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The Lewis-Clark Valley is a rural area that includes the cities of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington and the surrounding areas. The largest industry in the Lewis-Clark Valley is a pulp paper mill located in Lewiston which emits particulate matter and odorous sulfur air pollutants. This study analyzed the Lewis-Clark Valley air composition and seasonal, temporal and spatial variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from 2017 to 2018 to determine potential health risks of the paper mill emissions to the surrounding community. Both active and passive air sampling via sorbent tubes were analyzed by thermal desorption - gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Fifty VOCs including benzene, toluene, chloroform, dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide were measured in the ambient air of the Lewis-Clark Valley at ten different sites, totaling over 800 samples. In addition, passive sorbent tubes were deployed in 2018 to obtain monthly averages in Lewis-Clark Valley and three urban locations in Idaho and Washington for comparison. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2001) methodology was used to assess cancer risks in the community based on the upper confidence levels of five carcinogens and nine air toxics. The Lewis-Clark Valley had similar levels of benzene to urban areas but had a strong signature of chloroform and sulfides from the paper mill. The cumulative cancer risk was 2 x 10-6 - 11 × 10-6 mainly due to the compounds chloroform, benzene and carbon tetrachloride. The hazard index of other air toxics was less than one. Overall, these air pollutants were considered low risk to the local population.

Siloxanes have been found widespread usages in our daily lives, but the knowledge on their migration, transformation and toxicity is still limited. Herein we explored the feasibility of using one-sided silica coated paper as filter membrane to capture siloxanes in the outdoor air, followed by direct mass spectrometric analysis. In contrast to mostly utilized fiber membrane, silica coated paper not only exhibited a higher selective sampling efficiency to three siloxanes with structures of H–[Si(CH3)2–O]7-9-NH2 from air, but also possessed a high tolerance to organic solvent during mass spectrometric analysis. Due to the above features, the analysis sensitivity of those siloxanes with silica coated paper has been improved 3.1–134.8 folds in contrast to those with commercial filter membrane. Furthermore, we monitored variation in the levels of those siloxanes for a period of one month, and found that a close association (R2 = 0.7924–0.9559) existed between their contents and climate parameters (e.g., temperature, weather, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind direction and wind speed) as well as sampling volume. These knowledge provides a facile and effective methodology to both high-efficient sampling siloxanes and environmental assessment of siloxanes according to climate parameters.

This technical note documents the use of paper as electrospray emitters. The porous structure of the paper automatically delivers the liquid by capillary effects without the need of a mechanical pump. The liquid flow rate can be approximately quantified using Washburn equation. Despite the limited durability, paper-based electrospray emitters exhibit unique features such as ease of multiplexing, self-regulated liquid supply without need of pumps, ultra-low cost, and versatility provided through origami.

Gheiasvand et al. (2020) use the two larger benthic foraminifera species Simplorbitolina manasi Ciry & Rat and Mesorbitolina parva (Douglass) (Orbitolinidae) as upper Aptian “potential index fossils” for parts of the Taft Formation in Central Iran. This age assignment is accompanied by changes to well-established orbitolinid biozona-tions (e.g. occurrence of Praeorbitolina in the late Aptian) with far-reaching implications. These data were also used in a later “multidisciplinary study” (Gheiasvand et al., 2021) for isotopic correlations (e.g., location of OAE`s), delimitation of palaeobiogeographic faunal provinces and related migration patterns. It is shown herein that the taxa identified as S. manasi and M. parva belong to Iraqia simplex Henson and Palorbitolina lenticularis (Blumenbach) respectively documenting a lower and not an upper Aptian age. This revised age and the different taxononomic inventory do not question all results obtained by Gheiasvand et al. (2020, 2021), but provide a revised basis interpretation.

Direct measurement of the acidity (pH) of ambient aerosol particles/droplets has long been a challenge for atmospheric scientists. A novel and facile method was introduced recently by Craig et al. (2018), where the pH of size-resolved aerosol droplets was directly measured by two types of pH-indicator papers (pH ranges: 0–2.5 and 2.5–4.5) combined with RGB-based colorimetric analyses using a model of G−B (G minus B) vs. pH2. Given the wide pH range of ambient aerosols, we optimize the RGB-based colorimetric analysis on pH papers with a wider detection range (pH ∼ 0 to 6). Here, we propose a new model to establish the linear relationship between RGB values and pH: pHpredict = a⋅Rnormal+b⋅Gnormal+c⋅Bnormal. This model shows a wider applicability and higher accuracy than those in previous studies and is thus recommended in future RGB-based colorimetric analyses on pH papers. Moreover, we identify one type of pH paper (Hydrion® Brilliant pH dip stiks, lot no. 3110, Sigma-Aldrich) that is more applicable for ambient aerosols in terms of its wide pH detection range (0 to 6) and strong anti-interference capacity. Custom-made impactors are used to collect lab-generated aerosols on this type of pH paper. Preliminary tests show that, with a collected particle size range of ∼ 0.4–2.2 µm, the pH paper method can be used to predict aerosol pH with an overall uncertainty ≤ 0.5 units. Based on laboratory tests, a relatively short sampling time (∼ 1 to 4 h) is speculated for pH prediction of ambient aerosols. More importantly, our design of the impactors minimizes potential influences of changed environmental conditions during pH paper photographing processes on the predicted aerosol pH. We further show that the routinely adopted way of using pH color charts to predict aerosol pH may be biased by the mismatch between the standard colors on the color charts and the real colors of investigated samples. Thus, instead of using the producer-provided color charts, we suggest an in situ calibration of pH papers with standard pH buffers.

