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Application of biomagnetic analysis technique using roadside trees for monitoring and identification of possible sources of atmospheric particulates in selected air pollution hotspots in Delhi, India
2021
Singh, Babita | Kaushik, Anubha
With increasing atmospheric pollution and health issues associated with size of the particulate matter, it has become important to look for techniques that may improve the monitoring resolution. Magnetic bio-monitoring of particulate matter has been used in recent years in some countries as an approach for better spatial resolution that provides proxy indicators for the measurements over large areas. Delhi, which is one of the most polluted cities of not just India, but the whole world, is still probing to understand the possible sources. The present magnetic biomonitoring study was therefore, carried across different land use areas in some air pollution hotspots of Delhi, using common roadside tree species Morus alba, Ficus religiosa, Ficus virens and Ficus benghalensis to understand the magnitude and nature of the particulate pollution, and possible sources by studying magnetic properties (Magnetic susceptibility, Frequency-dependent susceptibility, S-ratio, and SIRM) of the dust deposited on leaves. Mass specific magnetic susceptibility (10⁻⁸ m³ kg⁻¹) values were found to follow the order: Traffic intersection area (25.6–66.5) > Industrial area (25.4–41.3) > Residential area (13.2–30.1) > Institutional area serving as control (2.7–6.6). High magnetic susceptibility values indicated particulates with ferrimagnetic grains of anthropogenic or technogenic origin. Frequency-dependent Susceptibility indicated dominance of coarse multidomain (MD) and Pseudo Single Domain (PSD) +MD grains in industrial area and major traffic intersection. Average S ratio across all study sites ranged from 0.92 to 0.99 indicating presence of soft magnetic mineral with low coercivity. High SIRM values (10⁻⁵Am² kg⁻¹) from 58.1 to 862.3 suggested prevalence of magnetite dominating atmospheric particulates particularly in traffic intersection and industrial area, and to some extent in residential area. Morus alba and Ficus religiosa were found more suitable bio-monitors and the technique provided useful information on size, mineralogy and possible source of the particulates.
Show more [+] Less [-]Organic and inorganic nitrogen deposition in an urban evergreen broad-leaved forest in central Japan
2021
Cao, Ruoming | Chen, Siyu | Yoshitake, Shinpei | Ohtsuka, Toshiyuki
Chronic atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition could influence the functioning of ecosystems as well as their biodiversity. However, N deposition in urban forest ecosystems, especially natural evergreen broad-leaved forests, is not well known. In this study, the concentrations and fluxes of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) and dissolved organic N (DON) in bulk deposition, throughfall, and stemflow were assessed in an urban evergreen broad-leaved forest site over three years, in order to clarify the characteristics of N deposition. At the study site, bulk DIN deposition was 3.7 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ (1.5 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for NH₄–N and 2.2 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for NO₃ + NO₂–N), which is the same level as that found in rural areas. In contrast, 6.5 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for bulk DON deposition contributed to 66% of the bulk N deposition, which suggests the importance of bulk DON deposition in Japanese forest ecosystems. Passing through the tree canopy, DIN was enriched by 8.8 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ (3.7 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for NH₄–N and 5.1 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for NO₃ + NO₂–N) and DON was enriched by 1.5 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ as net throughfall in the evergreen broad-leaved forest. This reveals that dry deposition of DIN dominates the total DIN deposition onto the urban forest floor, compared to that found in the rural areas, due to the non-negligible N emissions from outside and possibly because of the evergreen broad-leaved forest's greater ability to capture N.
Show more [+] Less [-]Evaluation of the chemical composition of hailstones from triple border Paraná, Santa Catarina (Brazil) and Argentina
2021
Beal, Alexandra | Martins, Leila D. | Martins, Jorge A. | Rudke, Anderson P. | de Almeida, Daniela S. | Costa, Letícia M. | Tarley, César R.T.
