural productivity, sequester carbon and preserve valuable soil. The federal government already has 35 programs that do -- or could -- promote the deployment of biochar to improve agricultural preservation and head off future environmental woes, according to Pourhashem and her team.For the open-access study in Global Change Biology Bioenergy, Pourhashem worked with Rice mentors Caroline Masiello, a professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, and Kenneth Medlock, the James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics."Our previous research has shown that wide-scale application of biochar across the United States' agricultural soils can save millions of dollars in health costs by improving regional air quality," said Pourhashem, who joined North Dakota's Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials and Center for Sustainable Materials Science in 2017 and is a member of the US Biochar Initiative advisory board.But despite the accumulating evidence, she said biochar adoption has been slow."Our new study shows how policy frameworks can support biochar as a resource-saving, crop-boosting and health care-improving material," Pourhashem said.The researchers note the United States has long invested in biofuels like ethanol, and they argue that biochar deserves similar long-term support to improve the nation's soil and food security strategy.Masiello, a biogeochemist and expert on biochar, noted the financial disconnect between those who bear the cost of land-management changes and those who benefit."There are plenty of farmers who want to do the right thing, but the benefits of biochar don't accrue entirely on-farm," she said, citing examples like cleaner water and air. "This paper is about how policy can connect the costs borne by farmers with the benefits to us all."The only active loan guarantee program the researchers identified for biochar production is the Department of Agriculture's Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Bio-based Product Manufacturing Assistance Program, which provides up to $250 million per project. But other programs run by the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture and initiatives in Iowa, Oregon, Colorado and Minnesota provide nearly $250 million more in grants, matching or production payments and tax credits. The researchers also identified eight programs that offer a total of nearly $30 million in research and development funding that implicitly support biochar.The researchers determined that government's emphasis on biochar production is inadequate and tilts heavily toward biofuels. They also noted the need for more upfront investment in large biochar-focused production rather than small-scale facilities. They suggested investment could be encouraged by the development of a broadly accepted set of product standards for biochar."The potential long-term impacts of biochar are enormous," Medlock said. "Much of the recent support for biochar has focused on its use for carbon dioxide sequestration, but the benefits are much broader. The potential effects on local air quality and water quality have implications that extend far beyond the application site, which makes policy supportive of investment in biochar production and market development something that should be seriously considered." | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 11, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190111095104.htm | New policy design needed to tackle global environmental threat | A pioneering new report has devised a seven-point plan to help policymakers devise new, coherent and collaborative strategies to tackle the greatest global environmental threats. | A team of international researchers, including experts from the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy (LEEP) Institute at the University of Exeter, has examined how politicians and legislators can develop a new way to tackle the growing threat of climate change.The perspective piece, which is published as the cover article in Called the Anthropocene, this new era is defined by the effect human-kind has already caused on Earth, from mass extinctions of plant and animal species, polluted oceans and altered atmosphere.In the new report, the scientists argue that while policies are available, there also needs to be a new way to tackle the geographical, boundary, spatial, ecological and socio-political complexities of the issue; and that will require working together across disciplines.Professor Ian Bateman of LEEP and co-author of the paper said: "The paper shows that the integrated nature of the planetary boundary problems requires an integrated policy response."Traditional policies tend to be highly piecemeal, highly inefficient, prone to failure and can even be counterproductive. Such policies take vital resources from key areas while providing short term sticking-plaster efforts for high visibility, often politically motivated causes."Recent research into the Anthropocene has suggested that there are multiple threats to the resilience of the Earth systems.While the report acknowledges that there are no 'simple solutions', it does outline seven guiding principles to help tackle the growing environmental threat brought by human-made climate change.These include selecting existing, robust policies to help formulate policy decisions, the need for decisions to be made consistently across regional, national and global boundaries, and a more conclusive look at the true extent that the environment is being impacted.The report is authored by Professor Bateman, Dr Donna Carless and Amanda Robinson from Exeter, alongside some of the world's leading researchers in the field.These include acclaimed natural scientists Professor Johan Rockström (Stockholm Resilience Centre) and Professor Will Steffen (Australian National University) -- who pioneered the planetary boundary and Anthropocene concepts -- and eminent environmental economists including Professor Thomas Sterner (University of Gothenburg), Professor Edward Barbier (Colorado State University), Professor Carolyn Fischer (Resources for the Future, Washington) and Professor Stephen Polasky (University of Minnesota).Together the team undertook the first unified assessment of the policy options for tackling the challenges of the Anthropocene. These include the integrated global problems of climate change; the pollution of air, land, freshwater and sea; and the rapid loss of genetic diversity around the world. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 4, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190104103948.htm | Plant hedges to combat near-road pollution exposure | Urban planners should plant hedges, or a combination of trees with hedges -- rather than just relying on roadside trees -- if they are to most effectively reduce pollution exposure from cars in near-road environments, finds a new study from the University of Surrey. | In a paper published in The researchers found that roadsides that only had hedges were the most effective at reducing pollution exposure, cutting black carbon by up to 63 percent. Ultrafine and sub-micron particles followed this reduction trend, with fine particles (less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter) showing the least reduction among all the measured pollutants. The maximum reduction in concentrations was observed when the winds were parallel to the road due to a sweeping effect, followed by winds across the road. The elemental composition of particles indicated an appreciable reduction in harmful heavy metals originating from traffic behind the vegetation.The hedges only -- and a combination of hedges and trees -- emerged as the most effective green infrastructure in improving air quality behind them under different wind directions.Roadsides with only trees showed no positive influence on pollution reduction at breathing height (usually between 1.5 and 1.7m), as the tree canopy was too high to provide a barrier/filtering effect for road-level tailpipe emissions.According to the United Nations, more than half of the global population live in urban areas -- this number increases to almost two thirds in the European Union where, according to the European Environmental Agency, air pollution levels in many cities are above permissible levels, making air pollution a primary environmental health risk.Professor Prashant Kumar, the senior author of the study and the founding Director of the GCARE at the University of Surrey, said:"Many millions of people across the world live in urban areas where the pollution levels are also the highest. The best way to tackle pollution is to control it at the source. However, reducing exposure to traffic emissions in near-road environments has a big part to play in improving health and well-being for city-dwellers."The iSCAPE project provided us with an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of passive control measures such as green infrastructure that is placed between the source and receptors.""This study, which extends our previous work, provides new evidence to show the important role strategically placed roadside hedges can play in reducing pollution exposure for pedestrians, cyclists and people who live close to roads. Urban planners should consider planting denser hedges, and a combination of trees with hedges, in open-road environments. Many local authorities have, with the best of intentions, put a great emphasis on urban greening in recent years. However, the dominant focus has been on roadside trees, while there are many miles of fences in urban areas that could be readily complemented with hedges, with appreciable air pollution exposure dividend. Urban vegetation is important given the broad role it can play in urban ecosystems -- and this could be about much more than just trees on wide urban roads," adds Professor Kumar. | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 3, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103110735.htm | Severe air pollution affects the productivity of workers | Economists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have completed an extensive study which reveals that exposure to air pollution over several weeks is not just unhealthy, it can also reduce employee productivity. | Associate Professor Alberto Salvo from the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and an author of the study, explained, "Most of us are familiar with the negative impact air pollution can have on health, but as economists, we wanted to look for other socioeconomic outcomes. Our aim with this research was to broaden the understanding of air pollution in ways that have not been explored. We typically think that firms benefit from lax pollution regulations, by saving on emission control equipment and the like; here we document an adverse effect on the productivity of their work force."The results of this study were published in the The NUS team, including Associate Professor Haoming Liu and Dr Jiaxiu He, spent over a year gathering information from factories in China. This involved interviewing managers at one dozen firms in four separate provinces, before obtaining access to data for two factories, one in Henan and the other in Jiangsu.The factories were textile mills, and workers were paid according to each piece of fabric they made. This meant that daily records of productivity for specific workers on particular shifts could be examined. Hence, the researchers compared how many pieces each worker produced each day to measures of the concentration of particulate matter that the worker was exposed to over time.A standard way of determining the severity of pollution is to measure how many fine particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5) are in the air. The majority of people living in developing countries are exposed to particle concentrations that health authorities deem harmful. At the two factory locations, pollution levels varied significantly from day to day, and overall they were consistently high. At one location, PM2.5 levels averaged about seven times the safe limit set by the US Environmental Protection Agency, at 85 micrograms per cubic metre.Interestingly, unlike previous literature, the team found that daily fluctuations in pollution did not immediately affect the productivity of workers. However, when they measured for more prolonged exposures of up to 30 days, a definite drop in output can be seen. The study was careful to control for confounding factors such as regional economic activity."We found that an increase in PM2.5, by 10 micrograms per cubic metre sustained over 25 days, reduces daily output by 1 per cent, harming firms and workers," says Associate Professor Liu. "The effects are subtle but highly significant."The researchers remain agnostic about the reasons that explain why productivity goes down when pollution goes up. "High levels of particles are visible and might affect an individual's well-being in a multitude of ways," explained Assoc Prof Liu. "Besides entering via the lungs and into the bloodstream, there could also be a psychological element. Working in a highly polluted setting for long periods of time could affect your mood or disposition to work."Research on how living and working in such a polluted atmosphere affects productivity is very limited, partly due to worker output being difficult to quantify. One previous study that focused on workers packing fruit in California found a large and immediate effect from exposure to ambient PM2.5, namely that when levels rise by 10 micrograms per cubic metre, workers become 6 per cent less productive on the same day.That study's estimate appears large for a developing country. "Labourers in China can be working under far worse daily conditions while maintaining levels of productivity that look comparable to clean air days. If the effect were this pronounced and this immediate, we think that factory and office managers would take more notice of pollution than transpired in our field interviews. Therefore, our finding that pollution has a subtle influence on productivity seems realistic," Assoc Prof Liu added.All the data collected in the NUS study are being made open access to serve as a resource for other researchers to accelerate progress in this topic. "This was a key criterion for inclusion in our study," Assoc Prof Salvo added. "We wanted to share all the information we gathered so that other researchers may use it as well, hopefully adding to this literature's long-run credibility. We saw no reason why data on anonymous workers at a fragmented industry could not be shared." | Pollution | 2,019 |
January 3, 2019 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103110630.htm | Microplastics and plastic additives discovered in ascidians all along Israel's coastline | A new Tel Aviv University study finds that microplastics -- tiny pieces of plastic ingested by aquatic life -- are present in solitary ascidians all along the Israeli coastline. Ascidians are sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. The research also confirmed the presence of plastic additives, i.e. "plasticizers," in ascidians. Plasticizers are substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability and longevity. | The research was led by Prof. Noa Shenkar of the School of Zoology at TAU's Faculty of Life Sciences and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and published in the January 2019 issue of "This is the first study that examines plastic additive contamination in marine organisms in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea," says Gal Vered, co-author of the study and a PhD student in Prof. Shenkar's laboratory at TAU. "Solitary ascidians are highly efficient filter feeders and are excellent examples of the state of pollution that affects many other marine organisms. Our findings are extremely disturbing. Even in protected beaches, there was evidence of microplastics and plastic additives in ascidians. In fact, at every sampling site, we discovered varying levels of these pollutants.""This is a direct result of human use of plastic," Prof. Shenkar says. "It may seem that plastic bags and bulky plastic products that we notice floating in the sea are the major problem. But a more important cause for concern is the fragmentation of these products into small particles that are then ingested by many organisms and reach even the deepest zones in the ocean."The researchers developed a novel method for testing for additives in marine life. "Our new chemical analysis method can be used on a variety of soft-tissue marine organisms," Prof. Shenkar continues. "We can now extract phthalates, an additive that's used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride, from organism tissues without contracting any background contamination from the laboratory equipment itself, which also has plastic components. This was a big challenge because the laboratory is actually a highly plastic 'contaminated' environment."Some 350 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year, and the number is rising. The research suggests that if plastic is found in ascidians, it is probably present in other sea creatures.The researchers are currently preparing their results for policymakers interested in preventing further damage to Israel's coastline. They are also continuing to investigate the extent and effect of plastic pollution on the coral reef of Eilat."By communicating our results to the public, we hope to further enhance public awareness of the actions everyone can take to beat plastic pollution," Prof. Shenkar concludes. | Pollution | 2,019 |
December 28, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181228164819.htm | Marine debris study counts trash from Texas to Florida | Trash, particularly plastic, in the ocean and along the shoreline is an economic, environmental, human health, and aesthetic problem causing serious challenges to coastal communities around the world, including the Gulf of Mexico. | Researchers from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve teamed up for a two-year study to document the problem along the Gulf of Mexico shorelines. Their findings are documented in the publication, Accumulation and distribution of marine debris on barrier islands across the northern Gulf of Mexico, in ScienceDirect's From February 2015 to August of 2017, the researchers kept tabs on marine debris that washed up on the shoreline every month at 12 different sites on nine barrier islands from North Padre Island, Texas to Santa Rosa, Florida. The trash was sorted by type, frequency, and location.The most shocking discovery was that ten times more trash washes up on the coast of Texas than any of the other Gulf states throughout the year.Most of the trash, 69 to 95 percent, was plastic. The plastic items included bottles and bottle caps, straws, and broken pieces of plastic. Researchers also cited that more trash washed ashore during the spring and summer. This could be because more people are outside and on the water during this time. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 26, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181226132827.htm | Collecting clean water from air, inspired by desert life | Humans can get by in the most basic of shelters, can scratch together a meal from the most humble of ingredients. But we can't survive without clean water. And in places where water is scarce -- the world's deserts, for example -- getting water to people requires feats of engineering and irrigation that can be cumbersome and expensive. | A pair of new studies from researchers at The Ohio State University offers a possible solution, inspired by nature."We thought: 'How can we gather water from the ambient air around us?'" said Bharat Bhushan, Ohio Eminent Scholar and Howard D. Winbigler Professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. "And so, we looked to the things in nature that already do that: the cactus, the beetle, desert grasses."Their findings were published Dec. 24 in the journal Bhushan's work focuses on finding nature-inspired solutions to societal problems. In this case, his research team looked to the desert to find life that survives despite limited access to water.The cactus, beetle and desert grasses all collect water condensed from nighttime fog, gathering droplets from the air and filtering them to roots or reservoirs, providing enough hydration to survive.Drops of water collect on wax-free, water-repellant bumps on a beetle's back, then slide toward the beetle's mouth on the flat surface between the bumps. Desert grasses collect water at their tips, then channel the water toward their root systems via channels in each blade. A cactus collects water on its barbed tips before guiding droplets down conical spines to the base of the plant.Bhushan's team studied each of these living things and realized they could build a similar -- albeit larger -- system to allow humans to pull water from nighttime fog or condensation.They started studying the ways by which different surfaces might collect water, and which surfaces might be the most efficient. Using 3D printers, they built surfaces with bumps and barbs, then created enclosed, foggy environments using a commercial humidifier to see which system gathered the most water.They learned that conical shapes gather more water than do cylindrical shapes -- "which made sense, given what we know about the cactus," Bhushan said. The reason that happens, he said, is because of a physics phenomenon called the Laplace pressure gradient. Water gathers at the tip of the cone, then flows down the cone's slope to the bottom, where a reservoir is waiting.Grooved surfaces moved water more quickly than ungrooved surfaces -- "which seems obvious in retrospect, because of what we know about grass," Bhushan said. In the research team's experiments, grooved surfaces gathered about twice as much water as ungrooved surfaces.The materials the cones were made out of mattered, too. Hydrophilic surfaces -- those that allowed water to bead up rather than absorbing it -- gathered the most water."The beetle's surface material is heterogeneous, with hydrophilic spots surrounded by hydrophobic regions, which allows water to flow more easily to the beetle's mouth," Bhushan explained.The research team also experimented on a structure that included multiple cones, and learned that more water accumulated when water droplets could coalesce between cones that were one or two millimeters apart. The team is continuing those experiments, Bhushan said.The work so far has been done on a laboratory-only level, but Bhushan envisions the work scaled up, with structures in the desert that could gather water from fog or condensation. That water, he thinks, could supplement water from public systems or wells, either on a house-by-house basis, or on a community-wide basis.There is precedent for the idea: In areas around the world, including the Atacama Desert in Chile, large nets capture water from fog and collect it in reservoirs for farmers and others to use. Those nets might not be the most efficient way of harnessing water from the air, Bhushan believes."Water supply is a critically important issue, especially for people of the most arid parts of the world," Bhushan said. "By using bio-inspired technologies, we can help address the challenge of providing clean water to people around the globe, in as efficient a way as possible." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 21, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181221123702.htm | Dust threatens Utah's 'greatest snow on earth' | Utah's Wasatch Mountains are famous for having "The Greatest Snow on Earth." Snow-seekers in pursuit of world-class skiing and snowboarding contribute over a billion dollars annually to the economy. Snowmelt also provides the majority of water to rapidly growing populations along the Wasatch Front, including Salt Lake City. Understanding what controls snowmelt timing and magnitude is critical for Utah. | It's more complicated than warming air temperatures; the sun's energy and longer daylight hours in the spring are the main drivers of snowmelt. Like wearing a black shirt on a hot day, anything that darkens the snow surface -- such as dust -- will absorb more sunlight and accelerate melting. As humans continue to alter landscapes, dust is more likely to blow onto nearby peaks. Yet scientists are just beginning to understand the impact of dust on snow.A new University of Utah study analyzed the impacts of dust deposition at an alpine study plot in Alta, Utah in the Wasatch Mountains. For the first time, researchers measured dust in the air and in the snow simultaneously. They found that a single dust storm on April 13, 2017, deposited half of all dust for the season. The additional sunlight absorbed by the dust darkened the snow surface, and led to snow melting a week earlier.Using computer simulations, the team modeled where the dust originated. They found that first, ahead of the storm, dust came from the south, but then shifted to the west. The westerly winds brought dust from "hot spots" in the Great Salt Lake's dry lake bed, a relatively new dust source due to historically low lake levels."What's important about the Great Salt Lake is that there are no water rights, no policy to maintain lake levels. As the lake declines, dust events are projected to become more frequent," said McKenzie Skiles, assistant professor of geography at the U and lead author of the study. "Anything that impacts snowmelt could have economic and hydrologic consequences. And now one of the dust source regions is right next door. Could we could do something about it by enacting policy that maintains a minimum lake level?"The study published online on December 21 in the journal Skiles and her team observed five dust events during the spring of 2017, but focused on a single storm on April 13 because it deposited the largest volume of dust, and because the dust seemed to be coming from the Great Salt Lake dry lake bed. The team collected data at the Atwater Study Plot, near Alta Ski Resort in Alta, Utah. They collected data in three ways. First, they sampled the size and number of air-borne particles. Second, they excavated pits to analyze the snow's properties and sample dust concentrations. Third, they used computer simulations to estimate where the dust came from, and where it would be expected to go. They were confident in the simulations because they captured the patterns in samples from the air and snow.To measure how the dust impacted the snow, Skiles calculated the difference in energy absorption between snow darkened by dust, and the same snow if it had remained dust free. The equation incorporates snow properties such as snow grain size, snow density, depth and aerosol mixing. The overall impact from dust was to accelerate melt by 25 percent.They found that most of the dust was deposited about an hour after the actual storm passed through, in the so-called "post-frontal" winds. Sources such as the Great Salt Lake Deseret were the largest dust emitters; dust from the dry lake bed hotspots accounted for about 10 percent of deposited dust. However, the computer simulations suggest that much of the dust blew north of the study plot. Without snow observations in the region, the researchers were unable to verify higher dust deposition but they hypothesize that the impact was likely greater in the northern Wasatch."In most people's minds, dust is a natural aerosol. But the magnitude and frequency of airborne dust is impacted by human activity, altering landscapes makes dust more likely to get picked up by wind," Skiles said. "We know that since settlement of the West, the amount of dust in the air has increased. And at the same time, due to upstream water withdrawals, lake levels are also declining, exposing even more dust."In October, Skiles co-authored a paper that reviewed literature on the growing global issue of "light absorbing particles" on snow in the journal Nature. The climate-science community has recognized the impact of aerosols that are clearly linked to human activity, like soot, but have yet to consider other particles that make snow darker and speed up melting."Globally snow is in decline and it's not just from a warming climate -- it's more complicated than that -- snow is also getting darker," said Skiles. "We know that in some places aerosols are impacting water resources, and it's having this long-term climactic impact. We also know that deposition levels are unlikely to decrease in the future. While we don't yet understand the exact magnitude of impact, we know that dust warrants more attention."Skiles has studied dust on snow in the Colorado Rockies, but wants to continue to look at other mountainous areas."I'm interested in looking in Wyoming, Montana and here in Utah because we need the regional perspective -- we know that dust has a dramatic impact on snowmelt in Colorado, but what's the impact like in other places? If dust isn't as important in these regions, then what is controlling changing snowmelt patterns?" she asked. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 21, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181221123659.htm | Droughts boost emissions as hydropower dries up | When hydropower runs low in a drought, western states tend to ramp up power generation -- and emissions -- from fossil fuels. According to a new study from Stanford University, droughts caused about 10 percent of the average annual carbon dioxide emissions from power generation in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington between 2001 and 2015. | "Water is used in electricity generation, both directly for hydropower and indirectly for cooling in thermoelectric power plants," said climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh, the Kara J. Foundation professor in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth) and senior author of the study. "We find that in a number of western states where hydropower plays a key role in the clean energy portfolio, droughts cause an increase in emissions as natural gas or coal-fired power plants are brought online to pick up the slack when water for hydropower comes up short."The study, published Dec. 21 in In total, the researchers found drought-induced shifts in energy sources led to an additional 100 million tons of carbon dioxide across 11 western states between 2001 and 2015. That's like adding 1.4 million vehicles per year to the region's roadways. The power sector in California, which has a mandate to go carbon-free by 2045, contributed around 51 million tons to the total. Washington, where the legislature is expected in January 2019 to consider a proposal to eliminate fossil fuels from electricity generation by 2045, contributed nearly 22 million tons."For California, Oregon and Washington, which generate a lot of hydropower, the drought-induced increases in carbon dioxide emissions represent substantial fractions of their Clean Power Plan targets," said postdoctoral researcher Julio Herrera-Estrada, lead author of the study. Enacted in 2015, the Clean Power Plan established nationwide limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The policy has been rolled back under the Trump administration, but according to Herrera-Estrada, it remains a valuable benchmark for targets that states or the federal government may eventually set for the electricity sector.Western states in recent years have suffered the kind of intense droughts that scientists expect to become more common in many regions around the world as global warming continues. The new research suggests that failure to prepare for the emissions impact of these droughts could make achieving climate and air quality goals more difficult."To have reliable and clean electricity, you have to make sure you have an energy portfolio that's diverse, such that low-emissions electricity sources are able to kick in during a drought when hydropower cannot fully operate," Herrera-Estrada said.The western United States offers an ideal testing ground for understanding relationships between droughts and emissions from the power sector. In addition to plentiful data from recent droughts, the researchers could examine how emissions change with different types of backup power plants because states across the region have a wide variety of energy mixes.Colorado, for example, tends to ramp up coal-fired power plants when hydropower dwindles, while California and Idaho increase generation from natural gas. Oregon, Washington and Wyoming tend to increase both. Wyoming and Montana increase coal generation in part so that they can export the electricity to surrounding states that are also experiencing declines due to drought."For decades, people have been looking at the impacts of droughts on food security and agriculture," Herrera-Estrada said. "We're less aware of exactly how droughts impact the energy sector and pollutant emissions in a quantitative and systematic way."Previous efforts to understand how drought affects electricity have mostly relied on models of power plants, which require researchers to make assumptions about factors such as the plants' efficiencies and decisions about how water resources are allocated. For the current paper, the scientists analyzed statistics reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.According to Herrera-Estrada, the new study can help validate existing models, which can then be used to gain a more complete picture of the risks associated with droughts and to inform efforts to tamp down drought-induced emissions.Far beyond the American West, droughts may drive similar emission increases in places that normally rely heavily on hydropower and turn to natural gas, coal or petroleum when waterways run low."Other parts of the world depend on hydropower even more than the western U.S.," said Diffenbaugh, who is also Kimmelman Family senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment. "Our results suggest that hydro-dependent regions may need to consider not only primary generation but also backup generation in order to meet emissions reduction targets, such as those in the UN Paris Agreement." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 20, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181220111818.htm | A mountain of evidence on air pollution's harms to children | A new study led by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) organizes the available scientific evidence on the effects of air pollution on children's health. The paper in the journal Environmental Research is the first comprehensive review of the associations between various fossil fuel combustion pollutants and multiple health effects in children in the context of assessing the benefits of air pollution and climate change policies. | The researchers say their goal is to expand the kinds of health outcomes used in calculations of the health and economic benefits of implementing clean air and climate change policies which are largely limited to the effects of air pollution on premature deaths and other outcomes in adults. The new paper aggregates research on outcomes, including adverse birth outcomes, cognitive and behavioral problems, and asthma incidence."Policies to reduce fossil fuel emissions serve a dual purpose, both reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change, with sizable combined health and economic benefits," says first author Frederica Perera, PhD, director of CCCEH and professor of Environmental Health Sciences. "However, because only a few adverse outcomes in children have been considered, policymakers and the public have not yet seen the extent of the potential benefits of clean air and climate change policies, particularly for children."The researchers reviewed 205 peer-reviewed studies published between January 1, 2000 and April 30, 2018 which provided information on the relationship between the concentration of exposures to air pollutants and health outcomes. The studies relate to fuel combustion by-products, including toxic air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and nitrogen dioxide (NO"There is extensive evidence on the many harms of air pollution on children's health," says Perera. "Our paper presents these findings in a convenient fashion to support clean air and climate change policies that protect children's health."The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that more than 40 percent of the burden of environmentally related disease and about 90 percent of the burden of climate change is borne by children under five, although that age group constitutes only 10 percent of the global population. The direct health impacts in children of air pollution from fossil fuel combustion include adverse birth outcomes, impairment of cognitive and behavioral development, respiratory illness, and potentially childhood cancer. As a major driver of climate change, combustion of fossil fuel is also directly and indirectly contributing to illness, injury, death, and impaired mental health in children through more frequent and severe heat events, coastal and inland flooding, drought, forest fires, intense storms, the spread of infectious disease vectors, increased food insecurity, and greater social and political instability. These impacts are expected to worsen in the future.The study was co-authored by Adiba Ashrafi of CCCEH; Patrick Kinney of Boston University; and David Mills of Abt Associates, Boulder, Colorado; with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Program and the John Merck Family Foundation. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 20, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181220111754.htm | A lung-inspired design turns water into fuel | Scientists at Stanford University have designed an electrocatalytic mechanism that works like a mammalian lung to convert water into fuel. Their research, published December 20 in the journal | The act of inhaling and exhaling is so automatic for most organisms that it could be mistaken as simple, but the mammalian breathing process is actually one of the most sophisticated systems for two-way gas exchange found in nature. With each breath, air moves through the tiny, passage-like bronchioles of the lungs until it reaches diminutive sacs called alveoli. From there, the gas must pass into the bloodstream without simply diffusing, which would cause harmful bubbles to form. It's the unique structure of the alveoli -- including a micron-thick membrane that repels water molecules on the inside while attracting them on the outer surface -- that prevents those bubbles from forming and makes the gas exchange highly efficient.Scientists in senior author Yi Cui's lab at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University drew inspiration from this process in order to develop better electrocatalysts: materials that increase the rate of a chemical reaction at an electrode. "Clean energy technologies have demonstrated the capability of fast gas reactant delivery to the reaction interface, but the reverse pathway -- efficient gas product evolution from the catalyst/electrolyte interface -- remains challenging," says Jun Li, the first author of the study.The team's mechanism structurally mimics the alveolus and carries out two different processes to improve the reactions that drive sustainable technologies such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries.The first process is analogous to exhalation. The mechanism splits water to produce hydrogen gas, a clean fuel, by oxidizing water molecules in the anode of a battery while reducing them in the cathode. Oxygen gas (along with the hydrogen gas) is rapidly produced and transported through a thin, alveolus-like membrane made from polyethylene -- without the energy costs of forming bubbles.The second process is more like inhalation and generates energy through a reaction that consumes oxygen. Oxygen gas is delivered to the catalyst at the electrode surface, so it can be used as reactant during electrochemical reactions.Although it is still in the early phases of development, the design appears to be promising. The uncommonly thin nano-polyethylene membrane remains hydrophobic longer than conventional carbon-based gas diffusion layers, and this model is able to achieve higher current density rates and lower overpotential than conventional designs.However, this lung-inspired design still has some room for improvement before it will be ready for commercial use. Since the nano-polyethylene membrane is a polymer-based film, it cannot tolerate temperatures higher than 100 degrees Celsius, which could limit its applications. The team believes this material may be replaced with similarly thin nanoporous hydrophobic membranes capable of withstanding greater heat. They are also interested in incorporating other electrocatalysts into the device design to fully explore their catalytic capabilities."The breathing-mimicking structure could be coupled with many other state-of-the-art electrocatalysts, and further exploration of the gas-liquid-solid three-phase electrode offers exciting opportunities for catalysis," says Jun Li. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 20, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181220104629.htm | In response to heat, the more affluent use air-conditioners; low-income households use water | Singapore households from different socioeconomic groups vary significantly in their use of water and electricity for heat relief, according to a recent study conducted by Associate Professor Alberto Salvo from the Department of Economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. | Specifically, the study suggests that water provides heat relief for lower-income households while demand for electricity increases among higher-income households, likely through the use of air-conditioning, when temperatures rise."The rise in global temperatures affects household demand for water and energy, which are vital yet scarce resources. Examining the demand for such resources among Singapore households across the socioeconomic distribution can provide insights on how other urban populations in tropical Asian cities will respond as incomes rise and the climate warms. This will enable policymakers to introduce cooling strategies that better balance the use of natural resources with local availability, such as water," said Assoc Prof Salvo.The results of the study have been published in the scientific journal The study looked at the water and electricity bills of about 130,000 households -- a 1-in-10 random sample of all households in Singapore -- from 2012 to 2015. The same household's consumption of water and electricity was examined over time. The analysis identified unseasonably warm or cool months and compared each household's use of resources in these abnormal months to consumption at the same point in surrounding years. This was repeated over 130,000 households.The findings showed that when ambient temperatures rise, water demand increases among lower-income Singapore households. For instance, with a 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature, the average household living in a 2-room apartment (about 50m2) raises water use by nine litres per day, amounting to an additional daily shower for every 2.3 households. At the time of the study, less than 20 per cent of 2-room apartments had an air-conditioner.In sharp contrast, heat induces larger shifts in electricity demand among higher-income households, such as those staying in 5 or 6-room apartments (110m2 or more) where air-conditioners are prevalent -- with no significant change in water consumption. The electricity demand increase for these households averages two kilowatt hours per day per additional 1 degree Celsius, which is equivalent to operating an air-conditioning unit for two more hours each day. The electricity demand response to heat by these households is double that typically estimated for a United States population in the summer.To complement the observational evidence from the study, a 300-person survey on heat relief behaviours by Singapore households was also conducted. 39 per cent of respondents stated that on a very hot day, they would shower more often and longer. This is comparable to 36 per cent who indicated that they would turn on the air-conditioner. The survey also found that more showers, washing of one's face, and washing of one's clothes are prevalent water-based cooling behaviours adopted by Singapore households.In Southeast Asia, climate models project annual temperature to increase by 1 to 4 degree Celsius and winter rainfall to decrease by 20 to 30 per cent by 2070. Currently, only 8 per cent of the three billion people living in the tropics currently have access to air-conditioning, compared to over 90 per cent in the United States and Japan.Assoc Prof Salvo said, "As we face shifting temperature extremes and rainfall variability, the study can contribute towards improving demand forecasting for water and electricity in water-stressed cities in tropical Asia, where incomes are rising. This can facilitate better design and allocation of water and electricity grids. Air-conditioners powered by electricity generated from burning fossil fuels come at an environmental cost, but one added benefit is that they may reduce a household's water demand when seeking relief from heat."Moving forward, Assoc Prof Salvo will conduct further studies to explore whether the findings for Singapore can be extended to urban populations in other cities in tropical Asia, such as Mumbai and Jakarta, with different climates or levels of economic development. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 19, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181219115542.htm | The secret life of cloud droplets | Like raindrops streaking across the windows of your car while you drive through a rainstorm, water droplets in clouds travel in airflow streamlines -- following currents of air usually without touching. However, the air inside clouds tends to be turbulent, as any nervous flier can attest to, and swirling turbulent air causes droplets to cluster. | For 20 years, atmospheric scientists have conjectured that water droplets do indeed cluster inside clouds, largely owing to the knowledge that turbulent airflows are full of spinning vortices that mix fluids well. But clouds swirl on such vast scales, that doubts persisted whether the turbulence simulated by a computer or generated in a laboratory could be translated to the atmosphere. A team of atmospheric science researchers have taken instruments to the atmosphere itself, and have confirmed that water droplets do indeed cluster together inside clouds.The article, "Fine-Scale Droplet Clustering in Atmospheric Clouds: 3D Radial Distribution Function from Airborne Digital Holography" was published in November in the journal "The clustering signal that we observed is really small, so as is often the case in science, a careful analysis had to be performed to detect a small signal and to convince ourselves that it was real," said Raymond Shaw, professor of physics and director of the atmospheric sciences doctoral program.Susanne Glienke, who was a visiting doctoral researcher at Michigan Tech from the Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz, Germany, conducted the data collection and holographic image analysis. She then passed the information to Mike Larsen, associate professor at the College of Charleston and Michigan Tech alumnus, who looked at how tightly droplets cluster by calculating the probability of finding two droplets spaced apart at a specific distance compared to the probability of finding them at the same distance in a randomly distributed setting. He determined droplet clustering becomes more pronounced at smaller particle-to-particle distances."If droplets cluster in the clouds, they are more likely to collide," Glienke said. "Collisions increase the rate at which droplets grow, and therefore can decrease the time needed until precipitation begins."Glienke notes that knowing about clustering improves the general knowledge of clouds and can lead to improvements in forecasting the behavior of the clouds: When will they rain? How long will the clouds last?Additionally, apart from influencing rain, clustering also decreases cloud lifetime. If a cloud dissipates quicker, it has a smaller influence on the radiation budget -- and influences global climate, if many clouds are involved.The experiment required a long continuous sample, flying the plane through stratocumulus cloud decks at a constant altitude."We were not sure if we would be able to detect a signal," Shaw said. "The clouds we sampled are weakly turbulent, but have the advantage of being spread out over hundreds of kilometers, so we could sample and average for a long time."Marine clouds behave differently from clouds over land. Continental clouds typically have smaller droplets, due to more abundant cloud condensation nuclei, which are needed for water to condense on. Continental clouds, which are typically more turbulent, are more likely to have clustered droplets.Because the clouds examined in the study were not particularly turbulent, which meant that a random distribution of droplets was more likely, it made the presence of clustered droplets all the more important."We were excited and skeptical at the same time, when we first saw a signal emerge from the very noisy data," he said. "It took a lot of discussion and testing to become confident that the signal was significant and not an instrumental artifact."Shaw notes that this validation is important to the field of atmospheric science because the detected clustering signal is consistent with concepts developed during the past two decades, based on lab and theoretical work."In clouds with more intense turbulence, the clustering signal could be much stronger, and could influence the rate at which cloud droplets collide to form drizzle drops," Shaw said. "But exactly how that happens will need more work."The work shows there is still much to be learned about clouds and their effects on the planet. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 19, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181219093911.htm | New houseplant can clean your home's air | We like to keep the air in our homes as clean as possible, and sometimes we use HEPA air filters to keep offending allergens and dust particles at bay. | But some hazardous compounds are too small to be trapped in these filters. Small molecules like chloroform, which is present in small amounts in chlorinated water, or benzene, which is a component of gasoline, build up in our homes when we shower or boil water, or when we store cars or lawn mowers in attached garages. Both benzene and chloroform exposure have been linked to cancer.Now researchers at the University of Washington have genetically modified a common houseplant -- pothos ivy -- to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it. The modified plants express a protein, called 2E1, that transforms these compounds into molecules that the plants can then use to support their own growth. The team will publish its findings Wednesday, Dec. 19 in "People haven't really been talking about these hazardous organic compounds in homes, and I think that's because we couldn't do anything about them," said senior author Stuart Strand, who is a research professor in the UW's civil and environmental engineering department. "Now we've engineered houseplants to remove these pollutants for us."The team decided to use a protein called cytochrome P450 2E1, or 2E1 for short, which is present in all mammals, including humans. In our bodies, 2E1 turns benzene into a chemical called phenol and chloroform into carbon dioxide and chloride ions. But 2E1 is located in our livers and is turned on when we drink alcohol. So it's not available to help us process pollutants in our air."We decided we should have this reaction occur outside of the body in a plant, an example of the 'green liver' concept," Strand said. "And 2E1 can be beneficial for the plant, too. Plants use carbon dioxide and chloride ions to make their food, and they use phenol to help make components of their cell walls."The researchers made a synthetic version of the gene that serves as instructions for making the rabbit form of 2E1. Then they introduced it into pothos ivy so that each cell in the plant expressed the protein. Pothos ivy doesn't flower in temperate climates so the genetically modified plants won't be able to spread via pollen."This whole process took more than two years," said lead author Long Zhang, who is a research scientist in the civil and environmental engineering department. "That is a long time, compared to other lab plants, which might only take a few months. But we wanted to do this in pothos because it's a robust houseplant that grows well under all sort of conditions."The researchers then tested how well their modified plants could remove the pollutants from air compared to normal pothos ivy. They put both types of plants in glass tubes and then added either benzene or chloroform gas into each tube. Over 11 days, the team tracked how the concentration of each pollutant changed in each tube.For the unmodified plants, the concentration of either gas didn't change over time. But for the modified plants, the concentration of chloroform dropped by 82 percent after three days, and it was almost undetectable by day six. The concentration of benzene also decreased in the modified plant vials, but more slowly: By day eight, the benzene concentration had dropped by about 75 percent.In order to detect these changes in pollutant levels, the researchers used much higher pollutant concentrations than are typically found in homes. But the team expects that the home levels would drop similarly, if not faster, over the same time frame.Plants in the home would also need to be inside an enclosure with something to move air past their leaves, like a fan, Strand said."If you had a plant growing in the corner of a room, it will have some effect in that room," he said. "But without air flow, it will take a long time for a molecule on the other end of the house to reach the plant."The team is currently working to increase the plants' capabilities by adding a protein that can break down another hazardous molecule found in home air: formaldehyde, which is present in some wood products, such as laminate flooring and cabinets, and tobacco smoke."These are all stable compounds, so it's really hard to get rid of them," Strand said. "Without proteins to break down these molecules, we'd have to use high-energy processes to do it. It's so much simpler and more sustainable to put these proteins all together in a houseplant."Civil and environmental engineering research technician Ryan Routsong is also a co-author. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Amazon Catalyst at UW and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 17, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181217151531.htm | The full story on climate change requires the long view | The science is clear that human activities over the last century have contributed to greenhouse-like warming of the Earth's surface. Much of the global conversation around climate change fixates on what individual countries or regions are contributing to the problem, and what they will do (or not do) to reverse the tide. | But Colorado State University's A.R. Ravishankara, University Distinguished Professor who holds joint appointments in the departments of chemistry and atmospheric science, says the full picture is longer and more complex than meets the eye. It involves a legacy of past actions, as well as irreversible commitments for the future.Ravishankara and co-author Daniel Murphy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offer a new calculation that provides the long view of what nine different world regions have contributed to climate change since 1900. They also show how that breakdown will likely look by 2100 under various emission scenarios. Their study is in They call their calculation "cumulative radiative forcing" because it integrates the ebb and flow of climate factors throughout the past century, rather than just a snapshot of what it is today. "Radiative forcing" is a metric that measures the sun's energy that is retained by Earth. Global warming is the result of positive radiative forcing, or more energy being retained by Earth than escaping back into space.Their study also underscores the insidious two-sided role of particulate matter pollution in the atmosphere, the result of burning fossil fuels, wildfires, and other human activities that have spewed pollution and dust into the atmosphere over many decades. Such aerosols are short-lived in the atmosphere, but they have a net cooling effect due to their interaction with sunlight and clouds. While carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linger in the atmosphere and continue contributing to warming for many years, aerosols dissipate, along with their net cooling effects, more quickly. In total, the presence of aerosols has masked some of the effects of global warming.In their analysis, the researchers found that, for example, between 1910 and 2017, China, Europe and North America each had periods of nearly no net contributions to warming. These periods were characterized by rapid industrialization and growth of GDP, when fossil fuel emissions increased but few air quality controls were enforced. The study further shows that each region's contribution to radiative forcing due to carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) emissions from 2018 to 2100 will be larger than the total warming contributed during the last century."To date, China has contributed very little," Ravishankara said. "China has essentially paid for their carbon dioxide emissions through bad air quality."But as China implements clean air standards moving forward, and the nation's emissions increase at a slower rate, its share of contributions to climate change will increase, according to the study. North America is the largest contributor now and will remain so even in 2100.The two-sided coin of aerosols -- short-lived cooling, but harmful to human health -- is starkly illustrated in a separate study authored by CSU postdoctoral researcher Liji David, Ravishankara and other colleagues, to be published online in GeoHealth. The researchers estimate that more than 1 million premature deaths per year in India are due to exposure to "ambient particulate matter" -- air pollution in the form of breathable particles like sulfate aerosols, dust and soot. In India, residential energy use -- biomass burning in homes for heating and cooking -- is the dominant contributor to this premature mortality rate.Of the estimated 1.1 million premature deaths in 2012 from small particulate matter in India, about 60 percent were due to anthropogenic pollutants emitted within the region, according to the study.Yet to date, India's contribution to climate change has been minimal as shown by Murphy and Ravishankara in PNAS, as it will be even by 2100, compared with other nations. As India implements clean air policies and works to reduce premature deaths from air pollution, its role in climate change may increase due to the aerosols playing less of a role in offsetting climate change, but human health will improve.Ravishankara stresses that people should look at effects of emissions holistically. Future climate scenarios must take into account all warming contributions to date, and the effects of those contributions moving forward. Emissions reductions would not only help climate, but also human health, he says. Aggressively reduced carbon dioxide and other emissions, for the sake of the planet and for the sake of human health, are the only viable options."We need to ask not only what is our commitment going forward but also what is our legacy?" Ravishankara said. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 17, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181217081817.htm | Boston Harbor cleanup was economically justifiable, finds new study | A first-of-its-kind retrospective study concludes that environmental cleanup projects can provide high value to society, making them economically viable alternatives to coastal development projects. The analysis of Boston Harbor suggests the capitalized value of restored ecosystem services now stands at between $30 and $100 billion -- far outweighing the $5 billion cleanup cost. Published in | "The Boston Harbor cleanup led to a significant increase in private investment, and economic growth along the waterfront has outpaced the city's overall rate of increase," says Dr Di Jin, lead author of the study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA. "This shows that we need to give more consideration to ecosystem service benefits when evaluating policy options."Boston Harbor was infamous as 'the dirtiest harbor in America.' By the 1980s, heavy pollution from raw sewage and wastewater discharges had severely constrained recreational activity, affected marine habitat and left water quality poor. Following a court-ordered re-vamp in 1986, a new treatment plant was constructed and various cleanup projects were undertaken -- which turned the filthy harbor into the 'Great American jewel' it is known as today.The cleanup -- which was never expected to be cost-effective -- gave researchers a rare opportunity to retrospectively analyze the profitability of a completed environmental restoration."Most environmental cleanup cost-benefit analyses are for proposed future projects, using projected benefits rather than known outcomes," says Jin. "Decision makers consider the value of an area at the time of proposal, when the area is most polluted, rather than the value an unpolluted area could have post-cleanup."By assuming polluted coastal areas offer little value to society, such analyses often lead to industrial or residential developments being favored over environmental cleanup projects.Dr Jin and colleagues wanted to demonstrate the importance of considering the environmental value of an area post-cleanup rather than pre-cleanup.They studied the healthy ecosystem that Boston Harbor is today, compared to how it was at its most polluted when the original cost-benefit analyses were conducted.To do so, the researchers developed an economic evaluation model based on the value of services that healthy ecosystems can provide to society. It works by considering each type of land cover in a study area -- such as beaches, salt marshes and oyster beds in the case of Boston Harbor -- and estimating the overall value that each ecosystem in the area can have. For example, the value of clean water includes being able to support fish stocks as well as coastal recreational activities.Using the model, the researchers estimated the current ecosystem value of Boston Harbor at between $30 and $100 billion dollars."The costly project used almost 5 billion dollars of taxpayers' money," says Jin. "Yet this represents just 5%-16% of the total capitalized value of the ecosystem."The authors hope their work highlights the potential benefits of environmental cleanup and ecosystem restoration."Pollution control and cleanup is a common challenge facing many urban harbors around the world," says Jin. "We hope that our study will provide useful information to decision makers and the public facing similar decisions on the viability of ecosystem restoration projects." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 14, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181214124052.htm | For these critically endangered marine turtles, climate change could be a knockout blow | Hawksbill turtles aren't the only marine turtles threatened by the destabilizing effects of climate change, but a new study from researchers at Florida State University shows that this critically endangered species could be at particular risk. | In a study published in the journal Earth's history abounds with examples of climate shifts, but researchers say today's transforming climate, paired with unabated human development, imperils hawksbills and other marine turtles in new and alarming ways."Marine turtles have been around for millions of years, and during this time they have adapted to substantial climatic changes," said Assistant Professor of Oceanography Mariana Fuentes, co-author of the study. "In the past they have adapted by shifting their nesting grounds and nesting season to align with more favorable conditions. However, increasing impacts to nesting habitats from coastal construction, storms and sea level rise are jeopardizing their ability to adapt."To evaluate climate change's effects on hawksbill hatching success, FSU researchers analyzed more than 5,000 nests from the five Brazilian beaches where a majority of the region's hawksbill nesting occurs. The team focused specifically on five climatic variables -- air temperature, rainfall, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed -- in order to render a more comprehensive model of the various and subtle effects of a changing climate on the sensitive incubation process."Research is lacking on how climate change may influence hawksbills, and this population in particular," said former FSU graduate student Natalie Montero, who led the study. "We chose to study how climate change may impact hatchling production because significant changes to how many baby marine turtles are born can dramatically alter population stability."As reptiles, marine turtles' body temperature regulation relies on external sources of heat. That makes hawksbills and their cousins especially dependent upon and responsive to air temperature. Nowhere is that responsiveness more apparent than in marine turtle nests, where extreme temperature fluctuations can influence egg incubation, dictate sex ratios and determine hatching success.For some marine turtle species, rising temperatures may not necessarily mean less successful incubation. For example, a study from Montero and Fuentes published earlier this year revealed that, for loggerhead turtles in the temperate nesting beaches of North Florida, changing conditions could yield potential short-term increases in hatching success by 1 to 7.6 percent.The outlook for the hawksbills, however, is not as rosy.Montero and Fuentes found that rising air temperatures, accompanied by increased rainfall and solar radiation, are projected to reduce overall hatching success at the Brazilian nesting sites by up to 11 percent by the year 2100. Higher temperatures may warm nests beyond the threshold for healthy incubation, they said, and increased rainfall could saturate the soil and suffocate the embryos.If the turtles do incubate successfully and hatch, they then have to contend with skyrocketing solar radiation, which could bake the sand and cause the nests to cave in -- a major hazard for the hatchlings as they seek the safety of the open sea.While that may seem a dire and difficult future for a species whose numbers are already dwindling, Montero said there's still time for humans to soften the blow."Humans can help marine turtles in many ways," she said. "Reducing coastal construction and protecting more coastal habitat will help ensure present and future nesting habitat is available. Reducing human impacts on dune structure and beach vegetation is also important. Additionally, reducing trash and microplastics on the beach can create a higher quality nesting and incubating environment." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 14, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181214093814.htm | Atmospheric aerosol formation from biogenic vapors is strongly affected by air pollutants | The formation of new aerosol particles is a complicated process. Researchers have only recently started to understand this process on a molecular level after instruments able to detect nanometer-scale particles became available. | The human population has altered the composition of atmospheric gas in several ways. Sulfur dioxide from industrial emissions, nitrogen oxides from traffic, and ammonia from agriculture can all affect particle formation after chemical reactions in the atmosphere. These gases can also interact with organic vapors, which originate mainly from forests and vegetation. The atmosphere contains thousands of different organic compounds, but only a small fraction of them can form and grow particles.Earlier it was thought that new particle formation always requires sulfuric acid, which forms from the oxidation of sulfur dioxide. Later, it was found that certain organic vapors can also form particles. In this study, the researchers found that in continental moderately polluted atmospheres, e.g. in the Finnish boreal forest, particles are formed most efficiently when sulfuric acid, ammonia and organic vapors are all present simultaneously. Nitrogen oxides, on the other hand, decreased the amount of newly formed particles.The results help to understand how new particle formation and the associated climate impact will change if air pollution levels decrease in the future due to stricter emission control. Aerosol particles can affect the climate by scattering solar radiation and by acting as seed particles for cloud droplets. The aerosol-cloud-climate interactions are still associated with large uncertainties in current climate models.The laboratory experiments leading to these results were conducted at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, in Geneva, which has one of the best laboratory facilities for detailed particle formation studies. The study was led by Associate Professor Katrianne Lehtipalo from the University of Helsinki."We wanted to create the boreal forest atmosphere in our chamber," she says. Long-term field measurements at the Hyytiala SMEAR II station in southern Finland helped the researchers to identify the right conditions for particle formation."Particle formation is a delicate process, and it took us a while to find the correct gas mixture, but in the end we were able to replicate atmospheric observations almost perfectly," Lehtipalo says.The study was conducted in collaboration between 25 different institutes in 9 different countries. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 13, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181213155614.htm | Sewage bacteria lurking in Hudson river sediments, study finds | A new study shows that fecal bacteria from sewage are living in far greater quantities in near-shore sediments of the Hudson River than in the water itself. The river's pollution levels are generally monitored based on samples of clear water, not sediments, so the findings suggest that people stirring up the bottom while wading, swimming or kayaking may face previously unrecognized health risks. Germs may persist for long periods or even reproduce in the sediments, say the authors. The study appears in the early online edition of the journal | The researchers sampled 11 sites along the river banks in suburban Rockland and Westchester counties, and in eastern Queens. In some, they found as much as 10 times more fecal bacteria in sediments as in overlying water. Water near the most polluted sediments tended to have elevated levels of bacteria and vice versa, suggesting an interchange between the two. Sites with sandier bottoms tended to have fewer germs, while levels were higher in fine, mucky organic-rich areas."These organisms originate in the human gut, where it's organic rich and dark," said Andrew Juhl, a biologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and coauthor of the study. "The water in the river is neither organic rich nor dark, but the sediments on the bottom typically are, and that makes them a better environment for potentially harmful microorganisms." While the findings make common sense, it is one the first studies to test the idea in a river estuary, and is the first one in this region."This shows we have to think beyond just the [pollution] indicators we see in water," said lead author Gregory O'Mullan, a microbiologist at Queens College and an adjunct at Lamont-Doherty.A 2017 review of previous research coauthored by O'Mullan and Juhl says that, globally, human contact with polluted coastal waters causes more than 50 million severe respiratory infections and 120 million cases of gastrointestinal diseases, along with eye, ear and skin infections. In the United States, water at thousands of beaches is tested weekly during warm weather, and each year, high bacteria readings result in tens of thousands of beach-closure days. Some scientists have sampled beach sands and found high bacteria levels there as well, but such studies are still infrequent. "You have to think about this. I used to take my young daughter to the beach, and she didn't get that much water in her mouth -- but she was always covered with sand," said O'Mullan.O'Mullan and Juhl looked at two standard indicators of sewage contamination: the bacteria Enterococcus and Escherichia coli, which occur abundantly in the human gut. The bacteria can cause infections, but rarely serious ones; they are used instead as a proxy signal that less abundant but much more potent pathogens also excreted by humans also probably are present.In the lower Hudson, most such germs probably get into the river from human sewage released through outfalls, leaks and overflows. Wildlife may play a smaller role, and in other systems farm runoff can also be an important source of bacteria. Many of these bacteria are not floating freely, but rather clinging to tiny particles of organic matter, said Juhl. In open, flowing water, pathogens are constantly washed downstream and diluted, and sunlight kills many within hours or days. However, depending on water flow, tides and topography, many particles may settle down and pile up in the cozier, more stable environment of the bottom. Here, bacteria or viruses could potentially persist for weeks or even months. Feeding off organic-rich muck, they may even reproduce, say Juhl and O'Mullan.As part of the study, Juhl and an assistant waded into 8 to 10 inches of water in a few spots near Piermont, N.Y. in order to stir up near-shore sediments (They wore calf-high boots.) Then they took samples of the muddied water. As expected, lab analyses demonstrated that stirring up the sediments heightened bacterial levels in the water. "If bacteria are going from the water to the sediment, does it work the other way around?" said Juhl. "I think it does." Piermont, with its fine, muddy bottom, showed some of the highest bacteria readings in both water and sediment, along with three sites around Queens' Flushing Bay."Our data would suggest that there's a health risk with people splashing around in the water and resuspending stuff from the bottom. But we'd have to say that at this point it's hard to quantify," said Juhl.O'Mullan pointed out that some municipalities along the river stop chlorinating their sewage during cold weather, on the theory that no one is swimming nearby, and that pathogens will be long gone by the time the recreational season returns. "This suggests that might not be such a good idea," he said. "Putting sewage into the sediments is like putting it into the refrigerator -- it lasts a lot longer."The study was supported by the Hudson River Foundation, Riverkeeper and the U.S National Science Foundation. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 13, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181213142141.htm | Scientific basis for EPA's Endangerment Finding is stronger than ever | A new study published by | In the landmark Endangerment Finding the EPA determined that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, which created a legal obligation for the agency to regulate greenhouse gases emissions under the Clean Air Act. The "When the Endangerment Finding was issued, the evidence supporting it was extremely compelling," said Woods Hole Research Center President Philip Duffy, lead author on the paper. "Now, that evidence is even stronger and more comprehensive. There's no scientific basis for questioning the endangerment finding."The "There is no question that public health and welfare are endangered by climate change and we know that with much more confidence now than we did in 2009," said study co-author Chris Field, Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.The paper examines each topic covered by the Endangerment Finding and characterizes changes since 2009 in terms of evidence of links to anthropogenic climate change, severity of observed and projected impacts, and new risks."For each of the areas addressed in the [Endangerment Finding], the amount, diversity, and sophistication of the evidence has increased dramatically, clearly strengthening the case for endangerment," according to the paper.The study expands the range of negative impacts from climate change beyond those listed in 2009 to include increased dangers from ocean acidification, effects on national security and economic well-being, and even threats from violence."Much of what we've learned since the original Endangerment Finding in 2009 arises from extreme events," said study co-author Noah Diffenbaugh, Kara J Foundation Professor of Earth System Science and Kimmelman Family Senior Fellow at Stanford University. "Our understanding of how global warming influences the odds of heat waves, droughts, heavy precipitation, storm surge flooding, and wildfires has increased dramatically in the last decade, as has our understanding of the related impacts, such as how hot conditions affect mental health, violence, and economic productivity." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 13, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181213135703.htm | Megacity traffic soot contributes to global warming | Soot from road traffic in emerging countries can reach high altitudes, where it can be transported over long distances and thus contributes to global warming. This is the conclusion of a study performed by an international team of researchers in the Bolivian cities of La Paz (the seat of government), El Alto and the neighboring Chacaltaya mountain observatory. The reduction of pollutants from road traffic such as soot particles from diesel cars should therefore have high priority in order to both protect the health of the population in the growing conurbations of emerging countries and reduce global warming. The results have been published in the journal | From 3 to 14 December, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24) takes place in Katowice, Poland, where the member states discuss climate protection measures and negotiate the implementation of the Paris Climate Convention. IASS Potsdam, FZ Jülich and TROPOS discussed at a forum in the EU pavilion how the reduction of air pollution can contribute to human health and climate protection.Soot particles from combustion processes significantly contribute to air pollution because they contain heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are toxic. A reduction of soot particles through driving restrictions for old diesel vehicles can therefore significantly reduce the health impact, as studies by LfULG and TROPOS have shown based on the low emission zone in Leipzig 2017. However, soot does not only have a negative effect on human health, it also contributes to global warming by absorbing solar radiation.According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there are still major uncertainties regarding the quantities and distribution of soot in the atmosphere. While altitude observatories in the Himalayas or the Alps provide insights into these processes, the picture is still very incomplete, especially for the Southern Hemisphere. Large quantities of soot probably enter the atmosphere via forest fires in the tropics as well as from traffic in the growing conurbations of emerging countries.Scientists therefore hope to gain important insights from the Chacaltaya altitude observatory in Bolivia, which became operational in 2012. At 5240 meters, the station is currently the highest measuring station in the world. It is operated by the Universidad Mayor de San Andres (UMSA-LFA) in Bolivia and by a consortium, consisting of institutes from France (Grenoble University/IGE, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement/LSCE and Laboratoire de Meteorologie Physique/LaMP), Germany (Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research/TROPOS), and Sweden (Stockholm University/SU). Chacaltaya is a unique observatory in the Southern Hemisphere and of great importance for atmospheric research. With Bogota (about 7 million inhabitants on 2640m), Quito (about 2 million inhabitants on 2850m) and La Paz/El Alto (about 2 million inhabitants between 3400 and 4100 m), several of the fast-growing cities in South America are located at high altitude. Therefore, air pollution in this region has a particularly strong impact on the atmosphere and the global climate.For the recently published study, the team with researchers from Bolivia, Germany, France, the USA, Sweden and Italy could benefit from unique conditions: With three stations at different altitudes (downtown La Paz at 3590m, El Alto Airport at 4040m and Chacaltaya Observatory at 5240m), it was possible to explain the vertical transport of soot. "The measurements clearly show how soot from the city valley emerges with the warmed air up to the El Alto plateau and then partly up to the peaks of the Andes," explains Prof. Alfred Wiedensohler from TROPOS. From the scientists' point of view, there is no doubt that the soot in La Paz comes mainly from road traffic. During the population census on 21 November 2012, all traffic in Bolivia was completely banned for 24 hours so that the population could be registered at their place of residence. Only ambulances were allowed to drive for emergency operations. "The result was impressive: the soot load on the road was reduced from around 20 to less than one microgram per cubic meter. This corresponds roughly to the reduction from 100 to about five percent. There is no clearer way of demonstrating the contribution of soot pollution from road traffic," reports Alfred Wiedensohler. "This finding is important because several cities in the region might be facing the same problem. For instance Cochabamba, the third largest metropolitan area of Bolivia, has serious air quality problems according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, this study can contribute to strengthen regulations for improving air quality in different cities in the country," adds Dr. Marcos Andrade from LFA-UMSA, coauthor of the study and coordinator of the CHC-GAW station.For the scientists involved in the study, it is therefore obvious that the growing traffic with diesel vehicles without particulate filters is an increasing health risk for millions of people in the megacities of emerging countries. Soot is also slowing down efforts to limit climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Tilo Arnhold | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 12, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181212134413.htm | Professor models system using baking soda filled capsules to capture CO2 emissions | Coal and natural gas represent the majority of the US energy supply. Even with pollution controls, burning these fossil fuels for energy releases a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Research uses microcapsule technology that may make post-combustion carbon capture cheaper, safer, and more efficient. | Although the use of renewable energy is on the rise, coal and natural gas still represent the majority of the United States energy supply. Even with pollution controls, burning these fossil fuels for energy releases a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere -- in the U.S. alone, coal and natural gas contributed 1,713 million metric tons of COResearch led by the University of Pittsburgh and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) uses microcapsule technology that may make post-combustion carbon capture cheaper, safer, and more efficient."Our approach is very different than the traditional method of capturing carbon dioxide at a power plant," said Katherine Hornbostel, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering. "Instead of flowing a chemical solvent down a tower (like water down a waterfall), we are putting the solvent into tiny microcapsules."Similar to containing liquid medicine in a pill, microencapsulation is a process in which liquids are surrounded by a solid coating."In our proposed design of a carbon capture reactor, we pack a bunch of microcapsules into a container and flow the power plant exhaust gas through that," said Hornbostel. "The heat required for conventional reactors is high, which translates to higher plant operating costs. Our design will be a smaller structure and require less electricity to operate, thereby lowering costs."Conventional designs also use a harsh amine solvent that is expensive and can be dangerous to the environment. The microcapsule design created by Hornbostel and her collaborators at LLNL uses a solution that is made from a common household item."We're using baking soda dissolved in water as our solvent," said Hornbostel. "It's cheaper, better for the environment, and more abundant than conventional solvents. Cost and abundance are critical factors when you're talking about 20 or more meter-wide reactors installed at hundreds of power plants."Hornbostel explained that the small size of the microcapsule gives the solvent a large surface area for a given volume. This high surface area makes the solvent absorb carbon dioxide faster, which means that slower absorbing solvents can be used. "This is good news," says Hornbostel, "because it gives cheaper solvents like baking soda solution a fighting chance to compete with more expensive and corrosive solvents.""Our proposed microcapsule technology and design are promising for post-combustion carbon capture because they help make slow-reacting solvents more efficient," said Hornbostel. "We believe that the decreased solvent cost combined with a smaller structure and lower operating cost may help coal and natural gas power plants maintain profits long-term without harming the environment." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 11, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211144644.htm | Hypoxic dead zones found in urban streams, not just at the coast | Hypoxic dead zones, which occur when dissolved oxygen levels in water drop so low that fish and other aquatic animals living there suffocate, are well-documented problems in many coastal waters. | Now, a new Duke University-led study reveals they also occur in freshwater urban streams."We were surprised to find these dead zones are happening in our own backyards, not just in rivers and coastal waters downstream of major point sources of nutrient pollution," said study leader Joanna Blaszczak, a 2018 doctoral graduate of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.Blaszczak and her colleagues published their peer-reviewed study Dec. 3 in the journal To conduct the study, they measured dissolved oxygen concentrations, light levels, water chemistry and stream flow in six streams draining urban watersheds in Durham and Raleigh, N.C., from 2015 to 2017.They used the data to model the growth of algae and oxygen-consuming bacteria in the streams and examine the frequency at which dissolved oxygen concentrations dropped below two milligrams per liter -- the danger point for fish and other aquatic organisms."Streams draining developed areas are subject to intense, erosive storm flows when roads and stormwater pipes rapidly route runoff into streams during storms, without allowing the water to infiltrate into the soil," Blaszczak said."We found that erosion caused by these intense flows changed the shape of some stream channels to such an extent that water essentially stopped flowing in them during late summer. They became a series of pools containing high levels of nutrient runoff and organic matter, including nitrogen from leaking sewer pipes, fertilizer and pet waste."The elevated nutrient levels spurred greater consumption of dissolved oxygen by bacteria in the water, causing the pools to become hypoxic until the next storm flushed them out.Some streams were found to be more vulnerable than others, depending on their underlying geology."Channels that are more susceptible to erosion can become impounded by newly exposed bedrock outcroppings and culverts, leading to the formation of the between-storm pools that are so prone to hypoxia," Blaszczak explained."We found that growth rates of algae that support stream food webs was slower in streams with more frequent intense storm flows. Together with the occurrence of hypoxia, this paints a bleak and stressful picture for freshwater organisms that are trying to survive in these urban streams," she said.While the study was conducted only in small streams draining urban watersheds, its findings are broadly applicable, Blaszczak noted, because pools are ubiquitous features of rivers, made even more so by the long-term legacies of dam building and dam removal."Hypoxia is not commonly assumed to occur in streams and rivers because of stream flow, which typically moves water fast enough to prevent the drawdown of dissolved oxygen by bacteria to hypoxic levels," she said. "However, dam building and other human alterations that stop the flow of water make these freshwater ecosystems particularly vulnerable to hypoxia with negative implications for biodiversity, especially in rivers already burdened with high nutrient pollution." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 11, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211133314.htm | Stop sterilizing your dust | Most people have heard about antibiotic-resistant germs. But how about antibiotic-resistant dust? | A new Northwestern University study has found that an antimicrobial chemical called triclosan is abundant in dust -- and linked to changes in its genetic makeup. The result is dust with organisms that could cause an antibiotic-resistant infection."There is this conventional wisdom that says everything that's in dust is dead, but that's not actually the case. There are things living in there," said Northwestern's Erica Hartmann, who led the study. "Dust is the final resting place of everything that's been circulating in the air, so it can give us information about air quality."The study was published today (Dec. 11) in the journal Hartmann's study compared dust samples collected from 42 athletic facilities in the Pacific Northwest region. (Hartmann selected athletics facilities because people tend to make intimate contact with the floor, mats and equipment and use antimicrobial wipes to cleanse these areas before and after exercising.) Her team looked at the bacteria present in dust, specifically examining the bacteria's genes.In dust with higher concentrations of triclosan, the researchers found higher abundances of genetic markers indicating antibiotic resistance. "Those genes do not code for resistance to triclosan," Hartmann clarified. "They code for resistance to medically relevant antibiotic drugs."Up until 2017, manufacturers commonly added triclosan to antibacterial hand soaps and cleaning solutions. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) banned triclosan in 2016, after discovering several dangerous side effects, including its potential to interfere with the human endocrine system. But even though it is no longer contained in hand soaps and the antibacterial wipes that people often use at the gym, triclosan is still present in toothpaste and many consumer products that are not labeled."There are many products with triclosan that are not labeled because they are within the purview of the EPA instead of the FDA," Hartmann said. "These things might include antimicrobial gym equipment, such as yoga mats and textiles."Antibiotic resistance is an enormous threat to public health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 25,000 people in the United States die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections. Even though triclosan has been banned, soaps and cleansers still contain other antimicrobial chemicals, including benzalkonium chloride, which Hartmann's team is now studying to see if it has a similar effect on dust.Hartmann believes we could ease the problem of antibiotic-resistant bugs by letting go of antimicrobial products."The vast majority of microbes around us aren't bad and may even be good," she said. "Wipe down gym equipment with a towel. Wash your hands with plain soap and water. There is absolutely no reason to use antibacterial cleansers and hand soaps." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 11, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211121107.htm | Warming, sea-ice loss: Arctic Report Card tracks region's environmental changes | NOAA's annual report card on the Arctic, released today at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in Washington, D.C., measures the changing climate of the polar region including warmer air and ocean temperatures and declines in sea-ice that are driving shifts in animal habitats. | Now in its 13th year, the 2018 Arctic Report Card is a peer-reviewed report that provides an annual status update on the region and compares these observations to the long-term record. It was compiled from the research of 81 scientists working for governments and academia in 12 nations. This information can be used to inform decisions by local, state and federal leaders as Arctic residents confront the challenges and opportunities posed by a rapidly changing climate and ecosystem."The environmental changes in the Arctic underscore why NOAA continues to invest in Arctic research and activities, which improve the nation's economic competitiveness, national security, and the sustainable management of natural resources," said retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., acting under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA, who led the news conference to release the report card. "This report will also help guide NOAA's priorities in better understanding the role of the Arctic in climate change and extreme weather; sustaining and growing fisheries; and supporting adaptation and economic opportunities in the region."This year's report shows that the Arctic region experienced the second-warmest air temperatures ever recorded; the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage; lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea; and earlier plankton blooms due to early melting of sea ice in the Bering Sea.In addition to annual updates on ocean temperature, snow cover, tundra greenness and melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet, the report card also includes reports on multi-year environmental changes, including a long-term population decline of the region's iconic wildlife species, the caribou. Other multi-year essays focused on the expansion northward of toxic harmful algae and significant concentrations of microplastic pollution that are transported by ocean currents into the Arctic Ocean from other parts of the global ocean.This report card is just one of many aspects of NOAA's role in the Arctic region. NOAA, alongside many partners, is monitoring Arctic conditions, pioneering innovative technologies, and creatively collecting data and other scientific information.For example, new technology is revolutionizing our understanding of the Arctic's changing environment, beginning to fill critical gaps in ocean and atmospheric observations. This technology is unmanned, fast, cost-effective, sturdy enough to withstand icy temperatures, and able to collect quality data for lengthy periods. Further, NOAA Polar-orbiting satellites fly over the Arctic 28 times daily, collecting data vital to improve weather forecasts, help fisheries increase catch, and support safe, efficient navigation in challenging waters. Additionally, as Arctic waters become increasingly ice-free, and commerce and other interests grow, NOAA is working to update nautical charts and calculate tide and current predictions.Read stories about changing Arctic air temperatures, sea ice, caribou populations and harmful algal blooms on NOAA's | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 11, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211112928.htm | Possible connection between cardiovascular disease and living near oil and gas wells | Researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health have found a possible connection between the intensity of oil and gas exploration in an area and early indicators of cardiovascular disease among nearby residents. | In a pilot study of 97 people in Fort Collins, Greeley and Windsor, the scientists found that those who lived in areas of more intense oil and gas development showed early signs of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including higher blood pressure, changes in the stiffness of blood vessels, and markers of inflammation.The study was published this month in the journal "We are not sure whether the responsible factor is noise or emissions from the well pads or something else, but we did observe that with more intense oil and gas activity around a person's home, cardiovascular disease indicator levels increased," said the study's lead author Lisa McKenzie, PhD, MPH, of the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.From Oct. 2015 to May 2016, the researchers measured indicators of CVD in 97 men and women from Fort Collins, Greeley and Windsor who did not smoke tobacco or marijuana. The participants did not have jobs that exposed them to dust, fumes, solvents or oil or gas development activities. None had histories of diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic inflammatory disease like asthma or arthritis. CVD is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. with more than 900,000 deaths in 2016."While behavioral and genetic factors contribute to the burden of CVD, exposure to environmental stressors, such as air pollution, noise and psychosocial stress also contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality," according to the authors.One increasingly common source of these stressors is extraction of oil and gas in residential areas. Advances in fracking, horizontal drilling, and micro-seismic imaging have opened up many previously inaccessible areas for exploration. Some of those wells are in heavily populated areas."More than 17.4 million people in the U.S. now live within one mile of an active oil and gas well," McKenzie said.Previous studies have shown that short and long-term exposure to the kind of particulate matter emitted from oil and gas operations may be associated with increases in cardiovascular disease and death.At the same time, noise levels measured in communities near these facilities have exceeded levels associated with increased risk of CVD and hypertension, the study said.This study is the first to investigate the relationship between oil and gas development and CVD. But the results are consistent with an increase in the frequency of cardiology inpatient hospital admissions in areas of oil and gas activity in Pennsylvania."Our study findings support the use of these indicators of cardiovascular disease in future studies on oil and gas development in residential areas," McKenzie said.Those indicators included blood pressure, arterial stiffening and early markers of inflammation.McKenzie acknowledged the limitations of the small sample size, saying that the results demonstrate the need for a much larger study. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 6, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181206115940.htm | Fighting smog supports solar power | The air in Beijing is often very bad. The city sinks under a brown cover made of exhaust gases from industry, cars and coal fires, which blow a lot of harmful particulate matter, soot, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air. | The dirty air causes massive damage to human health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution contributes to around 1.6 million premature deaths per year in China alone, and over 7 million worldwide. Victims suffer strokes, heart attacks or lung diseases.China has therefore begun to introduce tough measures to combat air pollution, also as a way to curb CO2 emissions. Among other things, the government has invested heavily in the deployment of emission-free solar power and plans to expand photovoltaic systems even more in the future. But at the moment, air pollution in China is still high, and smog not only damages health but also reduces the solar radiation that reaches the ground. This in turn significantly reduces the power output of existing photovoltaic systems.The solar energy industry would therefore benefit greatly from clean air, as researcher Mercè Labordena and her colleagues from the Climate Policy group at ETH Zurich have shown in a study just published in the journal The researchers calculated that in the year 2040 China could provide 85 to 158 terawatt hours of additional electricity per year with today's photovoltaic systems and those that will have been built by then. However, this would be possible only if emissions from all sectors -- power, transport, industry, households -- are completely eliminated. The additional production would be at least one third greater than Switzerland's current electricity requirements and would generate up to 10.1 billion US dollars more for the Chinese electricity industry from solar power generation.According to the model, solar radiation would increase by an average of 11 percent nationwide as a result of strict air pollution control measures. This would allow solar cells to generate one tenth more electricity.However, the potential for growth is not the same in all parts of the country. For example, solar radiation in Beijing would increase by only 8 percent, but in central Chinese provinces such as Chongqing, the rate would be 26 percent.Labordena and her colleagues also calculated the cost of introducing best-practice emission standards in all sectors of the economy. The researchers found that revenue from increased photovoltaic generation could cover 13 to 17 percent of the cost of the stringent air pollution control measures necessary to achieve the zero-emission target."Our figures could be good news for investors," she continued. If the air were free of pollution, their investments would pay off more quickly, freeing up money for the further expansion of photovoltaics, she says.In the near future, the solar investors who could benefit the most from the government applying stringent air pollution control measures are those on the east coast, where solar expansion is growing the fastest.This leads Labordena to conclude that reducing air pollution in the populous cities on the east coast would not only benefit public health, but also accelerate the transition to renewable energy and the fight against global warming. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205152206.htm | Report reveals link between air pollution and increased risk for miscarriage | Air quality has been associated with numerous adverse health outcomes from asthma to pre-term birth. Researchers at University of Utah Health found women living along the Wasatch Front -- the most populous region in the state of Utah -- had a higher risk (16 percent) of miscarriage following short-term exposure to elevated air pollution. The results are available online on December 5 in the journal | "Not being from Salt Lake originally, I noticed a pattern in the relation to air quality and pregnancy loss," said Matthew Fuller, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery at U of U Health and senior author on the paper. "I knew this was an understudied question so we decided to dig deeper."Fuller joined University of Utah research analyst Claire Leiser on a retrospective study consisting of more than 1,300 women (54 percent Caucasian, 38 percent Hispanic, and other/missing 8 percent; average age 28 years). The women in the study sought help at the U of U emergency department following a miscarriage (up to 20-weeks gestation) between 2007 to 2015.The team examined the risk of miscarriage during a three- or seven-day window following a spike in the concentration of three common air pollutants: small particulate matter (PM 2.5), nitrogen dioxide and ozone. The study excluded women who lived outside Utah."We are really only seeing the most severe cases during a small window of time," said Leiser, first author on the paper. "These results are not the whole picture."Leiser notes the results suggest there could be an increased risk for an individual. Their research only captured women who sought help at an emergency department at one hospital in the region. It does not account for women who may have sought outpatient care through their obstetric or primary care providers.The team found a slight increased risk in miscarriage for women exposed to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide (16 percent for 10 ppb increase during the seven-day window). Although small particulate matter does track with nitrogen dioxide, these results did not significantly associate with an increased risk of miscarriage."While we live in a pretty unique geographic area, the problems we face when it comes to air pollution are not unique," said Fuller. "As the planet warms and population booms, air pollution is going to become a bigger problem not only in the developing world but across the United States."The Wasatch Front experiences short-periods of poor air quality, primarily during the winter months, when inversions trap pollutants close to the ground (for the 7-day window: PM2.5 min = 0.3 μg/mThe team conducted a case cross-over study that estimated a woman's risk of miscarriage multiple times in a month where air pollution exposure varied. This approach removed other risk factors, like maternal age, from the study. The scientists were unable to ascertain the age of the fetus at the time of the miscarriage and were unable pinpoint a critical period when the fetus may be most vulnerable to pollutants."The results of this study are upsetting, and we need to work together as a society to find constructive solutions," Fuller said.Fuller recommends women speak with their doctor about any health concerns. Women can manage the risk by using a N95 particulate respirator face mask to filter out pollutants or avoid outdoor physical activity on poor air quality days. Women can also use filters to lower indoor pollution and, if possible, time conception to avoid seasonal episodes of poor air quality.Leiser and Fuller were joined by Heidi Hanson, Kara Sawyer, Jacob Steenblik, Troy Madsen, James Hotaling, Yetunde Ibrahim and James VanDerslice at U of U Health; Ragheed Al-Dulaimi at Hurley Medical Center, Flint, Mich. and Karen Gibbins at Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Ore. Their article, titled Acute Effects of Air Pollutants on Spontaneous Pregnancy Loss: A Case-Crossover Study, appears online in the December 5 issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility.The work was funded through grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Consortium for Families & Health Research. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205142703.htm | Wind power vulnerable to climate change in India | The warming of the Indian Ocean, caused by global climate change, may be causing a slow decline in wind power potential in India, according to a new study from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Harvard China Project. | India, the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China and the United States, is investing billions in wind power and has set the ambitious goal to double its wind power capacity in the next five years. The majority of wind turbines are being built in southern and western India to best capture the winds of the summer Indian monsoon, the seasonal weather pattern then brings heavy rains and winds to the Indian subcontinent.However, the researchers found that the Indian monsoon is weakening as a result of warming waters in the Indian Ocean, leading to a steady decline in wind-generated power."We found that although India is investing heavily in wind power to tackle climate change and air pollution issues, the benefits of these substantial investments are vulnerable to the changing climate," said Meng Gao, a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS and the Harvard China Project and first author of the study.The research, published in Western India, including the Rajasthan and Maharashtra states, where investment in wind power is the highest, has seen the steepest decline over that time period. However, other regions, particularly in eastern India, saw smaller or no decline."Our findings can provide suggestions on where to build more wind turbines to minimize the influences of climate change," said Michael B. McElroy, the Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies and senior author of the study.Next, the researchers aim to explore what will happen to wind power potential in India in the future, using projections from climate models.This research was co-authored by Yihui Ding , Shaojie Song, Xiao Lu, and Xinyu Chen. It was supported by the Harvard Global Institute. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205134009.htm | Dirty air now could harm hearts of offspring later | A parent's exposure to dirty air before conception might spell heart trouble for the next generation, a new animal study suggests. | Wondering about the possible health risks for children of people routinely exposed to highly polluted air, including soldiers and residents of some of the world's largest cities, researchers from The Ohio State University studied the effects of dirty air on mice.And they found an abundance of evidence of harm to the offspring of parents that routinely breathed dirty air prior to mating."We found that these offspring had a variety of heart problems during the prime of their lives and the effects were so robust that it was somewhat shocking," said study senior author Loren Wold, director of biomedical research at Ohio State's College of Nursing.Heart function was impaired. Inflammatory markers linked to increased heart disease risk were high. They had markers of oxidative stress, a condition in which levels of beneficial antioxidants are low. Calcium regulatory proteins, which are critical to the function of the beating heart, were altered. And these mice were young and otherwise healthy -- comparable to 20-year-old humans.The first-of-its-kind study appears online today in the "This suggests that heart problems related to pollution exposure could start even before conception, and if that's true it has implications worldwide," said Wold, a professor of nursing and medicine at Ohio State.Wold and his team also uncovered evidence of gene-related differences that might explain the cardiovascular changes they saw. They examined epigenetic regulators, which play an important role in the expression of genes -- meaning that they have influence over predisposition to health problems, including cardiovascular disease."I looked at important epigenetic regulators in the offspring, and some were activated, which could explain the differences we saw. The next step will be a more-detailed analysis," said study lead author Vineeta Tanwar, a research scientist at Ohio State.To conduct the study, researchers concentrated air from Columbus, Ohio, until the level of harmful particulate matter -- particles suspended in the air -- reached a level on par with large cities such as Los Angeles and Beijing. The research focused on the presence of PM2.5, particles that are small enough to pass from the lungs into the bloodstream.The test mice breathed this air for about 30 hours a week."They were, on average, exposed to less particulate matter than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set for daily air quality standards," Tanwar said.Then, the mice were kept in normal air during mating and the researchers compared their offspring to the offspring of mice that were not exposed to the polluted air."The first thing we did was to do a basic echocardiograph and we could see profound heart dysfunction in the offspring of particulate-matter-exposed mice," Tanwar said. "Then, we began to look at single cells and at typical markers of heart disease and found a lot more evidence that preconception pollution could harm the offspring."The study focused only on male offspring because the research team wanted to narrow its focus on this first experiment. Going forward, they plan to compare male and female offspring, try to determine which parent's exposure might matter more to offspring, evaluate heart health later in the lifespan of the mice and explore potential changes in the eggs and sperm of mice exposed to dirty air."A key question here is how are changes in the sperm and eggs passing on the information to the offspring to cause this heart dysfunction?" Wold said.Though more animal research is needed, this study also opens the door to exploring the role of air pollution on the health of future generations, he said. For instance, it might make sense to begin by working with adults with high levels of exposure to particulate matter, such as residents of New Delhi and Beijing, Wold said."We already know that humans have dramatic cardiovascular effects from exposure to dirty air, high blood pressure in particular. And we know that babies can be harmed by pollution both before and after birth," Wold said."Understanding whether the damage may begin even before conception is critical."Other Ohio State researchers who worked on the study were Jeremy Adelstein, Jacob Grimmer, Dane Youtz, Aashish Katapadi, Benjamin Sugar, Lisa Baer and Kristin Stanford.The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205133948.htm | Pollution: New ammonia emission sources detected from space | Researchers from the CNRS and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) have prepared the first global map of the distribution of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) by analyzing measurements taken by satellites between 2008 and 2016. The IASI interferometer developed by the CNES allowed them to catalog more than 200 ammonia sources, two-thirds of which had never been identified before. These sources are essentially sites of intensive livestock production and industrial activity. The team's findings are published in | For the last twelve years, the IASI interferometer on board three successive Metop satellites have been providing scientists with global data on various atmospheric components, including ammonia. Atmospheric ammonia merits particular attention because it breaks down into fine ammonium salt particles that degrade the quality of the air we breathe. Yet the processes regulating concentrations of this gas are still poorly understood, especially on the local scale.Using the daily data on ammonia levels recorded by the interferometers over a period spanning nearly ten years, the researchers generated a map of the global atmospheric distribution of ammonia whose resolution is on the order of a square kilometer. By combining their map with satellite imagery, they uncovered and categorized 241 point sources of anthropogenic NH3 emissions -- 83 linked to intensive livestock production and 158 to industrial activity -- as well as 178 wider emission zones.In addition to recording new sources not found on current emission inventories, the study has shown that levels of emissions from previously identified sources are greatly underestimated. By observing changes in the data over time, the team was also able to trace developments of the associated human activities, like the startup or shutdown of industrial complexes or the expansion of infrastructures for intensive animal farming.These findings suggest that better management of the impact of ammonia pollution requires a comprehensive review of ammonia emissions, which are much higher than presently suggested by inventories. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205133945.htm | Global carbon dioxide emissions rise even as coal wanes and renewables boom | Global fossil fuel emissions are on track to rise for a second year in a row, primarily due to growing energy use, according to new estimates from the Global Carbon Project, an initiative led by Stanford University scientist Rob Jackson. | The new projections come in a week when international negotiators are gathering in the coal-mining city of Katowice, Poland, to work out the rules for implementing the Paris climate agreement. Under the 2015 accord, hundreds of nations pledged to cut carbon emissions and keep global warming "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures."We thought, perhaps hoped, emissions had peaked a few years ago," said Jackson, a professor of Earth system science in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth). "After two years of renewed growth, that was wishful thinking."The Global Carbon Project's report, titled "Global Energy Growth Is Outpacing Decarbonization," appears Dec. 5 in the peer-reviewed The group estimates global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel sources -- which represent roughly 90 percent of all emissions from human activities -- will reach a record high of just over 37 billion tons in 2018, an increase of 2.7 percent over emissions output in 2017. That compares to 1.6 percent growth a year earlier. Emissions from non-fossil sources, such as deforestation, are projected to add nearly 4.5 billion tons of carbon emissions to the 2018 total."Global energy demand is outpacing powerful growth in renewables and energy efficiency," said Jackson, who is also a senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment and Precourt Institute for Energy. "The clock is ticking in our struggle to keep warming below 2 degrees."In the United States, emissions of carbon dioxide are projected to increase 2.5 percent in 2018 after a decade of declines. Culprits for the increase include unusual weather -- a cold winter in Eastern states and a warm summer across much of the nation ramped up energy needs for seasonal heating and cooling -- as well as a growing appetite for oil in the face of low gas prices."We're driving more miles in bigger cars, changes that are outpacing improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency," Jackson explained. Overall, U.S. oil use is on track to rise by more than 1 percent this year compared to 2017.Consumption of one fossil fuel, however, is no longer on the rise: coal. The study shows coal consumption in Canada and the United States has dropped by 40 percent since 2005, and in 2018 alone the U.S. is expected to take a record-setting 15 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity offline. "Market forces and the drive for cleaner air are pushing countries toward natural gas, wind and solar power," Jackson said. "This change will not only reduce CO2 emissions but will also save lives lost to air pollution."Yet the study shows renewables around the world are largely coming online as add-ons to fossil fuel energy sources -- particularly natural gas -- rather than replacements. "It isn't enough for renewables to grow," Jackson said. "They need to displace fossil fuels. So far, that's happening for coal but not for oil or natural gas."Over time, the researchers warn increased coal use in regions where large swaths of the population lack access to reliable electricity could eventually exceed the steep cuts to coal use elsewhere. India's emissions, for example, are projected to grow by 6 percent this year as the country races to build new power plants for both industrial and consumer needs. "They're building everything -- wind, solar, nuclear and coal -- very quickly," Jackson said.Energy demand is rising around the world. "It's the first time in a decade that the economies of essentially all countries are growing," said Jackson.According to the study, the biggest change in carbon emissions this year compared to 2017 is a substantial uptick in both energy consumption and emissions in China. After four years of stable emissions amid pressure to improve air quality, the country has now hit the accelerator.Global economic growth has increased demand for iron, steel, aluminum and cement manufactured in China. Meanwhile, a recent slowdown in China's own economy prompted the country to shift its approach to energy development."China is jump-starting coal projects that were on hold," Jackson said. As a result, the country's emissions are expected to rise by 5 percent in 2018, up from an increase of roughly 3.5 percent the previous year.This year's estimates in some ways mark a return to an old pattern, in which economies and emissions rise more or less in sync. Yet recent history suggests the two can be decoupled. From 2014 through 2016, emissions held fairly steady despite growth in global gross domestic product, thanks in large part to reduced coal use in the U.S. and China, improved energy efficiency and an expansion of renewable energy around the world."We can have economic growth with fewer emissions," said climate scientist Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia, lead author of the group's paper in In 2019, barring a global economic downturn, the researchers anticipate carbon dioxide emissions will rise further despite urgency to reverse course. According to Jackson, "We need emissions to stabilize and quickly trend toward the zero line." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205093718.htm | Neighborhoods with more green space may mean less heart disease | People who live in leafy, green neighborhoods may have a lower risk of developing heart disease and strokes, according to new research published in the | In this study, the first of its kind, researchers from the University of Louisville investigated the impact of neighborhood greenspaces on individual-level markers of stress and cardiovascular disease risk.Over five-years, blood and urine samples were collected from 408 people of varying ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic levels, then assessed for biomarkers of blood vessel injury and the risk of having cardiovascular disease. Risk was calculated using biomarkers measured from blood and urine samples. The participants were recruited from the University of Louisville's outpatient cardiology clinic and were largely at elevated risk for developing cardiovascular diseases.The density of the greenspaces near the participants' residences were measured using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a tool that indicates levels of vegetation density created from satellite imagery collected by NASA and USGS. Air pollution levels were also assessed using particulate matter from the EPA and roadway exposure measurements.Researchers found living in areas with more green vegetation was associated with:They also found that associations with epinephrine were stronger among women, study participants not taking beta-blockers -- which reduce the heart's workload and lower blood pressure -- and people who had not previously had a heart attack."Our study shows that living in a neighborhood dense with trees, bushes and other green vegetation may be good for the health of your heart and blood vessels," said Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., lead study author and professor of medicine and director of the University of Louisville Diabetes and Obesity Center. "Indeed, increasing the amount of vegetation in a neighborhood may be an unrecognized environmental influence on cardiovascular health and a potentially significant public health intervention."The findings were independent of age, sex, ethnicity, smoking status, neighborhood deprivation, use of statin medications and roadway exposure.Previous studies have also suggested that neighborhood greenspaces are associated with positive effects on overall physical and psychosocial health and well-being, as well as reduced rates of death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and improved rates of stroke survival, according to Bhatnagar. However, these reports are largely limited by their reliance on self-reported questionnaires and area-level records and evaluations, said Bhatnagar.Co-authors of this study are Ray Yeager, Ph.D.; Daniel W. Riggs, M.S.; Natasha DeJarnett, Ph.D.; David J. Tollerud, Ph.D.; Jeffrey Wilson, Ph.D.; Daniel J. Conklin, Ph.D.; Timothy E. O'Toole, Ph.D.; James McCracken, Ph.D.; Pawel Lorkiewicz, Ph.D.; Xie Zhengzhi, Ph.D.; Nagma Zafar, M.D., Ph.D.; Sathya S. Krishnasamy, M.D.; Sanjay Srivastava, Ph.D.; Jordan Finch, M.S.; Rachel J. Keith, Ph.D.; Andrew DeFilippis, M.D.; Shesh N. Rai, Ph.D. and Gilbert Liu, M.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.The WellPoint Foundation and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences supported the study. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181205093704.htm | Can rice filter water from agricultural fields? | Rice is a staple food crop of 20 percent of the world's population. It's also grown on every continent except Antarctica. | While it's an important part of our diets, new research shows that rice plants can be used in a different way, too: to clean runoff from farms before it gets into rivers, lakes, and streams.This idea came to Matt Moore, a USDA research ecologist, because he, himself, comes from a family of farmers. He was trying to figure out a way to address the unintended issue of runoff. As water drains from agricultural fields, the pesticides used on those fields can be carried along. Moore wanted to stop pesticides from getting into water outside the farm in a way that was easy and cost-efficient for farmers."We wanted something that was common, that could be applied in a lot of different places, but something that's non-invasive," said Moore, who works in the USDA-Agricultural Research Service's Water Ecology and Ecology Research Unit in Oxford, Mississippi.The idea came to Moore while he was driving to his family's farm in northeast Arkansas. "We're big rice farmers. Cheesy as it sounds, I was driving around trying to look for some inspiration and it just hit me: What about rice?"So researchers planted four fields, two with and two without rice. They then flooded those fields with a mix of three kinds of pesticides plus water that together is a lot like runoff during a storm. They did this for two years in a row.They found that the levels of all three pesticides were lower in fields where they'd planted rice. How much it dropped ranged from 85 percent to 97 percent, depending on which pesticide they measured.Rice can do this through phytoremediation -- using plants and their roots to clean up water (though they can also clean soil and air). That's what researchers say happened here. Instead of those chemicals being in the runoff water, they were captured in the rice plants.In real life, this pesticide-cleaning ability of rice could be used in a few ways. To start, farmers could plant rice in drainage ditches already on their farms, which would "let rice clean off water that runs off into your field before it runs into a river, lake, or stream," Moore said. "Dreaming big, eventually we could get to the point where you could use rice fields as constructed wetlands," diverting runoff into rice fields so they naturally take those pesticides out of the water.One big question Moore hopes additional research can answer is whether or not those chemicals end up in the edible part of the rice plant -- the rice grain -- itself. If it doesn't, rice could be that natural water cleaner while also being a food source."It's potentially huge for developing countries to be able to use this as a crop and water cleaning technology," he said.For now, though, Moore is excited about the potential of a humble, popular crop that even his own family has been growing for generations."We're just trying to use simple techniques that are easy for the farmer, that are economical, that are still environmentally friendly," he said. "Farming seems like a not-for-profit business these days, which I full-well understand. How can farmers use the landscape that's already there? How can they maximize that while helping the environment and their bottom line? Rice could be it." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 4, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181204131129.htm | More diversity than before: Indications for recovery after ecosystem pollution | Environmental damage caused by human activity can reduce the number of plant and animal species dramatically. At the same time, only very little is known about how biodiversity recovers after the ecosystem has stopped being polluted and has been cleaned up. As was common in the mid-1900s, Lake Constance, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Europe, suffered from eutrophication, or nutrient contamination caused by agricultural and waste water run-off. | A study by the universities in Konstanz and Glasgow (Scotland, UK) has now revealed that one European whitefish species expanded its genetic variation through hybridization with other whitefish species during the period of eutrophication. The study, led by the Konstanz-based biologist Dr Jasminca Behrmann Godel along with her colleague Dr Kathryn R. Elmer from the University of Glasgow, was published in the journal The diminished water quality in Lake Constance due to elevated nutrient contamination (eutrophication) destroyed the natural habitats and led to the extinction of two of the five whitefish species that had only existed in this lake as well as to the hybridization of the three remaining species. This had an impact on commercial fisheries in the lake. In the 1980s, concerted efforts to reduce eutrophication quickly re-established Lake Constance's original state.Biologists examined the functional phenotypical and genomic variation of the European whitefish (gangfisch: Coregonus lavaretus macrophthalamus) in order to demonstrate that its biodiversity expanded within a short period of time after the ecosystem had recovered from nutrient contamination. In less than ten generations, the European whitefish developed a wide variation in the number of gill rakers - which are used to filter plankton from the water - thus rendering it able to occupy a broader ecological niche than before eutrophication. This is one of the fastest evolutionary rates ever recorded in the animal kingdom.The study presumes that this rapid niche expansion was made possible by genetic variation that developed as a result of hybridization during the period of eutrophication. "This new diversity in European whitefish is variation within a species that does not replace the loss of biodiversity resulting from eutrophication", says Dr Jasminca Behrmann-Godel.The results demonstrate that functional variation can quickly recover once an ecosystem has been restored. The researchers think this potential could be dependent upon genetic architecture, the ecological context and evolutionary history. | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 4, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181204131127.htm | How mussels handle microplastic fiber pollution | New research shows that mussels readily take in microplastic pollution fibers from the ocean but quickly flush most of them out again, according to a study by researchers from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. The findings were published in December's | Human-made microplastics exist throughout the global ocean, from busy coastal areas to remote regions far from human habitation. They have myriad impacts: microplastics are eaten by tiny animals called zooplankton, play host to bacterial colonies, and can even change how energy and nutrients flow through ocean ecosystems."The big pieces of plastic you find on the beach are in your face, but microplastics are everywhere," said Bigelow Laboratory Senior Research Scientist Paty Matrai, one of the study's authors. "We desperately need ways to accurately and precisely measure their numbers in the ocean."The most abundant type of microplastics are fibers, which shed readily from materials as common as carpets and fleece clothing, and whose small size makes them edible by marine life as small as zooplankton. However, few studies to date have focused on this type of ocean pollution. Matrai worked with Bigelow Laboratory Senior Research Scientist David Fields and researchers from the Shaw Institute to learn how marine animals handle fibers -- which has important implications for understanding how microplastics move up the food web. Plastic can both directly affect the animals that ingest it and accumulate in the animals that feed on them, including humans."We know that microfibers can be consumed by shellfish, but at what rate and how long they are retained by the animals remains unclear," Fields said. "The degree to which plastic is impacting the food chain is unknown, but as more plastic make its way into the ocean, the number of organisms containing plastics is sure to increase."Through a series of laboratory experiments, the team found that the mussels quickly rejected most of the fibers they took up by coating them in mucus and expelling them. This method allowed them to efficiently rid themselves of some of the fibers without taking them fully into their bodies.However, the mussels did ingest nearly one in 10 fibers, accumulating them in their body tissues. Moving those mussels to clean water, the scientists found, allowed them to flush most of the accumulated fibers from their bodies."Our work with microplastic fibers emphasizes the need for laboratory studies that accurately mimic an organism's natural environment," said Madelyn Woods, marine research coordinator at the Shaw Institute and lead author on the study. "Detailed studies of individual species and their mechanisms for particle selection will be important for understanding how microplastics affect ecosystems on a larger scale."The primary experiments used for this research placed mussels into water containing fibers at levels equivalent to those in the ocean. However, measuring the effect of those conditions presented the researchers with a major challenge: how to count the tiny plastic fibers. Most other microplastic experiments have used methods that are exceedingly laborious or do not resemble natural conditions, potentially skewing results. Matrai's team used a FlowCam, an optical instrument originally developed at Bigelow Laboratory, to more easily enumerate the particles. Establishing this new method opens the door for future experiments into microplastic fibers."Because the ocean is so vast, microplastics aren't actually that concentrated," Matrai said. "But no one knows the full impact they have. The bottom line is, we need data to help us make informed decisions." | Pollution | 2,018 |