The concentration of ions, metals, and metalloids in hailstone samples was evaluated for the first time in South America. The samples were previously cleaned with ultrapure water to eliminate potential contaminants. The ions concentrations in the samples showed a general pattern according to the following sequence: Ca²⁺ >NO3-> K⁺ > CHOO⁻ > Mg²⁺ > Cl⁻ >SO 42_> Na⁺ >NH4+ > F⁻. Regarding the metals and metalloids concentrations, the order was of Zn > Al > Fe > Mn > Sr > Ba > Cu > Ni > Cr > Pb > Co > V. Ca²⁺ was the most abundant and agricultural activity, one of the sources due to long-distance transport. Concentrations of K⁺ and Cl⁻ may originate from fires that occur every year in the North and Center-West regions of Brazil. Local sources also contributed to the chemical composition, such as soil resuspension contributing mainly to the species and elements Al, Fe, Na⁺, K⁺, SO 42_, and F⁻. Besides that, the region is an agricultural area with unpaved roads and use of fertilizer; therefore, the species and elements NH4+, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, Cu, and Zn, were also associated with local sources, including emissions from vegetation. A possible vehicular contribution was also observed. Among the few existing studies, this is the first to evaluate the hailstones cleaning procedure's efficiency. The findings also support the previous studies' conclusion that the concentration of chemical species varies considerably according to the region of study's characteristics. This work contributes to improve the understanding of local and remote natural and anthropic emissions in this complex atmospheric phenomenon.
Show more [+] Less [-]Ionic composition of PM2.5 particle fraction at a coastal urban background site in Croatia
2020
Gluščić, Valentina | Čačković, Mirjana | Pehnec, Gordana | Bešlić, Ivan
The mass concentrations and content of water-soluble anions (Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻) and cations (Na⁺, NH₄⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺) in the PM₂.₅ particle fraction were measured, and an investigation of their relationship and their contribution to the total PM₂.₅ mass measured was conducted at an urban background site as part of the Croatian monitoring network for air quality located in Rijeka, Croatia. Daily samples of PM₂.₅ particle fraction were collected over 2017 on PTFE filters using a low volume sampler Sven Leckel SEQ 47/50. Mass concentrations of the PM₂.₅ particle fraction were determined by gravimetry according to the standard HRN EN 12341:2014 (EN 12341:2014). The content of water-soluble inorganic anions and cations were determined using a Thermo Scientific ICS-5000 capillary ion chromatograph. Results show that the annual average PM₂.₅ mass concentration was 9.65 μg m⁻³ and did not exceed the limit value of 25 μg m⁻³ given by the Regulation on the level of pollutants in air (OG No. 117/12). The annual average mass concentrations of ions in PM₂.₅ particle fraction was SO₄²⁻> NH₄⁺> NO₃⁻ > Ca²⁺> K⁺> Na⁺> Cl⁻ > Mg²⁺. The contributions of total anion mass and total cation mass to the total PM₂.₅ mass were 25.4% and 12.8%, respectively. The acidic property of PM₂.₅ was obtained in spring and winter and slightly acidic in summer and autumn. For a prediction of the pollutant sources, we ran a factor analysis which was performed using the statistical packages STATISTICA 13.0. After varimax rotation, the obtained four principal component factors were found to account for 86% of the variance. Factor loadings > 0.7 were considered significant.
Show more [+] Less [-]Evaluation of hourly-based precipitation chemistry in suburban site of Bolu
2020
Karadeniz, Hatice | Yenisoy-Karakaş, Serpil
Precipitation chemistry is important for understanding atmospheric chemistry and transportation mechanism for a region. Therefore, 6-h rain samples were collected manually on the Black Sea Region of Turkey between March 2019 and May 2019. Totally, 21 wet deposition samples were collected in 12 rainy days. The collected rain samples were analyzed by ion chromatography for ions, including Cl⁻, NO₂⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, NH₄⁺. Volume weighted mean (VWM) concentrations of ions were calculated and were in the order of Na⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > NO₃⁻ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ > NH₄⁺> NO₂⁻. The pH values of individual precipitation varied from 4.70 to 8.07. Anion to cation ratio was 0.74 ± 0.34 thus it was an indication of anion deficiency. A strong correlation between NH₄⁺ and SO₄²⁻, NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, Ca²⁺ and SO₄²⁻, Ca²⁺, and NO₃⁻ was found in the samples due to the neutralization process. The back trajectory model was used to find the long-range sources and the influence of air masses coming from Saharan, Europe, and the Black Sea. Calcium ion was found to be an effective ion in the neutralization processes by analysis of multiple linear regression and neutralization factor calculation. Approximately 79.5% of SO₄²⁻ and 59.7% of NO₃⁻ were neutralized by Ca²⁺ and NH₄⁺. The washout mechanism for Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and K⁺ was dominantly observed on the March 12, 2019. Rainout mechanism was seen on the April 13, 2019 rain event due to the long-range transportation from Saharan Dust.