December 3, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181203081656.htm | Salt-evolved zooplankton grow too slowly to block salt-induced algal blooms | Small animals at the base of the freshwater food chain can rapidly adapt to salt pollution -- from sources like winter road deicing, agriculture, and mining -- but at a price. In a special December edition of | "There's an upside and a downside to evolving salt tolerance," said Rick Relyea, principal investigator and professor and director of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute and member of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "The upside is the animals are more protected in moderately salt-polluted environments. But there is a cost for having this tolerance to salt, and as this work shows, one of the downsides is that the animals grow much more slowly."The finding is one of two articles in the special edition "Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects," published today. The issue explores how human activities that are increasing concentrations of salts in rivers, wetlands, and lakes "adversely affect freshwater biodiversity, and the ecosystem functions and services on which human societies rely."Relyea's research team, which is investigating the effects of salt on aquatic environments through its work with the Jefferson Project on Lake George, also contributed an opinion piece calling attention to inadequate regulations. In "Regulations are needed to protect freshwater ecosystems from salinization," the research team pointed to regional inconsistencies in regulations governing acceptable levels of salinization, and a failure to differentiate between different types of salts, despite their vastly disparate environmental effects."If we want to prevent salt pollution from harming our freshwater ecosystems, we need consequential regulations informed by science that protect fresh waters across ecosystems, not political jurisdictions," said Matt Schuler, first author of the opinion article.The research article, "Evolved tolerance to freshwater salinization in zooplankton: life-history, trade-offs, cross-tolerance and reducing cascading effects," is one of 14 Relyea's lab has published in the past two years on the effects of salt on aquatic ecosystems. In 2017, the team published research showing that a common species of zooplankton, Daphnia pulex, could evolve genetic tolerance to moderate levels of road salt in as little as two and a half months. Later that year, research conducted in cooperation with Rensselaer researcher Jennifer Hurley showed that the salt-adapted zooplankton had suppressed circadian rhythms."We knew there might be trade-offs, and we wanted to understand how those tradeoffs played out, from the individual organism to the ecosystem," said Bill Hintz, first author of the research article.In using descendants of the same salt-tolerant zooplankton the team raised the previous year, one finding was quickly apparent: tolerance is persistent. Although about 30 generations separated the original population from their descendants, both groups showed the same tolerance to salt.Ordinary zooplankton, which eat algae, die in moderately salty conditions. This causes a "cascading effect" of salt pollution whereby salinized freshwater is susceptible to algal blooms. Although the salt-tolerant zooplankton survive in moderately salty conditions, their slower growth meant tolerant populations were unable to control algal blooms in the presence of the most common road salt, sodium chloride. However, salt-tolerant zooplankton were able to control algal blooms in the presence of moderate pollution from two alternative road salts: magnesium chloride and calcium chloride."Because the salt-tolerant Daphnia are able to survive, you would hope that you wouldn't see a big algal bloom. We see this for some salt types, but that's not what we're seeing for all salt types," said Relyea. "The zooplankton are protected, but it doesn't always stop the phytoplankton from blooming."The team also established that, although the zooplankton evolved higher salt tolerance in the presence of sodium chloride, they were also more tolerant of other common salt pollutants, such a magnesium chloride and calcium chloride, a trait known as "cross tolerance." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 30, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181130094306.htm | Historical climate important for soil responses to future climate change | Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Amsterdam, examined how 18 years of drought affect the billions of vital bacteria that are hidden in the soil beneath our feet. The results show that this type of extreme weather determines how soils respond to future climate change. | According to the study, microorganisms that have been subjected to long-term drought find it easier than other microbes to recover when moisture in the soil increases again."Our results show that the historical climate will affect how microorganisms respond and contribute to climate change in the future. Bacteria adapted to drought could slow the rate of carbon loss from soils," explains Lettice Hicks, biologist at Lund University.In the study, she and her colleagues examined soil that had been subjected to long-term drought -- in this case 18 years of experimental summer drought. The aim was to study how the microorganisms cope and how they recover.When the soil is moist, the bacteria are active, breaking down organic material. This process provides essential nutrients for plants, and, while a proportion of the carbon from organic matter is stored in the soil as bacterial tissue, some is released into the air as carbon dioxide.During drought, however, the bacteria stop growing and no longer perform their important task in the ecosystem. When rain eventually falls and the soil regains moisture, the bacteria begin to work again. The result is an immediate increase in emissions of carbon dioxide into the air, but as the bacteria recover very quickly, the fraction of carbon released from the soil decreases."The carbon balance is affected, as the growth of bacteria keeps carbon in the soil. These findings suggest that microbial communities can adapt to changing climatic conditions, and this might slow the rate of carbon loss from soils," concludes Lettice Hicks. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 29, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181129122500.htm | Climate change and air pollution damaging health and causing millions of premature deaths | IIASA researchers have contributed to a major new report in | The 2018 Report of the research coalition The report also states that ambient air pollution resulted in several million premature deaths from ambient fine particulate matter globally in 2015, a conclusion from IIASA researchers confirming earlier assessments. Since air pollution and greenhouse gases often share common sources, mitigating climate change constitutes a major opportunity for direct human health benefits.Leading doctors, academics and policy professionals from 27 organizations have contributed analysis and jointly authored the report. Alongside IIASA, the partners behind the research include the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), University College London and Tsinghua University, among others.IIASA researcher Gregor Kiesewetter led a team from the Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases research program that estimated the dangers of air pollution to human health. A new and important finding this year was the global attribution of deaths to source. Kiesewetter and the team found that coal alone accounts for 16% of pollution-related premature deaths, around 460,000, which they state makes phasing out coal-use a "crucial no-regret intervention for public health."Kiesewetter and the team used the GAINS Model, developed at IIASA, which calculates the emissions of precursors of particulate matter based on a detailed breakdown of economic sectors and fuels used.Large contributions to ambient air pollution come from the residential sector, mostly from solid fuels like biomass and coal. Industry, electricity generation, transport, and agriculture are also important contributors. While coal should be a key target for early phase-out in households and electricity generation as it is highly polluting, it is not all that should be done."The attribution shows that unfortunately an approach targeting a single sector or fuel won't solve the problem -- air pollution is a multi-faceted issue that needs integrated strategies cutting across many sectors, which will differ from country to country. This is what we typically do with the regional and local GAINS model: giving advice to policymakers on the most efficient approaches to tackle air pollution in their specific settings," says Kiesewetter.The report contains a number of other headline findings: -Hugh Montgomery, co-chair of The report, which looks at 41 separate indicators across a range of themes, says urgent steps are needed to protect people now from the impacts of climate change. In particular, stronger labor regulations are needed to protect workers from extremes of heat and hospitals and the health systems we rely on need to be better equipped for extreme heat so they are able to cope. But the report also stresses that there are limits to adapting to the temperature increases, and if left unabated, climate change and heat will overwhelm even the strongest of systems, so the need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is critical.2018 has been an even hotter year in many parts of the world and the World Weather Attribution Study for northern Europe showed this summer's heat wave was twice as likely to have happened as a result of man-made climate change. Of the 478 global cities surveyed in the report, 51% expect climate change to seriously compromise their public health infrastructure."The world has yet to effectively cut its emissions. The speed of climate change threatens our, and our children's lives. Following current trends we exhaust our carbon budget required to keep warming below two degrees, by 2032. The health impacts of climate change above this level above this level threaten to overwhelm our emergency and health services," says Anthony Costello, co-chair of Other findings of the report include: a new indicator mapping extremes of precipitation that identifies South America and southeast Asia among the regions most exposed to flood and drought and, on food security, the report points to 30 countries experiencing downward trends in crop yields, reversing a decade-long trend that had previously seen global improvement. Yield potential is estimated to be declining in every region as extremes of weather become more frequent and more extreme. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 27, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181127111041.htm | How plastic waste moves in the environment | A Washington State University researcher for the first time has modeled how microplastic fibers move through the environment. | The work, published in the November print issue of the journal Millions of tons of plastic waste in tiny microscopic pieces are bobbing around the world's oceans and are finding their way into soil, sediments and freshwater. Plastic debris comes from many sources including synthetic clothing fibers, cosmetics, packaging and industrial processes. These plastic bits often end up in the oceans, harming the marine life that eats them.Researchers have studied and measured microplastics in a variety of environments, but Nick Engdahl, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the first to model how the synthetic fibers move."I wanted to know whether they keep moving and spreading or if they just accumulate in one place," said Engdahl, who has studied the movement of a variety of contaminants in the environment.He used a novel physics-based approach to simulate the movement of microplastic fibers, specifically. These synthetic fibers in clothing are created during their manufacturing process."Every time you walk or rub against something your clothes are shedding fibers," said Engdahl.The microfibers, which are mainly released when clothes are washed, end up in wastewater plants, where a significant proportion pass through water filtration systems. Even the ones that are filtered end up in the sewage sludge that can be applied to farm soils as fertilizer or dumped in landfills.Engdahl found that the length of the fibers and the speed of water that they're floating in determined whether they settle in soil or continue moving in the environment. He also found that the movement of shorter microplastic fibers was complex, and that they moved faster than dissolved substances in the water.Engdahl is working to verify and refine his model against direct observations of microplastic fiber movement in a lab. He also plans to measure the fibers in a wastewater treatment facility."The more data I can get from the real world, the more accurately I will be able to see if these things move around or stay put and pile up," he said. "This will help us more accurately measure their environmental impact, which is largely unknown right now." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 27, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181127111018.htm | Microplastics pollution in Falklands as high as UK | The first study to investigate microplastics around Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands -- two of the most remote locations in the South Atlantic Ocean -- has found levels of contamination comparable with the waters around the UK. | The research, led by Dr Dannielle Green of Anglia Ruskin University, involved sampling at 11 sites on the Falkland Islands and six sites on Ascension Island, as well as locations in Northern Ireland (Strangford Lough) and South West England (Plymouth Sound).The study, the results of which have been published in the journal Dr Green, Senior Lecturer in Biology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: "Identifying the source of microplastics is difficult, but some of the fibres found in this study had the appearance of weathered fragments of ropes or fishing nets. The Falklands have a relatively sizeable fishing industry, with an annual catch of around 270,000 tonnes per year, but the same cannot be said of Ascension."Ascension Island has a population of less than 1,000 people and is incredibly remote, located 1,000 miles off the coast of Africa and 1,400 miles from South America. However, we found levels of microplastics comparable, and in some cases greater, than levels found in the waters around mainland UK."Recent studies have found microplastics trapped in Arctic Sea ice and in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. Our research adds to the evidence implying that ocean currents are carrying microplastics to some of the remotest and least populated parts of the world."The study also compared different methods of monitoring microplastics, and found that using a one litre container combined with a fine filter was a more effective method for capturing smaller microplastics.Scientists currently use a variety of nets, such as plankton, bongo and manta nets, but Dr Green believes that the size of the mesh is leading to an underestimation of the concentrations of microplastics in seawater.Dr Green added: "We believe that using a standard one litre bottle and a fine filter is an appropriate and effective way to monitor microplastic contamination, and could be coupled with net methods in order to capture the smaller and larger items. It can be added to existing environmental surveys with relatively little effort, and also helps to promote more standardised monitoring in the future." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 26, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181126123424.htm | Combined local and global actions could lessen impacts of change in marine environment | Increased oil and gas activities could combine with ocean warming and acidification to have a significant negative impact on marine organisms, a new study suggests. | A team of researchers led by Dr Renée K. Bechmann at the NORCE Norwegian Research Centre conducted one of the first studies to explore the impact of multiple stressors in the marine environment.The study's lead author, Dr Maj Arnberg, carried out the research as part of her PhD under the supervision of Professor John Spicer and Dr Piero Calosi, both affiliated to the Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre at the University of Plymouth, together with Dr Sam Dupont at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) at the University of Gothenburg.Writing in And they believe international recognition of this fact would in turn empower and encourage local decision makers to act, increasing natural populations and environment resilience in the process.Their working hypothesis was that while exposure to global and local drivers individually would significantly negatively affect larval early developmental stages, combined exposure would lead to a more severe impact than observed for single drivers.The study employed a scenario-based, collapsed design to investigate the impact of one local acute stressor (North Sea crude oil) and two chronic global drivers (pH for ocean acidification and temperature for ocean warming).It then explored the individual and collective impacts on aspects of the larval stages of two key invertebrates, the northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and the green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis).Both shrimp and urchin larvae were negatively impacted by ocean acidification and ocean warming resulting in decreased growth, while acute exposure to oil also reduced growth, feeding and activity in larvae of both species.Researchers say the study highlights the importance of adjusting regulation associated with oil spill prevention to maximize the resilience of marine organisms to predicted future global conditions.Dr Arnberg, now a Research Scientist at NORCE, said: "This paper shows that both local and global drivers had negative effects on the larval stages of two keystone species, northern shrimp and green sea urchin. No interactions were observed between local and global drivers and the combined effects, of the two drivers are approximately equal to the sum of their separate effects. It is therefore important to reduce the risk of environmental effects from local pollution to protect the marine ecosystem in a high CO2 world."MBERC is one of the world's leading research centres examining the impact of multiple stressors on marine organisms and environments, and undergraduate and postgraduate students are regularly involved in that research.Professor of Marine Biology John Spicer, an author on the current paper, said: "The findings of our study suggest that when it comes to environmental protection Patrick Geddes' famous phrase, 'act local, think global' may be extended to 'act local, act global'. Local and global challenges face life in our oceans and it is probably inappropriate to consider them as independent from one another." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 26, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181126123309.htm | Mere sunlight can be used to eradicate pollutants in water | Advances in environmental technology: You don't need complex filters and laser systems to destroy persistent pollutants in water. Chemists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a new process that works using mere sunlight. The process is so simple that it can even be conducted outdoors under the most basic conditions. The chemists present their research in the journal | The chemists at MLU rely on electrons moving freely in water, so-called hydrated electrons, to degrade dissolved pollutants. "These electrons are extremely reactive and can be used for a plethora of reactions. They break down even the most recalcitrant pollutants," explains MLU-chemist Professor Martin Goez. For this to work, however, the electrons have to be released from the molecular compounds in which they are usually tightly bound. Until now, generating those electrons has required complex and expensive high-power lasers. Goez's research group has been working for years on finding an alternative to this. A few months ago they introduced a new approach which only required a green light-emitting diode as the sole energy source. Vitamin C and traces of a metal complex as the catalyst were used to bring about the desired reaction. However, the catalyst had to be enclosed in tiny containers known as micelles. This reduced the reaction's efficiency, and the micelle molecules themselves were only partially biodegradable.The group therefore looked for a way to avoid these additives. Ultimately, they found the answer in a highly charged anionic catalyst based on a ruthenium-metal complex. By combining this with urate (a salt of uric acid), the researchers were able to effect the desired reaction in water without the need of micelles by exploiting the Coulombic repulsions. Further investigations have revealed that the new process is not only a very efficient way to produce hydrated electrons but also has a wide range of applications. "Our new approach is so simple that it doesn't even need to take place in a lab," says Goez. His group conducted a field trial in a meadow and tested their new approach in water contaminated with chloroacetic acid. The result: the pollutants were eliminated in a small sample of water even when there was only a moderate amount of sunshine. Follow-up studies will examine whether the method developed by the chemists in Halle can also be used for large-scale removal of pollutants. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 26, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181126123358.htm | New insight into ocean-atmosphere interaction and subsequent cloud formation | Organic compounds undergo drastic variations in their chemical composition as they transfer from the ocean's surface to atmospheric aerosols which act as nuclei to form clouds. | Aerosols, which are suspended fine solid particles or liquid droplets, play significant roles in triggering climate change by scattering or absorbing sunlight, while affecting the cloud formation and precipitation process by serving as nuclei to form clouds. Organic compounds account for up to 90 percent of the constituents of aerosols, and their composition is a pivotal factor in promoting or suppressing cloud formation.Seawater covers about 70 percent of the Earth's surface area. Organic compounds produced by microbial activities in surface seawater are released into the atmosphere by sea spray, which is thought to influence the constitution of aerosols. However, virtually no information about organic matter at the ocean-atmosphere boundary has been available due to measurement difficulties, making it hard to understand how organic matter in seawater affects the atmospheric composition.A group of scientists led by Assistant Professor Yuzo Miyazaki of Hokkaido University's Institute of Low Temperature Science, investigated the atmospheric aerosols and seawater to observe variations in organic compounds as it transfers from the seawater to the air in the Oyashio Current and its coastal regions of the western subarctic Pacific. The cruise measurements on the research vessel Sea spray aerosols were selected using the team's original method based on the stable carbon isotope ratio of water-soluble organic carbon and concentrations of glucose as a molecular tracer in marine aerosols together with local surface wind speed data. The researchers measured and compared the ratio of protein-like organic matter, which easily biologically decomposes, and humic-like substances, which hardly decompose, in both sea spray aerosols and surface seawater.According to the group's findings, sea spray aerosols contained a larger proportion of humic-like substances than protein-like compounds compared to surface seawater, regardless of the aerosol size, in every sample the researchers examined. The results suggest significant decomposition of protein-like organic substances and/or preferential formation of humic-like substances in sea spray aerosols when organic matter transfers from seawater to atmospheric aerosols within about 24 hours.Humic-like, hard-to-decompose organic matter is believed to suppress the formation of clouds from sea spray aerosols. "Our study could provide vital information to assess, with high precision, how global warming-triggered change in the volume, chemical composition, and activity of microorganisms in the sea surface will affect future cloud formation by releasing organic matter into the atmosphere," says Yuzo Miyazaki. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 21, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181121142753.htm | Environmental exposures early in life modify immune responses | The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased significantly over the last decades, creating substantial financial and societal burdens. Due to this, researchers are trying to discover new approaches to the prevention and treatment of these diseases. A new PhD thesis from the University of Eastern Finland shows that there is a link between immune responses and diverse early life exposures, such as obstetric factors, farm dust and air pollution. Some changes in immune responses are visible up until adolescence. | There is strong evidence that different exposures early in life can alter the risk of allergic diseases. One of these exposures is farming. Exposure to the farm environment in childhood, and even prenatally, has been shown to decrease the risk of allergic diseases. On the other hand, being born by caesarean section is recognised as a risk factor. The roles of other obstetric factors are less studied. Another harmful exposure is air pollution, and especially exposure to particulate matter, which has been shown to increase asthma prevalence and exacerbations in children. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear, causing a delay in the development of asthma-preventive strategies.Earlier studies have shown that immunological development and maturation starts already during pregnancy and in early childhood. Therefore, exposure at this critical point of immune development may modify immune responses and cells, and thus influence the risk of allergies and other immune diseases.The study explored how different exposures during pregnancy, birth or childhood modulate asthma-related immune responses in children. The study focused on three different exposures: one that is asthma-protective (farming) and two that predispose to asthma (caesarean section and air pollution)."We studied whether circulating dendritic cells associate with farming, asthma or atopy, whether obstetric factors affect immune responses at teenage in children born by caesarean section, and whether farm dust and urban air particulate matter have immunomodulatory effects on children's circulating immune cells," says Early Stage Researcher Maria-Viola Martikainen, MSc, from the University of Eastern Finland.To answer these questions, the researchers studied associations between exposures and immunological responses. Circulating dendritic cell subsets of farm and non-farm children were examined at the age of 6 to assess whether they mediated the protective effect of farm exposure. Cytokine secretion of unstimulated and stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells, PBMCs, at teenage were examined to identify whether obstetric factors alter immune responses later in life. PBMCs of 4-year-old children were stimulated with farm dust and size-segregated particulate matter to discover shared and distinct immune pathways between two different environmental exposures.The studied environmental exposures were associated with asthma-related immune responses. Inverse association between farm exposure and one of the subsets studied, and the association between this subset and asthma in farm children, suggested that this subset plays a role in farm-related immunoregulation. On the other hand, the lack of natural birth processes during delivery and neonatal intensive care treatment seemed to lead to long-lasting alterations of immune responses. The observed stimulatory effects of farm dust and inhibitory effects of particulate matter on immune responses indicate that these exposures could modify responses towards respiratory pathogens and allergens, and partly explain differences in asthma prevalence between the studied environments.The study demonstrated associations between diverse early life exposures and immune responses, both ex vivo and in vitro. Some changes in immune responses seemed to be observable up to teenage. The study revealed some of the potential immunological mechanisms behind different exposures and advanced knowledge of immune mechanisms that either protect from or predispose to asthma. Moreover, the developed methodological approach offered a new perspective, which could be used when studying environment-related immune diseases and their mechanisms. These studies suggest that acquiring comparable data from various exposure environments could lead to the discovery of new immunological pathways and provide novel tools for risk assessment and for the development of preventive strategies. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 21, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181121073250.htm | Study uncovers link between air pollution and intellectual disabilities in children | British children with intellectual disabilities are more likely than their peers to live in areas with high outdoor air pollution, according to a new | The findings come from an analysis of data extracted from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative sample of more than 18,000 UK children born in 2000 to 2002.Averaging across ages, children with intellectual disabilities were 33 percent more likely to live in areas with high levels of diesel particulate matter, 30 percent more likely to live in areas with high levels of nitrogen dioxide, 30 percent more likely to live in areas with high levels of carbon monoxide, and 17 percent more likely to live in areas with high levels of sulphur dioxide.The authors note that intellectual disability is more common among children living in more socio-economically deprived areas, which tend to have higher levels of air pollution; however, exposure to outdoor air pollution may impede cognitive development, thereby increasing the risk of intellectual disability."We know that people with intellectual disabilities in the UK have poorer health and die earlier than they should. This research adds another piece to the jigsaw of understanding why that is the case and what needs to be done about it," said lead author Dr. Eric Emerson, of The University of Sydney, in Australia. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 21, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181121073214.htm | Removing toxic mercury from contaminated water | Water which has been contaminated with mercury and other toxic heavy metals is a major cause of environmental damage and health problems worldwide. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a totally new way to clean contaminated water, through an electrochemical process. The results are published in the scientific journal | "Our results have really exceeded the expectations we had when we started with the technique," says the research leader Björn Wickman, from Chalmers' Department of Physics. "Our new method makes it possible to reduce the mercury content in a liquid by more than 99%. This can bring the water well within the margins for safe human consumption."According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mercury is one the most harmful substances for human health. It can influence the nervous system, the development of the brain, and more. It is particularly harmful for children and can also be transmitted from a mother to a child during pregnancy. Furthermore, mercury spreads very easily through nature, and can enter the food chain. Freshwater fish, for example, often contain high levels of mercury.In the last two years, Björn Wickman and Cristian Tunsu, researcher at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers, have studied an electrochemical process for cleaning mercury from water. Their method works via extracting the heavy metal ions from water by encouraging them to form an alloy with another metal."Today, cleaning away the low, yet harmful, levels of mercury from large amounts of water is a major challenge. Industries need better methods to reduce the risk of mercury being released in nature," says Björn Wickman.Their new method involves a metal plate -- an electrode -- that binds specific heavy metals to it. The electrode is made of the noble metal platinum, and through an electrochemical process it draws the toxic mercury out of the water to form an alloy of the two. In this way, the water is cleaned of the mercury contamination. The alloy formed by the two metals is very stable, so there is no risk of the mercury re-entering the water."An alloy of this type has been made before, but with a totally different purpose in mind. This is the first time the technique with electrochemical alloying has been used for decontamination purposes," says Cristian Tunsu.One strength of the new cleaning technique is that the electrode has a very high capacity. Each platinum atom can bond with four mercury atoms. Furthermore, the mercury atoms do not only bond on the surface, but also penetrate deeper into the material, creating thick layers. This means the electrode can be used for a long time. After use, it can be emptied in a controlled way. Thereby, the electrode can be recycled, and the mercury disposed of in a safe way. A further positive for this process is that it is very energy efficient."Another great thing with our technique is that it is very selective. Even though there may be many different types of substance in the water, it just removes the mercury. Therefore, the electrode doesn't waste capacity by unnecessarily taking away other substances from the water," says Björn Wickman.Patenting for the new method is being sought, and in order to commercialise the discovery, the new company Atium has been set up. The new innovation has already been bestowed with a number of prizes and awards, both in Sweden and internationally. The research and the colleagues in the company have also had a strong response from industry."We have already had positive interactions with a number of interested parties, who are keen to test the method. Right now, we are working on a prototype which can be tested outside the lab under real-world conditions."Read the article, "Effective removal of mercury from aqueous streams via electrochemical alloy formation on platinum" in The technique could be used to reduce the amount of waste and increase the purity of waste and process water in the chemical and mining industries, and in metal production. It can contribute to better environmental cleaning of places with contaminated land and water sources.It can even be used to clean drinking water in badly affected environments because, thanks to its low energy use, it can be powered totally by solar cells. Therefore, it can be developed into a mobile and reusable water cleaning technology.Heavy metals in water sources create enormous environmental problems and influence the health of millions of people around the world. Heavy metals are toxic for all living organisms in the food chain. According to the WHO, mercury is one of the most dangerous substances for human health, influencing our nervous system, brain development and more. The substance is especially dangerous for children and unborn babies.Today there are strict regulations concerning the management of toxic heavy metals to hinder their spread in nature. But there are many places worldwide which are already contaminated, and they can be transported in rain or in the air. This results in certain environments where heavy metals can become abundant, for example fish in freshwater sources.In industries where heavy metals are used, there is a need for better methods of recycling, cleaning and decontamination of the affected water. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 19, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181119155950.htm | Current climate models underestimate warming by black carbon aerosol | Soot belches out of diesel engines, rises from wood- and dung-burning cookstoves and shoots out of oil refinery stacks. According to recent research, air pollution, including soot, is linked to heart disease, some cancers and, in the United States, as many as 150,000 cases of diabetes every year. | Beyond its impact on health, soot, known as black carbon by atmospheric scientists, is a powerful global warming agent. It absorbs sunlight and traps heat in the atmosphere in magnitude second only to the notorious carbon dioxide. Recent commentaries in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences called the absence of consensus on soot's light absorption magnitude "one of the grand challenges in atmospheric climate science."Rajan Chakrabarty, assistant professor in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, and William R. Heinson, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in Chakrabarty's lab, took on that challenge and discovered something new about soot, or rather, a new law that describes its ability to absorb light: the law of light absorption. With it, scientists will be able to better understand soot's role in climate change.The research has been selected as an "Editors' Suggestion" published online Nov. 19 in the journal Because of its ability to absorb sunlight and directly heat the surrounding air, climate scientists incorporate soot into their models -- computational systems which try to replicate conditions of the real world -- and then predict future warming trends. Scientists use real world observations to program their models.But there hasn't been a consensus on how to incorporate soot's light absorption into these models. They treat it over-simplistically, using a sphere to represent a pure, black carbon aerosol."But nature is funny, it has its own ways to add complexity," Chakrabarty said. "By mass, 80 percent of all black carbon you find is always mixed. It's not perfect, like the models treat it."The particles are mixed, or coated, with organic aerosols that are co-emitted with soot from a combustion system. It turns out, black carbon absorbs more light when it is coated with these organic materials, but the magnitude of absorption enhancement varies non-linearly depending on how much coating is present.Chakrabarty and Heinson wanted to figure out a universal relationship between the amount of coating and the ability of soot to absorb light.First, they created simulated particles that looked just like those found in nature, with varying degrees of organic coating. Then, using techniques borrowed from Chakrabarty's work with fractals, the team went through exacting calculations, measuring light absorption in particles bit-by-bit.When they plotted the absorption magnitudes against the percentage of organic coating, the result was what mathematicians and scientists call a "universal power law." This means that, as the amount of coating increases, soot's light absorption goes up by a proportionately relative amount.(The length and area of a square are related by a universal power law: If you double the length of the sides of a square, the area increases by four. It does not matter what the initial length of the side was, the relationship will always hold.)They then turned to work done by different research groups who measured ambient soot light absorption across the globe, from Houston to London to Beijing. Chakrabarty and Heinson again plotted absorption enhancements against the percentage of coating.The result was a universal power law with the same one-third ratio as was found in their simulated experiments.With so many differing values for light absorption enhancement in soot, Chakrabarty said that the climate modelers are confused. "What on earth do we do? How do we account for the reality in our models?"Now you have order in chaos and a law," he said. "And now you can apply it in a computationally inexpensive manner."Their findings also point to the fact that warming due to black carbon could have been underestimated by climate models. Assuming spherical shape for these particles and not properly accounting for light absorption enhancement could result in significantly lower heating estimates.Rahul Zaveri, senior scientist and developer of the comprehensive aerosol model MOSAIC at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, calls the findings a significant and timely advancement."I am particularly excited about the mathematical elegance and extreme computational efficiency of the new parameterization," he said, "which can be quite readily implemented in climate models once the companion parameterization for light scattering by coated black carbon particles is developed.""This paper strengthens the science and affirms the role of black carbon as a significant forcer of climate change," said Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University."This paper shows, with a combination of data and highly-detailed modeling, that not only are the strong climate effects previously found supported, but also that they may be even underestimated in some of the previous studies because many previous studies did not account for the actual shapes of black carbon particles and the resulting mixtures." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 16, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181116110615.htm | Long-term exposure to road traffic noise may increase the risk of obesity | Long term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with increased risk of obesity. This was the conclusion of a study involving the participation of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a research centre supported by the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation. The study has been published in | The authors of this study wanted to find out whether new research would confirm the results of the few earlier studies that had demonstrated associations between traffic noise and several markers for obesity. To do this, they studied 3796 adults who took part in the population-based Swiss SAPALDIA cohort study and had attended at least two follow-up visits between 2001 and 2011. The study is based on objective measures, such as the participants' weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference, and abdominal fat. These data were analysed together with estimates of exposure to transportation noise developed in the context of the Swiss SiRENE project."Our analysis shows that people exposed to the highest levels of traffic noise are at greater risk of being obese" explains ISGlobal research Maria Foraster, first author of the study. "For example, we observed that a 10 dB increase in mean noise level was associated with a 17% increase in obesity."The study authors also analysed exposure to noise generated by aircraft and railway traffic and found no significant associations except in the case of long-term exposure to railway noise, which was associated with a higher risk of overweight but not of obesity.The methodology and design of the study were chosen to allow the authors to look at the data from two different perspectives. Cross-sectional analysis was used to study the participant population at a specific time point in the study and to examine more objective measures. The longitudinal design, on the other hand, allowed the authors to evaluate how the risk of obesity evolved over the study period. The associations with traffic-related noise pollution were consistent in both cases. Overweight was only associated with exposure to traffic-related noise in the cross-sectional analysis. The authors found no association between noise exposure and body mass index measured continuously throughout the longitudinal analysis."Our study contributes additional evidence to support the hypothesis that traffic-related noise affects obesity because the results we obtained in a different population were the same as those reported by the authors of earlier studies. Nevertheless, more longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the association and to examine certain inconsistencies in the data which, to date, have prevented us from formulating an explanation accepted by the scientific community as a whole," explains Maria Foraster.Unfortunately, sustained exposure to noise pollution is a widespread public health problem that is more serious than previously thought. Noise generates stress and affects our sleep. It alters hormone levels and increases blood pressure. Moreover, among other effects, sleep disturbance deregulates glucose metabolism and alters the appetite. "In the long term, these effects could give rise to chronic physiological alterations, which would explain the proven association between persistent exposure to traffic-related noise and cardiovascular disease or the more recently discovered associations with diabetes and obesity. Our findings suggest that reducing traffic-related noise could also be a way of combating the obesity epidemic" adds Maria Foraster. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 15, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181115115345.htm | What did birds and insects do during the 2017 solar eclipse? | In August of 2017, millions peered through protective eyewear at the solar eclipse -- the first total eclipse visible in the continental United States in nearly 40 years. During the event, researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the University of Oxford watched radar to observe the behavior of birds and insects. Their findings have just been published in | Using data from 143 weather radar sites in the continental U.S. -- 8 of which covered areas of eclipse totality -- researchers were able to "see" the behavior of wildlife during the eclipse, which produced conditions similar to sunset."It's not so easy to observe what wildlife are doing during an eclipse. It's dark," quips Cecilia Nilsson, lead author and Edward W. Rose Postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab. "But using radar data we could actually monitor behavior on a very large scale. Overall, we saw a decrease in normal daytime activity."Nilsson and her team looked at wildlife behavior in the air on radar two days before and after the eclipse and compared this activity with the behavior observed during the eclipse. They found that although typical daytime activity in the air decreased -- behavior such as foraging for food -- typical nighttime activity did not increase -- behavior such as high-flying migration.This result was surprising. Instead of triggering night-time behavior, the sunset-like sky produced by the eclipse stifled activity. But Nilsson noted that insect and bird behavior during the increasing darkness could have been due to a general sense of confusion."They might be interpreting the eclipse as a storm. That could be the closest analogy to them," says Nilsson. "It's getting darker, it's getting colder, similar to a big thunderstorm on the way in."At the eight sites that were within the path of totality, where there was complete darkness for a few minutes, something interesting occurred. "At some of these sites we saw a sudden burst of activity during the moments of totality. This could be insects or birds flushing into the air as a reaction to the sudden darkness," says Nilsson.The eclipse of August 2017 provided a unique opportunity to study behavior patterns. Many bird species were in the beginning stages of their fall migration, and recent developments in computing power, big data processing, and machine learning set the stage for the completion of a much-needed continental-scale analysis.The next solar eclipse over the continental U.S. is in the spring -- April 8, 2024 -- and Nilsson is looking forward to inspecting eclipse behavior among birds and insects once again."It could be really interesting to compare autumn activity to spring, she notes. "Hopefully we can get more information about what happens at sites in the path of totality." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 14, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181114160045.htm | Natural solutions can reduce global warming | Restoring the United States' lands and coastal wetlands could have a much bigger role in reducing global warming than previously thought, according to the most comprehensive national assessment to date of how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and stored in forests, farmland, grasslands, and wetlands. | The peer-reviewed study in In October the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report called for global action immediately to limit warming to 1.5?Centigrade (approximately 3? Fahrenheit) to avoid the most damaging climate change impacts. This new study highlights how, and which, natural solutions in the United States offer the most promise to help limit temperatures below that 3? Fahrenheit goal.Joe Fargione, Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy, was the study's lead author: "One of America's greatest assets is its land. Through changes in management, along with protecting and restoring natural lands, we demonstrated we could reduce carbon pollution and filter water, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, and have better soil health to grow our food -- all at the same time. Nature offers us a simple, cost-effective way to help fight global warming. In combination with transitioning to zero carbon energy production, natural climate solutions can help protect our climate for future generations."Lynn Scarlett, Chief External Affairs Officer for The Nature Conservancy and former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, spoke to practical elements of the study's findings: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so we should reduce carbon pollution where we can. But we also need to put natural solutions to work as a tool to insulate ourselves from global warming. This study provides good news that making investments in nature will make a big difference, while offering the potential for new revenue to farmers, ranchers, foresters, and coastal communities at the same time."Of the 21 natural solutions analyzed, increased reforestation (the planting of trees) emerged as the largest means to achieve greater carbon storage, equivalent to eliminating the emissions of 65 million passenger cars. Other high-performing forest solutions include allowing longer periods between timber harvest to increase carbon storage; increasing controlled burns and strategic thinning in forests to reduce the risk of megafire; and avoided loss of forests from urban sprawl.The study identified a maximum of 156 million acres that could be reforested, 304 million acres where forest harvest rotations could be extended, and at least 42 million additional acres of forests that would benefit from fire risk reduction treatments. In addition, almost a million acres of forest are being converted to non-forest habitat a year, largely due to suburban and exurban expansion, which could be addressed through better land use planning. The study also finds that urban reforestation can add important carbon storage benefits."Planting trees and improving the health of existing forests will be a deciding factor in whether we are able to get ahead of the climate curve," said Jad Daley, CEO of American Forests. "This breakthrough analysis clarifies the highest impact actions for keeping our forests as a growing and resilient carbon sink and the potential scale of climate benefit."Grasslands are underappreciated for their carbon storage opportunity. Grassland is being lost at a rate of over one million acres per year. When grassland is converted to cropland, about 28% of the carbon in the top meter of soil is released to the atmosphere. This trend could be reversed by re-enrolling 13 million acres of marginal cropland in conservation programs and restoring them to provide habitat and storage of carbon in the soil.Existing croplands have an important role to play. Farmers can optimize their nutrient application, saving money and avoiding emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Farmers can also plant cover crops, which suck carbon out the atmosphere and return it to the soil during times of the year when fields would normally be bare."Farmers are some of our best land stewards, and Danone North America is partnering with farms across the country to find climate solutions through our soil health initiative. Improved nutrient management, cover crops, and crop rotations are examples of practices that can help reduce GHG emissions and over time improve a farm's bottom-line. Farmers and the food industry depend on a predictable climate, so it's important to work together to reduce the risks of climate change." said Chris Adamo, Vice President Federal & Industry Affairs at Danone North America.Natural solutions can be found under water as well. An estimated 27% of tidal wetlands have been disconnected from the ocean, increasing the release of methane. Reconnecting tidal wetlands to the ocean virtually eliminates those methane emissions, and also restores fish habitat important for coastal communities."Shellfish growers make a living on the water and have witnessed salt marshes losing productivity due to freshwater inundation. Not only does this damage important waters and increase emissions, but it also harms their ability to make a living growing oysters, clams, mussels and other species that support many coastal communities and other important stakeholders. By restoring salt marshes, we can help shellfish farmers, wholesalers, retailers and restaurants and the climate all at the same time," said Davis Herron, Director, Retail & Restaurant Division, Lobster Place, spokesman for the Shellfish Growers Climate Coalition.Not only do natural climate solutions have strong benefits for personal enjoyment, healthier water, air, wildlife, and soil, many are quite affordable. As states and the federal government evaluate rules and markets for greenhouse gas emissions, these low-cost reductions from natural solutions offer the United States a powerful tool to address a warming planet. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 13, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181113143601.htm | Your heart hates air pollution; portable filters could help | Microscopic particles floating in the air we breathe come from sources such as fossil fuel combustion, fires, cigarettes and vehicles. Known as fine particulate matter, this form of air pollution increases the risk of cardiovascular and other serious health problems. | "Despite improvements in air quality across the U.S. during the past few decades, more than 88,000 deaths per year occur in the U.S. due to fine particulate matter air pollution exposure," says Robert Brook, M.D., a cardiovascular medicine specialist at the University of Michigan's Frankel Cardiovascular Center.Now, researchers have found that an inexpensive portable air purifier used inside a home is powerful enough to round up a good portion of those miniscule particles and get them out of the indoor air -- a simple move that may protect the heart.A recent study published in "The results show that a simple practical intervention using inexpensive indoor air filtration units can help protect at-risk individuals from the adverse health effects of fine particulate matter air pollution," says Brook, the study's senior author.He conducted the research with colleagues from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, including first author Masako Morishita, Ph.D., of MSU.Because the nation's population spends nearly 90 percent of its time indoors, researchers focused on exposure to pollutants while people are inside their own homes.So instead of heading to a highway or factory, or even a park, Brook and his colleagues took their air pollution fight to living rooms and bedrooms in low-income senior housing in Detroit.Forty seniors participated in this randomized, double-blind study between fall 2014 and fall 2016. Ninety-five percent of the participants were black; all were nonsmokers.Each person experienced three different three-day scenarios: a sham air filter (an air filtration system without a filter), a low-efficiency air purifier system and a high-efficiency air purifier system.Participants went about their normal business during the study period and were allowed to open windows and go outside as often as they wished. Blood pressure was measured each day, and participants wore personal air monitors to determine their personal air pollution exposure.The researchers focused on reduced air pollutant exposure and lowered blood pressure over a three-day period as an indication of the portable air filters' potential to be cardioprotective.As a result, Brook says fine particulate matter exposure was reduced by 40 percent, and systolic blood pressure was reduced by an average of 3.4 mm Hg (normal systolic blood pressure is considered less than 120 mm Hg; stage 1 hypertension begins at 130 and stage 2 at 140)."The benefits were even more marked in obese individuals who had 6 to 10 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure," says Brook, also a professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School.And even a small investment could reap big benefits: High-efficiency air purifiers reduced pollutant exposure to a greater degree, but they didn't lower people's blood pressure more significantly than low-efficiency air purifiers, which are widely available for less than $70 apiece.Existing research has investigated air pollution's cardiovascular and metabolomic effects in heavily polluted areas, also reporting some improvements after deploying air filters.However, Brook says his team's report adds an important new consideration: It was conducted in a much cleaner environment that already met existing air quality standards for fine particulate matter yet still showed the potential to reduce exposure."During the time of the study in Detroit, outdoor fine particulate matter levels averaged 9 micrograms per cubic meter, which is within the National Ambient Air Quality Standards," Brook adds. "This strongly supports that even further improvements in air quality can be yet more protective to public health."The Researchers, Brook says, wanted to explore preventive strategies in everyday situations where aging adults are already dealing with other health conditions and may be on medications.Nearly half of participants in the small study met the criteria for obesity -- and their mean blood pressure would be classified as hypertensive, according to the 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline.It's also the first known pollution and heart health study to focus on a three-part combination of low-income seniors, an urban environment in the U.S. and personal exposures to fine particulate matter.Despite the findings in the small study, more research is needed."It's premature to recommend that our patients purchase indoor air filters to prevent heart diseases," Brook says.His team plans to test the approach in more diverse populations to learn whether personal reductions in fine particulate matter exposure will lead to fewer heart attacks and other negative outcomes associated with high blood pressure.Brook says future research must also study long-term effects of the intervention to see if the reduced blood pressure will stay lower over longer time periods and result in fewer cardiovascular events.Currently available epidemiologic calculations predict an approximate 16 percent decrease in cardiovascular events if a 3.2 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure is maintained for a period of months to years, the study's authors note."In the meantime, clinicians and medical societies should play an active role in supporting clean air regulations in the effort to improve the health of their patients and families," Brook says. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 12, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181112131546.htm | Fish's brain size influenced by habitat | The busier the neighbourhood, the bigger the brain -- at least for pumpkinseed sunfish, according to a pioneering study by University of Guelph biologists. | Brains of sunfish living in more complex shoreline habitats are larger than those of their counterparts in simpler open water, according to the study published recently in This is the first known study to connect habitat with varying brain size in a single lake fish population, said lead author PhD student Caleb Axelrod, adding that the finding may provide clues about how fish and other creatures will respond to mounting environmental stressors from pollution to climate change.He authored the paper with integrative biology professors Frédéric Laberge and Beren Robinson.For ecologists, brain size matters.Scientists believe a bigger brain contains more neurons, and more connections among them, that lend its owner cognitive and behavioural smarts that may help it adapt to new environments.Because neural tissue burns a lot of energy, bigger brains need to offer some advantage. For sunfish, more brainpower appears to help inshore dwellers to negotiate their busier habitat, according to the new paper.Working in Ashby Lake southeast of Ontario's Algonquin Park, the researchers studied sunfish living in inshore, or littoral, habitat, where the fish forage for snails and larvae among vegetation.They compared those inshore dwellers with sunfish living in open water that typically cluster around rock formations and wait for zooplankton to drift within reach.Brains of sunfish in the spatially complex littoral zone were 8.3 per cent bigger on average than those of fish from the open waters, or the pelagic zone."Habitat indeed has an effect," said Axelrod.Pelagic fish could have smaller brains because they're in poorer overall condition or have smaller heads, but the researchers say the fish all appeared equally healthy with similar head sizes.The team found no difference in the size of various brain regions between groups of fish."That was a surprising finding," said Axelrod.Other scientists, for instance, have found bottom-feeding sharks have more developed olfactory bulbs than open water species whose larger cerebellum regions probably reflect different foraging behaviours.The inshore sunfish simply had bigger brains, he said: "Overall it's just better cognition."Axelrod said the study may help biologists predict how creatures will adapt to environmental stress caused by pollution, habitat disturbance, climate change or invasive species."Maybe the littoral fish will be able to respond better than the pelagic because they already have more cognitive capacity."Robinson said the study underlines the importance of considering both behaviour and cognition in management and conservation of fish and other animals."This study gives us a little more information about the 'black box' that behaviour comes out of," he said.In experiments on campus, the U of G team has tested how pelagic fish thrive in littoral habitats and vice versa. Axelrod said it's too early to draw any conclusions that might link performance with brain size.In adult humans, brain size varies much less and is likely less important than neuronal wiring -- although Axelrod allows that there may be a kind of intuitive connection between "habitat" and performance in humans. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 9, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181109185723.htm | Plastic microfibers found for first time in wild animals' stool, from S. A. fur seals | For the first time, plastic microfibers have been discovered in wild animals' stool, from South American fur seals. The findings were made by a team of Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of Georgia, who suggest examining scat from pinnipeds can be an efficient way to monitor environmental levels of microfibers and microplastics in the environment. Their study was published in the | "It's no secret that plastic pollution is one of the major threats to marine ecosystems, but we're learning now just how widespread that problem is," said Dr. Mauricio Seguel, a research fellow at the University of Georgia. "These samples are invisible to the naked eye. We want to understand factors that are driving their distribution and what this means for animals in the Southern Hemisphere."The team examined the scat of 51 female South American fur seals on the remote Guafo Island, in southwestern Chile, from December 2015 to March 2016. Each sample's inorganic material was dissolved in a solution in a lab, leaving only the microscopic, plastic particles to be analyzed. Researchers then found 67 percent of the samples showed a remarkable abundance of microfibers, which until now had only been reported in animals fed in captivity.Microplastics are plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters. Microfibers are the least studied form of microplastic. They are small hairs of plastic, less than 1 millimeter in size, from materials such as polyester or nylon and can end up in the ocean through waste water after cleaning, no matter how thorough the treatment. They also can absorb a wide array of pollutants.The researchers believe the microfibers arrived at Guafo Island through changing ocean currents, before being consumed by plankton and continuing up the food chain through fish and, finally, to the seals. There isn't enough evidence to determine if microfibers have any adverse effects on mammals, but some studies have indicated morphological changes in fish.Scat analysis, the team noted, could be a good tool to monitor the exposure of marine mammals to plastics as it's effective and non-invasive, poses no danger to either the researcher or the animal, and it's easy to identify both fur seals and their feces. Dr. Seguel says his colleagues are conducting similar, follow-up tests in other parts of South America."It's not too late to act to heal our oceans, but one of the first steps is determining how much we have damaged the ecosystem through our activities, like producing and disposing of plastic," said Dr. Kelly Diehl, Morris Animal Foundation Interim Vice President of Scientific Programs. "Studies like these will help us learn those answers so we can begin to make better decisions for the health of marine life."Morris Animal Foundation has funded other fur seal studies at Guafo Island with Dr. Seguel's team. One found that factors that contributed to a die-off of South American fur seal pups included mites, pneumonia and changing sea surface temperature. In another, researchers discovered hookworms feed at a constant rate on their seal pup hosts before they produce eggs and die, a strategy which also often kills the pups as well. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 9, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181109112712.htm | Pollution in cities damaging insects and ecosystems | High levels of pollution found in many of the world's major cities are having negative effects on plants and insects, according to new research from the University of Sheffield. | The study, published in Led by Dr Stuart Campbell from the University's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, the research has discovered that plants exposed to increased levels of pollution produce more defensive chemicals in their leaves.Results from the study show that insects feeding on these leaves grew poorly, which suggests high levels of air pollution may be having cascading negative effects on communities of herbivorous creatures.Dr Campbell, who is also part of the P3 Centre -- a centre of excellence for translational plant science at the University of Sheffield, said: "Nitrogen dioxide is a pollutant that causes severe health problems in humans, but our research has found that it may also be having a significant impact on plants and insects."Insects are a crucial part of nature and the world we live in. Insects are critical to the healthy functioning of ecosystems."Many people may be aware that insect pollinators, such as the thousands of species of bees, along with flies, moths and butterflies, are crucial for food production -- but they also ensure the long-term survival of wildflowers, shrubs and trees."Dr Campbell added: "Insects that feed on plants (herbivorous insects) help return plant nutrients to the soil, and are themselves food for wild birds, reptiles, mammals, and yet more insects. Insects are also immensely important for decomposing decaying organic matter and maintaining healthy soils. Scientists are warning about massive declines in insect numbers, which should be incredibly alarming to anyone who values the natural world and our sources of food."Nitrogen dioxide is a major component of smog and is an example of pollution caused from human activity, particularly our reliance on fossil fuels. Levels of this pollutant in the atmosphere remain particularly high in cities, and especially in the UK. Our research shows another example of the dangers of pollution to our environments and the reasons why we need to make a united effort to tackle it."The international team of scientists, which includes a researcher now based at the US Environmental Protection Agency, also looked at whether insects have an effect on the ability of plants to absorb NOPlants that had been fed on by insects absorbed much less NOThe study, Plant defences mediate interactions between herbivory and the direct foliar uptake of atmospheric reactive nitrogen, is published in the journal The University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences is a leading department for whole organism biology, with the UK's highest concentration of animal and plant researchers.It is among the top five animal and plant research centres in the country for research excellence, according to the last Research Excellence Framework in 2014.Animal and plant scientists at Sheffield study in locations from the Polar Regions to the tropics, at scales from within cells up to entire ecosystems. Their research aims both to understand the fundamental processes that drive biological systems and to solve pressing environmental problems. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 8, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181108110009.htm | Air pollution is associated with increased emergency department visits for heart and lung disease | Outdoor air pollution is a major health threat worldwide. New research by George Mason University found that exposure to certain air pollutants is linked to increased emergency department (ED) visits for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. | Mason Assistant Professor of Global and Community Health Dr. Jenna Krall led the research with colleagues from Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Pittsburgh. They found that exposure to pollutants such as ground-level ozone and nitrogen oxides, which are created from burning fossil fuels, led to increased ED visits. The study was published online in August and will appear in the November issue of "We found that primary pollutants -- those that are emitted directly from a source, such as car exhaust -- were associated with ED visits for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases," explains Krall. "Additionally, secondary pollutants -- those that are formed through chemical reactions in the air -- were linked to ED visits for respiratory diseases."While most past studies were conducted on a single-city level, this study looked at pollution across five cities -- Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. The researchers analyzed the associations between cardiorespiratory ED visits and twelve major air pollutants to examine short-term changes in health as pollution varies on a daily basis. "By looking at the five cities, we hope to get a better sense of how these associations hold in general, instead of for individual cities," Krall noted.This is also one of first multicity studies to look at multiple air pollutants, including gases and particles, and multiple causes of ED visits, such as asthma and stroke. It is a larger and more comprehensive study than previous work that has commonly looked at one pollutant and multiple health outcomes, or multiple pollutants and one health outcome."Down the line, this research has implications for how we think about future pollution regulations because the way we regulate pollutants might differ between primary and secondary pollution," explains Krall. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 6, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181106104228.htm | Commercial airliners reveal three-dimensional distribution of atmospheric CO2 over Asia Pacific | The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan, and Meteorological Research Institute (MRI), Japan have been conducting an atmospheric measurement project called CONTRAIL (Comprehensive Observation Network for Trace gases by Airliner). This is the world's first program that measures atmospheric CO | The study was published in Atmospheric COThis study analysed 10 years of the CONTRAIL COThe CONTRAIL commercial airliner measurements provide high-frequency CO | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 5, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181105105414.htm | Air pollution linked to autism | The study of children in Shanghai, from birth to three years, found that exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) from vehicle exhausts, industrial emissions and other sources of outdoor pollution increased the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by up to 78%. The study included 124 ASD children and 1240 healthy children (as control) in stages over a nine-year period, examining the association between air pollution and ASD. | The study, published today in "The causes of autism are complex and not fully understood, but environmental factors are increasingly recognised in addition to genetic and other factors," Associate Professor Guo said."The developing brains of young children are more vulnerable to toxic exposures in the environment and several studies have suggested this could impact brain function and the immune system. These effects could explain the strong link we found between exposure to air pollutants and ASD, but further research is needed to explore the associations between air pollution and mental health more broadly."Air pollution is a major public concern and is estimated to cause up to 4.2 million deaths (WHO) every year globally. Outdoor pollutants contribute to a high burden of disease and pre-mature deaths in countries including China and India, especially in densely populated areas.Even in Australia where concentrations are typically lower, air pollution from burning fossil fuels and industrial processes causes about 3,000 premature deaths a year -- almost three times the national road toll and costing the economy up to $24 billion.Associate Professor Yuming Guo, from Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, says global air pollution is rapidly becoming worse and there is no safe level of exposure."The serious health effects of air pollution are well-documented, suggesting there is no safe level of exposure. Even exposure to very small amounts of fine particulate matter have been linked to preterm births, delayed learning, and a range of serious health conditions, including heart disease."The study examined the health effects of three types of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) -- fine airborne particles that are the byproducts of emissions from factories, vehicular pollution, construction activities and road dust. The smaller the airborne particles, the more capable they are of penetrating the lungs and entering the bloodstream causing a range of serious health conditions.PM1 is the smallest in particle size but few studies have been done on PM1 globally and agencies are yet to set safety standards for it."Despite the fact that smaller particles are more harmful, there is no global standard or policy for PM1 air pollution.""Given that PM1 accounts for about 80% of PM2.5 pollution in China alone, further studies on its health effects and toxicology are needed to inform policy makers to develop standards for the control of PM1 air pollution in the future." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 2, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181102132001.htm | What's in the air? There's more to it than we thought | Yale researchers have found that a type of air pollution is much more complicated than previous studies indicated. | Using high-powered equipment to analyze air samples, the researchers were able to get a detailed look at the molecular makeup of organic aerosols, which have a significant presence in the atmosphere. Posing risks to health and climate, these airborne particles generally fall into two categories: Primary organic aerosols that can form during combustion, such as in car and truck exhaust, and secondary organic aerosols that result from oxidation of organic gases and particles in the air.For the study, published Nov. 2 in Nature's "Here, we can actually differentiate molecules that would otherwise appear to be very similar," said the study's senior author, Drew Gentner, assistant professor of chemical & environmental engineering. "In past studies, they had less information on molecular identities across the complex mixtures present. With these instruments, we can determine molecular formulas with more accuracy."That's a significant advancement, the researchers note, since knowing what harmful elements are in the air is critical to finding ways to reduce them, added Gentner."If you develop an air pollution control policy based on less specific information for organic aerosol, there may be much more variability in the molecular-level composition than you might expect, which could influence aerosol properties and impacts," said Jenna Ditto, a Ph.D. candidate in Gentner's lab and lead author of the study.Collected over three weeks at each site in the summer, samples were taken from a forest in Michigan, and from urban environments in Atlanta and New York City. Most surprising, said the researchers, were the variations they saw in samples taken from the same sites. In most cases, up to 70% of the compounds at a site were distinct from each other in consecutive samples.Even if certain causes remain constant, the researchers said, a number of factors could be driving the variability. "The different types of compounds emitted from cars and plants could vary from car to car or tree to tree," Ditto said.Other factors, such as weather patterns and chemical oxidation conditions can also change. Individually, these variations are usually slight, but they can add up to significant differences, said the researchers.Building off of this study, the researchers said they expect to analyze the results further to get a better sense of what types of health and climate effects these variabilities may pose."There's a wealth of information in these details for the field to use," Gentner said. "There's valuable data that you can capitalize on to understand what's happening in the whole complex system." | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 2, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181102095455.htm | Researchers turn plastic bottle waste into ultralight supermaterial | Researchers from the the National University of Singapore (NUS) have made a significant contribution towards resolving the global issue of plastic waste, by creating a way to convert plastic bottle waste into aerogels for many useful applications. | Plastic bottles are commonly made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the most recycled plastic in the world. The PET aerogels developed by the NUS-led research team using plastic bottle waste -- a world's first -- are soft, flexible, durable, extremely light and easy to handle. They also demonstrate superior thermal insulation and strong absorption capacity. These properties make them attractive for a wide range of applications, such as for heat and sound insulation in buildings, oil spill cleaning, and also as a lightweight lining for firefighter coats and carbon dioxide absorption masks that could be used during fire rescue operations and fire escape.This pioneering work was achieved by a research team led by Associate Professor Hai Minh Duong and Professor Nhan Phan-Thien from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NUS Faculty of Engineering. The technology to produce PET aerogels was developed in collaboration with Dr Xiwen Zhang from the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).Plastic waste is toxic and non-biodegradable. Such waste often ends up in oceans and landfills, affecting marine life and causing problems such as groundwater contamination and land scarcity. Globally, the annual consumption of plastic bottles has been rising steadily, and it is expected to exceed half a trillion tons per year by 2021."Plastic bottle waste is one of the most common type of plastic waste and has detrimental effects on the environment. Our team has developed a simple, cost-effective and green method to convert plastic bottle waste into PET aerogels for many exciting uses. One plastic bottle can be recycled to produce an A4-sized PET aerogel sheet. The fabrication technology is also easily scalable for mass production. In this way, we can help cut down the harmful environmental damage caused by plastic waste," said Assoc Prof Duong.The research team took two years (from August 2016 to August 2018) to develop the technology to fabricate PET aerogels. This work was published in the scientific journal "Our PET aerogels are very versatile. We can give them different surface treatments to customise them for different applications. For instance, when incorporated with various methyl groups, the PET aerogels can absorb large amounts of oil very quickly. Based on our experiments, they perform up to seven times better than existing commercial sorbents, and are highly suitable for oil spill cleaning," added Prof Nhan.Another novel application is to harness the heat insulation property of the PET aerogels for fire safety applications.Existing firefighter coats are bulky and they are often used with other breathing and safety equipment. This could take a toll on firefighters, especially during extended operations.When coated with fire retardant chemicals, the novel lightweight PET aerogel demonstrates superior thermal resistance and stability. It can withstand temperatures of up to 620 degree Celsius -- this is seven times higher than the thermal lining used in conventional firefighter coats, but weighs only about 10 per cent of the weight of conventional thermal lining. The soft and flexible nature of the PET aerogel also provides greater comfort.Prof Nhan explained, "By adopting PET aerogels that are coated with fire retardants as a lining material, firefighter coats can be made much lighter, safer and cheaper. It is also possible to produce low-cost heat-resistant jackets for personal use."When coated with an amine group, the PET aerogel can quickly absorb carbon dioxide from the environment. Its absorption capacity is comparable to materials used in gas masks, which are costly and bulky. To illustrate this application, the team embedded a thin layer of PET aerogel into a commercial fine particle mask to create a prototype mask that can absorb both dust particles and carbon dioxide effectively.Prof Nhan said, "In highly urbanised countries like Singapore, the carbon dioxide absorption masks and heat-resistant jackets made using PET aerogels can be placed alongside fire extinguishers in high-rise buildings to provide added protection to civilians when they escape from a fire.""Masks lined with amine-reinforced PET aerogels can also benefit people living in countries such as China, where air pollution and carbon emission are major concerns. Such masks can be easily produced, and can also potentially be made reusable," added Assoc Prof Duong.NUS researchers are also looking into making simple surface modification to the PET aerogels for absorption of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, which is the deadliest component of smoke.In their earlier work, the research team had successfully converted paper and fashion waste into cellulose and cotton aerogels respectively. Coupled with this latest innovation involving the recycling of plastic bottle waste into aerogels, the NUS team was recently awarded first place in the Sustainable Technologies category of the 2018 Create the Future Design Contest by Tech Briefs.The research team has filed a patent for its novel PET aerogel technology, and will continue to enhance the performance of the PET aerogels and explore new applications. The NUS researchers are also keen to work with companies to bring the technology to market. | Pollution | 2,018 |
November 1, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181101085144.htm | Deep sea chemical dispersants ineffective in Deepwater Horizon oil spill, study finds | A new study of the Deepwater Horizon response showed that massive quantities of chemically engineered dispersants injected at the wellhead -- roughly 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) beneath the surface -- were unrelated to the formation of the massive deepwater oil plume. | A University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led research team analyzed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the most toxic components of petroleum, based on the BP Gulf Science Data's extensive water chemistry samples taken within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius of the blowout site. The results of this analysis demonstrated that substantial amounts of oil continued to surface near the response site, despite 3,000 tons of subsea dispersants injection (or SSDI) -- a new spill response strategy meant to curb the spread of oil and facilitate its degradation.Dispersants application to manage surface oil spills has been shown to break the oil into small, easily dissolved droplets. However, the Deepwater Horizon was very different in that the oil entered the system at depth. The turbulent energy and pressure at such immense depths not only contributed to the rapid expansion of the spill, but these natural forces helped disperse oil in micro-droplets and render the dispersant ineffective and unnecessary."The results of this study are critically important," said the study's coauthor Samantha Joye from the University of Georgia. "This work shows clearly that the eruptive nature of the Macondo discharge was more than sufficient to generate the deepwater oil plume. Further, application of dispersant did not increase the amount of oil in the aqueous phase or change the distribution of oil over depth. These findings should change the way we think about spill response and calls for a reconsideration and reprioritization of response measures."The team's research, led by Claire Paris, professor of ocean sciences at UM, founded on an unprecedented volume of data publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), demonstrated that the formation of the massive deepwater oil plumes was unrelated to the new response. They further show, in agreement with previous studies, that plumes of oil persisted in the Gulf months after the spewing wellhead was capped 87 days later. The powerful chemical dispersant, called Corexit, may have added to the ecological damage by suppressing the growth of natural oil-degrading bacteria and by increasing the toxicity of the oil itself."Our earlier work using computer modeling and high-pressure experimental approaches suggested that pumping chemical dispersants at the spewing wellhead may have had little effect on the amount of oil that ultimately surfaced. But empirical evidence was lacking until the release of the BP Gulf Science Data. When completely different approaches converge to the same conclusion, it is time to listen," said Paris. "There is no real trade-off because there is no upside in using ineffective measures that can worsen environmental disasters."As the oil industry drills in deeper and deeper water, it must find alternative strategies to manage blowouts, says the study's authors. The "capping stack" method in which BP used to stop the wellhead outflow may be a more effective first response strategy. Bio-surfactants, which are less toxic and more efficacious to biodegeneration, may offer a viable alternative for oil spills in shallow waters, according to the researchers.As part of the massive response and damage assessment effort, a robust data collection and management strategy was employed, including the BP Gulf Science Data water chemistry data used in this new study and compiled under the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative."This type of data management is a strategic asset enhancing both science and management as it allows scientists to use data-driven approaches and test important hypotheses for better understanding and managing future oil spills," said Igal Berenshtein, a coauthor of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the UM Rosenstiel School.On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, releasing 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the largest oil spill in U.S. history.The study, titled "BP Gulf Science Data Reveals Ineffectual Sub-Sea Dispersant Injection for the Macondo Blowout," was published on Oct. 30 in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science's Marine Pollution section. The study's authors include: Claire B. Paris, Igal Berenshtein, Marcia L. Trillo, Robin Faillettaz, and Maria J. Olascoaga of the UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmosheric Science; Zachary M. Aman of the University of Western Australia's School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering; Michael Schlüter of Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Multiphase Flows; and Samantha B. Joye of the University of Georgia's Department of Marine Sciences.The study was supported by a grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems (C-IMAGE) II and the Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Input to the Gulf (ECOGIG). Data are publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 31, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181031141603.htm | Controlling future summer weather extremes still within our grasp | Continued burning of fossil fuels is likely to fuel even more extreme summers than that of 2018 because of its impact on the jet stream. The rapid disappearance of aerosols produced by pollution may, however, mitigate the impact until mid-century if countries like China phase out these fuels, according to an international team of climate scientists using climate models to predict changes in the occurrence of so-called Quasi-Resonant Amplification (QRA) events associated with persistent weather extremes. | These extreme paths for the jet stream bring about flooding, drought and wildfires. In 2018, summer weather included flooding in Japan, record heat waves in North America, Europe and Asia, wildfires in Greece and even parts of the Arctic. Heat and drought in California led to the worst wildfire season ever recorded.QRA events produce extreme summer weather when the jet stream exhibits broad north-south meanders and becomes stationary with the peaks and troughs locked in place."Most stationary jet stream disturbances will dissipate over time," said Michael Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director, Earth System Science Center. "However, under certain circumstances the wave disturbance is effectively constrained by an atmospheric wave guide, something similar to the way a coaxial cable guides a television signal. Disturbances then cannot easily dissipate and very large amplitude swings in the jet stream north and south can remain in place as it rounds the globe.""If the same weather persists for weeks on end in one region, then sunny days can turn into a serious heat wave and drought, and lasting rains can lead to flooding," said Stefan Rahmstorf, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany.In summer 2018, climate change impacts on extreme weather were no longer subtle, according to Mann."It played out in real time on our television screens and newspaper headlines in the form of an unprecedented hemisphere-wide pattern of extreme floods, droughts, heat waves and wildfires," Mann added.Mann notes that the phenomenon of QRA played an important role in producing that hemispheric array of unprecedented weather events.Previous work by Mann and colleagues showed a connection between extreme climate events and climate-induced changes in the jet stream. While researchers cannot accurately identify QRA events in climate models, one thing the climate models capture very well is temperature change."QRA events have been shown to have a well-defined signature in terms of the latitudinal variation in temperature in the lower atmosphere," explained Mann. "The change in temperature with latitude and how it responds to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations depends on physics that are well understood and well represented by the climate models."The researchers found that the pattern of amplified Arctic warming -- Arctic Amplification -- that slows down the jet stream also increases the frequency of QRA episodes.Study co-author Dim Coumou, who is both at PIK and VU Amsterdam said we do not trust climate models enough yet to predict these types of extreme weather episodes because the models are too coarse."However, the models do faithfully produce large scale patterns of temperature change," added co-author Kai Kornhuber of PIK.The researchers report today (Oct. 31.) in They found that climate models, when used to project future changes in extreme weather behavior -- because they are unable to capture the phenomenon of QRA -- are likely underestimating how future climate change could lead to more persistent summer weather extremes like those during summer 2018. If carbon dioxide continues to be added to the atmosphere, the incidence of QRA and associated extreme weather events would continue to increase at the same rate they have over the past decades.However, greenhouse gases are not the only consideration when looking at the future of Earth's climate. Although the U.S. and Europe have switched to "cleaner" coal-burning methods, which remove aerosol-generating pollutants from emissions, many other areas of the world have not. Aerosols are particles suspended in the air.If these countries, through midcentury, switch to cleaner coal-burning technology, then the mid-latitude areas of the world will warm and Arctic Amplification will diminish. This will occur because aerosols, especially in the mid-latitudes where there is abundant sun, cool Earth by reflecting heat away from the planet. Without those aerosols, that area of Earth will warm, mitigating any further increase in QRAs as the difference in warming between the Arctic and mid latitudes diminishes.However, by mid-century, once the aerosols are no longer produced, greenhouse warming once more dominates climate. Curtailing the burning of fossil fuels can prevent an increase in persistent summer weather extremes, though the current rate of occurrence of summers like 2018 will likely persist. "The future is still very much in our hands when it comes to dangerous and damaging summer weather extremes." Said Mann. "It's simply a matter of our willpower to transition quickly from fossil fuels to renewable energy."Also working on this project are Sonya K. Miller, programmer analyst, Penn State; Byron A. Steinman, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences and at Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota: Duluth; and Kai Kornhuber and Stefan Petri, Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.The Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, partially funded this project. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 31, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181031124851.htm | Monitoring air pollution after Hurricane Maria | When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, the storm devastated the island's electrical grid, leaving many people without power for months. This lack of electricity, as well as other storm-related damage, prevented air-quality monitoring in many areas. Now researchers have shown that low-cost sensors that run on solar energy can be used to monitor air pollution after a disaster. They report their results in | Three months after Hurricane Maria, half of Puerto Rico still lacked electricity, while the other half experienced frequent power outages. As a result, backup generators that ran on gasoline or diesel were widely used, potentially increasing air pollution. Yet in many areas, official air-quality data were unavailable because of storm damage. R. Subramanian and colleagues wondered if the low-cost, solar-powered sensors that they had previously developed to monitor air quality -- called Real-time Affordable Multi-Pollutant (RAMP) monitors -- could help fill this gap.The team deployed four RAMPs at different locations in the San Juan Metro Area of Puerto Rico in November 2017. Over a month-long period, the devices measured various pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and particulate matter. The researchers found that the concentrations of sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide peaked between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time each day, possibly due to nighttime atmospheric conditions that trapped pollutants. The levels of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and black carbon were closely correlated, suggesting that the pollutants arose from the same combustion source (likely gas- and diesel-powered generators). The RAMP data also indicated that sulfur dioxide levels exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's air quality standards on almost 80 percent of the days during the monitoring period. The researchers say that areas prone to natural disasters and other emergencies should include a set of calibrated, low-cost air-quality monitors in their preparedness plans.The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 31, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181031080551.htm | The when, where and what of air pollutant exposure | Scientists have linked air pollution with many health conditions including asthma, heart disease, lung cancer and premature death. Among air pollutants, fine particulate matter is especially harmful because the tiny particles (diameter of 2.5 ?m or less) can penetrate deep within the lungs. Now, researchers have integrated data from multiple sources to determine the personal exposure of people in peri-urban India to fine particulate matter. They report their results in | According to the World Health Organization, 11 of the 12 cities with the world's highest levels of fine particulate matter are located in India. Human sources of these air pollutants include factory emissions, car exhaust and cooking stoves. Countries with limited resources often have increased air pollution compared with other countries, and their sources of exposure are likely different. However, few studies have been conducted to measure personal exposure to air pollutants in these regions. Cathryn Tonne and colleagues wondered if they could use a combination of techniques to measure the contributions of time (The team characterized the personal exposures of 50 study participants in South India over several 24-hour periods. To do so, they integrated data from GPS devices, wearable cameras, questionnaires, and ambient and personal measurements of fine particulate matter. The researchers found significant differences between men and women, with men showing higher levels of personal exposure throughout the day. For women, exposures were mostly related to cooking. For the men, who largely did not engage in cooking, higher exposures were linked to their presence near food preparation, smoking or industry.The authors acknowledge funding from the European Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 30, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181030091436.htm | High levels of previously unsuspected pollutant uncovered in homes, environment | Scientists at Indiana University found high levels of a previously unsuspected pollutant in homes, in an electronic waste recycling facility and in the natural environment. People are likely to be exposed to this pollutant by breathing contaminated dust or through skin contact. | The chemical, tri(2,4-di-t-butylphenyl) phosphate or TDTBPP, is part of a family of organophosphates that are known to be toxic. However, little information is known about the toxicity of TDTBPP or how it gets into our environment. The chemical may be used as a flame retardant or as a plasticizer in consumer products. It may also be formed as other chemicals degrade. It may even be an impurity in a structurally related compound."We found surprisingly high levels of TDTBPP everywhere we looked," said Marta Venier, a scientist at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the first author of the study. "The fact that this potentially toxic chemical is so abundant, but was previously unknown, is another example of the ineffective management of chemicals in the United States."Many common commercial chemicals, including TDTBPP, are not subject to regulatory scrutiny under the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act unless they are used for new purposes, and much of the information about their commercial use is private. Therefore, it is difficult for environmental chemists to track how these pollutants enter the environment and what kind of effects they might cause once they do. Many chemicals go undetected until scientists perform a general environmental scan, like this study conducted by scientists at IU.The researchers studied dust samples from an e-waste dismantling facility in Ontario, Canada. Chemicals similar to TDTBPP are often used in the production of plastics, wires, printed circuit boards and electronic equipment, making e-waste recycling facilities an important place to search for previously undetected pollutants.The researchers also studied dust from 20 residential homes in Ontario and analyzed outdoor samples from southwestern Lake Michigan to measure the amounts of TDTBPP in ambient air, water and sediment. They found that levels of TDTBPP were particularly high in house dust."Our research is the first step," Venier said. "Now that we know that TDTBPP is prevalent, especially in homes, scientists can flag it for further study and focus on understanding the effects of TDTBPP on people."The study, "Tri(2,4-di-t-butylphenyl) Phosphate: A Previously Unrecognized, Abundant, Ubiquitous Pollutant in the Built and Natural Environment," will be published Oct. 30 in An April 2018 study by several of the same authors reported on the detection in the environment of a little-known chemical, called TTBP-TAX, that is part of a new class of triazine-based "alternative" flame retardants. It was also published in | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 29, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181029084100.htm | As Canadian oil exports increase, research explores effects of crude oil on native salmon | Oil spills spell disaster for affected wildlife, leading to a number of detrimental outcomes, including suffocation, poisoning and longer-term problems related to exposure to crude oil and its components. New research out of the University of Guelph in Canada takes a closer look at the potential effects on regional salmon populations as Canada eyes expansion of its crude oil export capacity. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) Comparative Physiology: Complexity and Integration conference in New Orleans. | "Crude oils are a complex mixture of chemicals and represent a pervasive environmental stressor. Canada sits on the world's third largest crude oil reserve, found as bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands. Ninety-eight percent of Canada's oil comes from the oil sands, and 99 percent of our exports go to the U.S.," said study author Sarah Alderman, PhD. "As plans to bolster the export capacity of this resource intensify, so too do concerns for the added risk of spills and environmental contamination." New pipeline projects, including the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, have the potential to increase diluted bitumen shipped through salmon habitat to seaports on the West Coast.In the lab, Alderman's research explores the effects of crude oil exposure on anadromous salmon in collaboration with scientists at the Universities of Simon Fraser and British Columbia. "These fish spend parts of their life in both freshwater and the ocean, and our research is critical for finding out whether exposure leads to changes in the physiology or performance of the salmon that would impair their ability to move between these environments," Alderman said. So far, her research has shown that crude oil exposure seems to be toxic to the fishes' hearts, including molecular- and tissue-level changes that could potentially impair the fishes' ability to successfully migrate between freshwater and ocean, as well as impact the fishes' ability to acclimate to saltwater. The ability of salmon to migrate -- from fresh water at birth to salt water, where they grow to adulthood, and back to fresh water for spawning -- is natural and necessary throughout the course of their life and reproductive cycle.Alderman found that crude oil exposure early in fish development can lead to long-term consequences, including mortality months after fish are removed to uncontaminated water and brain changes that are apparent for nearly a year after exposure. The research also revealed changes to plasma proteins that signal damage to tissues and biomarkers that could be used to test whether an animal has been exposed to crude oil. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 26, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181026102625.htm | Climate change impact in Mediterranean region | As the Mediterranean Basin is experiencing the impact of climate change more than ever, an international network of scientists has worked together to synthesize the effects of climate change and environmental problems, as well as the incurred risks, in the region, to facilitate decision-making in addressing the issues. | This first-ever synthesis of multiple environmental changes and risks affecting the livelihoods of people in the entire region has just been published in the latest issue of The rates of climate change observed in the Mediterranean Basin exceed the global trends for most variables. The impact has further exacerbated the existing environmental problems caused by land use changes such as urbanization and agricultural intensification, increasing pollution and declining biodiversity.Led by Professor Dr Wolfgang Cramer from the Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology, an international team of scientists has just published a review article in Professor Michael Tsimplis from the School of Law at City University of Hong Kong who is part of the international team and has multidisciplinary background with research in oceanography and climate change said, "this paper suggests that the risks posed by climate change in the Mediterranean Sea were underestimated because each was only examined independently. But in reality, they are interconnected and interact with social and economic problems exacerbating their impacts. So they all have to be addressed at the same time and within the same financial constraints."The paper reviews the various environmental changes and the risks posed by these changes in the five major interconnected domains, namely water resources, ecosystems, food safety and security, health, and human security.For an instance, average temperatures in this region have already risen by 1.4°C since the pre-industrial era, 0.4°C more than the global average. Even if future global warming is limited to 2°C, as prescribed by the Paris Agreement, summer rainfall is at risk to be reduced by 10 to 30% in some regions, thereby enhancing existing water shortages and decreasing agricultural productivity, particularly in southern countries.Due to climate change alone, the irrigation demands in the region are projected to increase between 4 and 18% by the end of the century. Population growth may escalate these numbers furthers to 22-74%. Tourism development, new industries and urban sprawl may increase water pollution, too.The acidification of sea water, increasing heatwaves in combination with drought and land-use change also affect the natural ecosystems, posing risks in biodiversity and fisheries.Food production from agriculture and fisheries across the Mediterranean region is also changing due to the social, economic and environmental changes. Combined with the ongoing switch to more animal-based food production, southern countries are at risk to increase their dependence on trade.Public health is impacted by multiple trends of change, through heat waves, pollution (higher risk of cardiovascular or respiratory diseases), and the increased spread of disease vectors (West Nile virus, Dengue, Chikungunya). In politically unstable countries, environmental change is an increasingly relevant factor for socio-economic risks, due to famines, migration and conflict. Human security will also be threatened due to extreme weather, such as a rise in sea level posing a higher risk of storm surges for people living in coastal areas in the region.To facilitate decision-making in the face of these risks, the authors call for a pan-Mediterranean integrated risk assessment. Therefore, the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) network has been established, currently involving 400 scientific experts, supported by government agencies and other partners, to produce a full synthesis of risks and present it to decision makers for debate and approval. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 24, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181024112244.htm | Air pollution and noise increase risk for heart attacks | Where air pollution is high, the level of transportation noise is usually also elevated. Not only air pollution negatively impacts on health, but also car, train and aircraft noise increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, as previous research has demonstrated. Studies investigating the effect of air pollution without sufficiently taking into account the impact that noise exhibits on health, might overestimate the effect of air pollution. These are the results of a comprehensive study conducted by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), which was published today in the peer-reviewed | The study looked at the combined effects of air pollution and transportation noise for heart attack mortality, by considering all deaths that occurred in Switzerland between 2000 and 2008. Analyses that only included fine particulates (PM2.5) suggest that the risk for a heart attack rises by 5.2% per 10 ?g/m³ increase in the long-term concentration at home. Studies which also account for road, railway and aircraft noise reveal that the risk for a heart attack attributable to fine particulates in fact increases considerably less; 1.9% per 10 ?g/m³ increase. These findings indicate that the negative effects of air pollution may have been overestimated in studies which fail to concurrently consider noise exposure."Our study showed that transportation noise increases the risk for a heart attack by 2.0 to 3.4% per 10 decibels increase in the average sound pressure level at home." said Martin Röösli, Head of the Environmental Exposures and Health Unit at Swiss TPH, and lead author of the published research. "Strikingly, the effects of noise were independent from air pollution exposure."The study also found that people exposed to both air pollution and noise are at highest risk of heart attack. Hence, the effects of air pollution and noise are additive. "Public discussions often focus on the negative health effects of either air pollution or noise but do not consider the combined impact." said Röösli. "Our research suggests that both exposures must be considered at the same time." This has implications for both policy as well as future research. Hence, Röösli and co-researchers recommend including transportation noise exposure in any further research related to air pollution and health to avoid overestimating the negative effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system.The study included all deaths (19,261) reported across Switzerland from the period 2000 to 2008. The air pollution (PM2.5) was modelled using satellite and geographic data, calibrated with air pollution measurements from 99 measurement sites throughout Switzerland. Nitrogen dioxides (NO2) were also modelled using 9,469 biweekly passive sampling measurements collected between 2000 and 2008 at 1,834 locations in Switzerland. Transportation noise was modelled by well-established noise propagation models (sonRoad, sonRAIL and FLULA 2) by Empa and n-sphere. The air pollution and the transportation noise models were applied for each address of the 4.4 million Swiss adult citizen (aged 30 years and above). | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 24, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181024112155.htm | Wood sponge soaks up oil from water | Oil spills and industrial discharge can contaminate water with greasy substances. Although it's true that oil and water don't mix, separating and recovering each component can still be challenging. Now, researchers have created sponges made from wood that selectively absorb oil, and then can be squeezed out and used again. They report their results in | Over the years, scientists have developed numerous techniques to clean up oily water, from gravity separation to burning to bioremediation. But many of these methods suffer from limitations, such as low efficiency, secondary pollution and high cost. More recently, researchers have explored 3D porous materials, such as aerogels or sponges, based on various building blocks including synthetic polymers, silica or cellulose nanofibers. However, these are often difficult to fabricate, lack mechanical robustness or are made from nonrenewable, nondegradable materials. Xiaoqing Wang and colleagues wanted to develop a sponge made from wood -- a renewable resource -- that would absorb oil and tolerate repeated squeezing without structural failure.The team made the wood sponge by treating natural balsa wood with chemicals that removed lignin and hemicellulose, leaving behind a cellulose skeleton. They then modified this highly porous structure with a hydrophobic coating that attracted oil, but not water. When placed in a mixture of water and silicone oil, the wood sponge removed all of the red-dyed oil, leaving clean water behind. Depending on the oil tested, the sponge absorbed 16 to 41 times its own weight, which is comparable to or better than many other reported absorbents. In addition, the sponge could endure at least 10 cycles of absorption and squeezing. The researchers incorporated the wood sponge into an oil-collecting device in the lab that continuously separated oils from the water surface.Video: | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 23, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181023130526.htm | Harmful pesticides lurking in New York State homes | Despite the existence of chemical-free methods to eradicate pests, Americans use more than a billion pounds of pesticides per year. These chemicals are mostly out of sight and out of mind to unsuspecting homeowners, who are typically unaware of how to prevent potential harm -- something new Cornell University research is addressing. | In a study recently published in Conducting pesticide analyses as part of a larger effort that studied pollutants in homes and child care facilities, the researchers sampled 350 homes in Chenango, Columbia, Essex, Franklin, Wyoming and Hamilton counties, looking for 15 potentially toxic pesticides commonly used in those areas' agricultural practices, with a likelihood of accumulation in the interiors of nearby homes."We found that pesticide residues are ubiquitous in rural homes in New York state," said Laquatra, professor of design and environmental analysis, who noted that positive results for such chemicals were found in every house tested.Particularly concerning to Laquatra and his fellow researchers is what is known about these chemicals and their potential harmfulness to humans, especially infants."Numerous health problems occur from exposure to pesticides, such as cancer, birth defects, leukemia and ocular [vision-related] toxicity, among a number of other health issues," Laquatra said. "Households with crawling toddlers should be concerned, as toddlers will accumulate pesticide residues on their hands and then ingest them due to hand-to-mouth behaviors."Previous studies of pesticide residues in homes have highlighted entry routes for chemicals that include tracking with shoes, bare feet, clothing or animal fur; airborne entry; and soil gas entry. Adjacency and proximity to agricultural operations have also been cited as factors responsible for residential pesticide residues because of spray drift. Further, pesticides applied to gardens and lawns can follow these same transport routes into a home.Once inside a home, according to research, pesticide residues accumulate in dust and degrade at a lower rate than they do outdoors because they are shielded from the effects of rain, sun and soil microbial activity.According to the study, "Common Pesticide Residues in Rural Homes of New York State," pesticide education programs could include home maintenance guidelines for prevention -- and safe eradication -- of accumulated pesticide residues, of which consumers may not be aware.Emphasis, said Laquatra, should be placed on the importance of keeping the home clean."When building new homes or remodeling existing homes, install hard surface, easy-to-clean floors, such as hardwood, tile or resilient flooring. Keep floors clean," he said. "Have a home entry system that captures soil and pollutants at the door. This entry system should consist of a hard-surfaced walkway, such as a paved sidewalk, a grate-like scraper mat outside the entry door, and a highly absorbent doormat that will trap pollutants."These best practices, according to Laquatra, can have vast education and public policy implications to help minimize exposure to residents, not only in New York state but across the country. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 22, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181022135722.htm | Availability of nitrogen to plants is declining as climate warms | Researchers have found that global changes, including warming temperatures and increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, are causing a decrease in the availability of a key nutrient for terrestrial plants. This could affect the ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce the amount of nutrients available for the creatures that eat them. | "Even if atmospheric carbon dioxide is stabilized at low enough levels to mitigate the most serious impacts of climate change, many terrestrial ecosystems will increasingly display signs of too little nitrogen as opposed to too much," said study co-author Andrew Elmore of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "Preventing these declines in nitrogen availability further emphasizes the need to reduce human-caused carbon dioxide emissions."Although the focus on nitrogen availability is often on developed, coastal regions, such as the Chesapeake Bay, that struggle with eutrophication -- runoff of nitrogen pollution from fertilized farms and lawns that feeds algae blooms and leads to the reduction in oxygen in the waters -- the story is very different on less developed land, such as the mountains of western Maryland."This idea that the world is awash in nitrogen and that nitrogen pollution is causing all these environmental effects has been the focus of conversations in the scientific literature and popular press for decades," said Elmore. "What we're finding is that it has hidden this long-term trend in unamended systems that is caused by rising carbon dioxide and longer growing seasons."Researchers studied a database of leaf chemistry of hundreds of species that had been collected from around the world from 1980-2017 and found a global trend in decreasing nitrogen availability. They found that most terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests and land that has not been treated with fertilizers, are becoming more oligotrophic, meaning too little nutrients are available."If nitrogen is less available it has the potential to decrease the productivity of the forest. We call that oligotrophication," said Elmore. "In the forested watershed, it's not a word used a lot for terrestrial systems, but it indicates the direction things are going."Nitrogen is essential for the growth and development of plants. On the forest floor, microbes break down organic matter such as down fallen leaves and release nitrogen to the soil. The tree retrieves that nitrogen to build proteins and grow. However, as trees have access to more carbon, more and more microbes are becoming nitrogen limited and releasing less nutrients to the trees."This new study adds to a growing body of knowledge that forests will not be able to sequester as much carbon from the atmospheric as many models predict because forest growth is limited by nitrogen," said Eric Davidson, director of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory. "These new insights using novel isotopic analyses provide a new line of evidence that decreases in carbon emissions are urgently needed."In the U.S. and Europe, regulations on coal-fired power plants have reduced the amount of nitrogen deposition as a consequence of clean air regulations trying to combat acid rain. At the same time, increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and longer growing seasons are increasing the nitrogen demand for plants to grow."There are now multiple lines of evidence that support the oligotrophication hypothesis," said study co-author Joseph Craine, an ecologist with Jonah Ventures. "Beyond declines in leaf chemistry, we are seeing grazing cattle become more protein limited, pollen protein concentrations decline, and reductions of nitrogen in many streams. These dots are starting to connect into a comprehensive picture of too much carbon flowing through ecosystems." | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 22, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181022135716.htm | Fracking wastewater accumulation found in freshwater mussels' shells | Elevated concentrations of strontium, an element associated with oil and gas wastewaters, have accumulated in the shells of freshwater mussels downstream from fracking wastewater disposal sites, according to researchers from Penn State and Union College. | "Freshwater mussels filter water and when they grow a hard shell, the shell material records some of the water quality with time," said Nathaniel Warner, assistant professor of environmental engineering at Penn State. "Like tree rings, you can count back the seasons and the years in their shell and get a good idea of the quality and chemical composition of the water during specific periods of time."In 2011, it was discovered that despite treatment, water and sediment downstream from fracking wastewater disposal sites still contained fracking chemicals and had become radioactive. In turn, drinking water was contaminated and aquatic life, such as the freshwater mussel, was dying. In response, Pennsylvania requested that wastewater treatment plants not treat and release water from unconventional oil and gas drilling, such as the Marcellus shale. As a result, the industry turned to recycling most of its wastewater. However, researchers are still uncovering the long-lasting effects, especially during the three-year boom between 2008 and 2011, when more than 2.9 billion liters of wastewater were released into Pennsylvania's waterways."Freshwater pollution is a major concern for both ecological and human health," said David Gillikin, professor of geology at Union College and co-author on the study. "Developing ways to retroactively document this pollution is important to shed light on what's happening in our streams."The researchers began by collecting freshwater mussels from the Alleghany River, both 100 meters (328 feet) upstream and 1 to 2 kilometers (0.6 to 1.2 miles) downstream of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System-permitted wastewater disposal facility in Warren, Pennsylvania, as well as mussels from two other rivers -- the Juniata and Delaware -- that had no reported history of oil and gas discharge.Once at the lab, they dissected the shell and then drilled and collected the powder from the shell layer by layer to look for isotopes of two elements: oxygen, used to determine the year and season, and strontium, both of which carry a distinctive signature of the rock formation where they were produced. The results were recently published in Environmental Science & Technology.What the team found was significantly elevated concentrations of strontium in the shells of the freshwater mussels collected downstream of the facility, whereas the shells collected upstream and from the Juniata and Delaware Rivers showed little variability and no trends over time.Surprisingly, the amount of strontium found in the layers of shell created after 2011 did not show an immediate reduction in contaminants. Instead, the change appeared more gradually. This suggests that the sediment where freshwater mussels live may still contain higher concentrations of heavy metals and other chemicals used in unconventional drilling. "We know that Marcellus development has impacted sediments downstream for tens of kilometers," said Warner. "And it appears it still could be impacted for a long period of time. The short timeframe that we permitted the discharge of these wastes might leave a long legacy."According to the U.S. Department of Energy, up to 95 percent of new wells drilled today are hydraulically fractured, accounting for two-thirds of total U.S. marketed natural gas production and about half of U.S. crude oil production."The wells are getting bigger, and they're using more water, and they're producing more wastewater, and that water has got to go somewhere," said Warner. "Making the proper choices about how to manage that water is going to be pretty vital."Warner added that there is not much difference between conventional and unconventional wastewater from a pollution standpoint. He said high levels of strontium, sodium, chloride and other contaminants are still present with conventional oil and gas development.Now that the researchers know that freshwater mussels can be used as chemical recorders of fracking pollutants in waterways, they would like to look at the soft tissue of the freshwater mussels, since muskrats and fish feed off them. They also hope to expand their research to include other specific pollutants that likely bioaccumulated in areas of surface water disposal."We want to see what metals the mussel incorporates predictably and which ones it doesn't," said Thomas Geeza, a doctoral student in environmental engineering at Penn State and co-author on the study. "We're trying to develop this as a tool that can be used in other waterways to answer other questions."The mussels could also be used to investigate possible seepages occurring at facilities."We tested if fracking fluid discharge from a wastewater plant was recorded in shells, but one could imagine also using this technique to investigate leaks from holding ponds or accidental discharge into streams nearby fracking operations," said Gillikin. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 18, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181018124948.htm | A clearer path to clean air in China | For more than 15 years, the Chinese government has invested billions of dollars to clean up its deadly air pollution, focusing intensely on reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-burning power plants. | These efforts have succeeded in reducing sulfur dioxide emissions, but extreme pollution events are still a regular wintertime occurrence and experts estimate that more than 1 million people die per year in China from particulate air pollution.New research from Harvard may explain why. It shows that a key to reducing extreme wintertime air pollution may be reducing formaldehyde emissions rather than sulfur dioxide.The research is published in "We show that policies aimed at reducing formaldehyde emissions may be much more effective at reducing extreme wintertime haze than policies aimed at reducing only sulfur dioxide," said Jonathan M. Moch, a graduate student at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and first author of the paper. "Our research points towards ways that can more quickly clean up air pollution. It could help save millions of lives and guide billions of dollars of investment in air pollution reductions."Moch is also an affiliate of Harvard's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.This research was a collaboration between Harvard University, Tsinghua University, and the Harbin Institute of Technology.Measurements in Beijing from days with especially high particulate air pollution, known as PM2.5, have shown a large enhancement in sulfur compounds, which have been typically interpreted as sulfate. Based on these measurements, the Chinese government has focused on reducing sulfur dioxide (SOMoch collaborated with SEAS graduate student Eleni Dovrou and Frank Keutsch, Stonington Professor of Engineering and Atmospheric Science and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. They found that the instruments used to analyze haze particles can easily misinterpret sulfur compounds as sulfate when they are, in fact, a molecule called hydroxymethane sulfonate (HMS). HMS is formed by the reaction of SOUsing a computer simulation, the researchers demonstrated that HMS molecules may constitute a large portion of the sulfur compounds observed in PM2.5 in winter haze, which would help explain the persistence of extreme air pollution events despite the reduction of SO"By including this overlooked chemistry in air quality models, we can explain why the number of wintertime extremely polluted days in Beijing did not improve between 2013 and January 2017 despite major success in reducing sulfur dioxide," said Moch. "The sulfur-formaldehyde mechanism can also explain why polices seemed to suddenly reduce extreme pollution last winter. During that winter, significant restrictions on SOThe primary sources of formaldehyde emissions in eastern China are vehicles and major industrial facilities such as chemical and oil refineries. The researchers recommend that policymakers focus efforts on reducing emissions from these sources to reduce extreme haze in the Beijing area.Next, the team aims to directly measure and quantify HMS in Beijing haze using modified observation systems. The team will also implement the sulfur-formaldehyde chemistry within an atmospheric chemistry model to quantify the potential importance of the sulfur-formaldehyde chemistry that creates HMS across all of China."Our work suggests a key role for this overlooked chemical pathway during episodes of extreme pollution in Beijing," said Loretta J. Mickley, Senior Research Fellow in SEAS.This research was co-authored by J. William Munger, Senior Research Fellow in Atmospheric Chemistry, and Daniel J. Jacob, Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering at SEAS. It was also co-authored by Yuan Cheng, Jingkun Jiang, Meng Li, Xiaohui Qiao and Qiang Zhang.The work was funded by an award to the Harvard-China Project from the Harvard Global Institute, by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and by the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. | Pollution | 2,018 |
October 18, 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181018095023.htm | Polluted city neighborhoods are bad news for asthmatic children | Children with asthma who grow up in a New York City neighborhood where air pollution is prevalent need emergency medical treatment more often than asthmatics in less polluted areas. This is according to researchers from Columbia University in the US in a new study published in the Springer Nature-branded journal | For this study, 190 participants aged seven and eight were recruited between 2008 and 2011. All participants were part of the New York City Neighborhood Asthma and Allergy Study and had previously been diagnosed as having asthma. They all grew up in middle-income families in neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.The participants were grouped as belonging to neighborhoods with high numbers of asthma cases or neighborhoods with low instances of asthma. There was no significant difference between the household incomes and access to health care (private insurance) enjoyed by the families of the participants. However, those growing up in areas where asthma was more common tended to live in apartment buildings or on higher floors. They were also more likely to live in crowded environments and be raised by single mothers.Lovinsky-Desir and her colleagues found that children living in neighborhoods where asthma was more common needed emergency care more often and tended to suffer more from exercise-induced wheezing. Also, the concentrations of ambient pollutants in these neighborhoods were higher. Over the course of a year, concentrations of known air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, small airborne particles and elemental carbon were much higher in these neighbourhoods than in those with fewer asthma cases.An interesting finding was that children living in neighborhoods where asthma was less common were effected most by pollution, even though pollution levels were higher in the more common asthma neighborhoods."In neighborhoods with less poverty, children exposed to air pollution were more likely to be taken for emergency asthma treatment. However, in neighborhoods with more poverty, it's likely that other things in the environment, such as stress and violence, have a stronger effect on urgent asthma treatment than air pollution," explains Lovinsky-Desir. | Pollution | 2,018 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.