Show more [+] Less [-]Mass concentrations and lung cancer risk assessment of PAHs bound to PM1 aerosol in six industrial, urban and rural areas in the Czech Republic, Central Europe
2020
Křůmal, Kamil | Mikuška, Pavel
The daily concentrations of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM₁ aerosol samples, including 7 carcinogenic PAHs, were determined in six urban/rural areas in the Czech Republic in winter seasons between 2013 and 2017. The PM₁ aerosol was collected on quartz fibre filters using high-volume samplers for 24 h and PAHs were analysed by GC-MS. The highest concentrations of PAHs were found in the industrial city Ostrava (60.8 ng m⁻³), which is one of the most polluted areas in the Czech Republic, while the lowest concentrations were obtained in the small town Čelákovice (11.7 ng m⁻³) and in the background rural area Košetice (12.3 ng m⁻³). Carcinogenic PAHs formed 43.9%–57.8% of total analysed PAHs.The toxic equivalence factors for individual PAHs adopted from literature and two unit risks (Cal-EPA and WHO) were used for the evaluation of carcinogenic risk of PAHs exposure. The inhalation cancer risk models assume a lifetime exposure (70 years), whereas our measurement was realized for a relatively short duration in winters where concentrations of PAHs are usually high. The average of PAHs concentrations will be lower for the whole year resulting in lower lung cancer risk values. The calculated lifetime lung cancer risk of PAHs exposure for the measured winter periods suggested 1545 cases per 1 million people in Ostrava (industrial area), 192–456 cases per 1 million people in other four investigated cities/towns and 182 cases per 1 million people in Košetice (rural area). The calculated lifetime lung cancer risk values are related only to ambient concentrations of PAHs in atmospheric aerosols. Nevertheless, other factors can influence and increase the lung cancer risk, e.g., occupation, smoking, indoor emissions of coal/wood combustion in stoves or genetic factors of individuals. Our results can also be underestimated due to the determination of PAHs only in PM₁ aerosol.
Show more [+] Less [-]The Fernow watershed acidification study
2006
Adams, Mary Beth | DeWalle, David R. | Hom, John Lun
Pollution prevention research programs
1994
Air pollution and plant health response-current status and future directions
2022
Anand, Pratibha | Mina, Usha | Khare, Mukesh | Kumar, Prashant | Kota, Sri Harsha
Air pollutants influence the morphological, physiological, and biochemical status of plants, and their impacts vary substantially among different species and cultivars. Current review synthesises published literature on the assessment of air pollution impacts on vegetation, with a specific focus on chronicling and summarizing scientific methods that quantify those impacts. Investigations carried out globally on pollutant-plant exposure-response, and articles that describe impact of air pollutants on plants and pollutant abatement using green infrastructure (GI) were systematically reviewed. 273 articles reviewed indicated that a substantial number of past explorations were on a small spectrum of certain species, mainly wheat, rice, soybean and maize; and fewer on non-crop plant species, which cover most of the urban areas and are part of GI. Furthermore, in lower middle-income countries which face significant pollution loads, even studies on crop species are limited. Most studies either use Air Pollution Tolerance Index, which is not pollutant dependent or concentrate on either Ozone or Particulate Matter (PM) and rarely investigate the impact of multiple pollutants in the atmosphere. Also, very few studies differentiate the effect of PM on plants based on its composition. Subsequently, the best possible experimental set ups and wide array of plant health parameters for determining and understanding the effects of different air pollutants on a variety of plant species has been emphasized. While this review compiled literature-based commendations for academic federations wanting to study and quantify air pollutant impacts on vegetation, numerous pertinent vital topics for future research were identified.
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