This study analyzes the literature on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure by applying a bibliometric analysis of documents published in the Scopus database. The bibliometric analysis allows researchers to highlight the theoretical foundations of a specific research field, identify the main findings of previous studies, and determine future research ideas. This analysis was based on bibliometric authors’ citation analysis, bibliometric papers’ co-citation analysis, bibliometric references’ co-citation analysis, bibliometric journals’ co-citation analysis, co-occurrence keywords cartography analysis, trend and evolution analyses of ESG disclosure publications over the years, and qualitative content analysis. This study reviews 161 documents on ESG disclosure published in the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer, evolution analysis was performed using CiteSpace, and content analysis was performed using Wordstat. The study identified four major clusters: corporate social responsibility, corporate strategy, financial performance, and environmental economics. It also highlights the increasing number of citations and documents related to ESG disclosures. In addition, the journal ‘Business Strategy and the Environment’ significantly contributes to the ESG disclosure research field in terms of number of papers and citations. Additionally, this study highlights various future research opportunities in this field. The findings of this study have practical implications for ESG disclosure, such as the impact of integrating ESG into a company’s business strategy on corporate and financial policies. This study is the only one to review key topics on ESG disclosure that can be largely used for ESG practices. This study provides an overview of how the literature on ESG disclosure has developed, as well as a summary of the most influential authors along with countries, organizations, and journal sources. This offers the opportunity for future research to focus on this topic.

The obnoxious odors generated from pulp and paper industries have been the cause of nuisance since the instigation of these industries. The objective of the study was to develop a metal oxide sensor based electronic nose for rapid measurement of odorant concentration and associated odor intensity of major reduced sulfur compounds emitted from different sources of these pulp and paper mills. The gas samples collected from the surroundings of major source points of industry were exposed to sensor array of the electronic nose and the change in voltage was measured and taken to PC through data acquisition cards. The same sets of samples were also tested with gas chromatography. The results of electronic nose and GC-FPD were correlated using response surface methodology to know the odorant concentration. The model fed with unknown industrial samples had more than 95% prediction capability. To determine odor intensity by electronic nose firstly a collective index was generated using SVD based 2-norm method (e-nose index) proportional to the sensors response relative to reference gas, methyl mercaptan. Secondly the e-nose index was associated with human expert evaluations. The training of the electronic nose enabled it to predict odorant concentration found at the industrial site and associated odor intensity in methyl mercaptan equivalent. The overall results of the experiments carried out suggest the potential of electronic nose as a device for on or off line measurement of odorant concentration and odor intensity.

Levoglucosan is used as a tracer of biomass burning; however, its determination often requires expensive analytical techniques. Therefore, this study describes the development of an inexpensive and useful method using paper-based analytical devices (PADs) to determine levoglucosan based on colorimetric measurements. The color intensities were correlated with the analytical concentrations and presented linear behavior in the range from 0 to 64.8 μg mL−1. The achieved limits of detection and quantification were 2 and 6 μg mL−1, respectively. The conversion rate of levoglucosan into glucose was 81 ± 8% and the average recovery was 105 ± 9%. Moreover, the method presented selectivity for levoglucosan, showing variation in colorimetric signal intensity lower than 8% in the presence of other saccharides (xylose, glucose, galactose, maltose, mannose, arabinose, and fructose). The accuracy of the method was confirmed by comparison with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The proposed method was explored to determine levoglucosan in samples of atmospheric particulate matter collected in Goiania city (Brazil) and the values ranged from 0.08 to 1.10 μg m−3, showing the high impact of the biomass burning to the particulate matter in the region's atmosphere. The method was also used to detect levoglucosan in rainwater samples. Therefore, the use of PADs can simplify fieldwork involving the determination of levoglucosan in atmospheric particulate matter.

Which published papers have transformed our understanding of the chemical processes in the troposphere and shaped the field of atmospheric chemistry? By way of expert solicitation and interactive peer review, this paper explores the influence of the ideas in peer-reviewed articles based on input from our community of atmospheric scientists. We explore how these papers have shaped the development of the field of atmospheric chemistry and identify the major landmarks in the field of atmospheric chemistry through the lens of those papers' impact on science, legislation and environmental events. We also explore the ways in which one can identify the papers that have most impacted the field and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches. Our work highlights the difficulty of creating a simple list, and we explore the reasons for this difficulty. The paper also provides a history of the development of our understanding of tropospheric chemistry and points some ways for the future.

Motivated by the need to predict how the Arctic atmosphere will change in a warming world, this article summarizes recent advances made by the research consortium NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments) that contribute to our fundamental understanding of Arctic aerosol particles as they relate to climate forcing. The overall goal of NETCARE research has been to use an interdisciplinary approach encompassing extensive field observations and a range of chemical transport, earth system, and biogeochemical models. Several major findings and advances have emerged from NETCARE since its formation in 2013. (1) Unexpectedly high summertime dimethyl sulfide (DMS) levels were identified in ocean water (up to 75 nM) and the overlying atmosphere (up to 1 ppbv) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). Furthermore, melt ponds, which are widely prevalent, were identified as an important DMS source (with DMS concentrations of up to 6 nM and a potential contribution to atmospheric DMS of 20 % in the study area). (2) Evidence of widespread particle nucleation and growth in the marine boundary layer was found in the CAA in the summertime, with these events observed on 41 % of days in a 2016 cruise. As well, at Alert, Nunavut, particles that are newly formed and grown under conditions of minimal anthropogenic influence during the months of July and August are estimated to contribute 20 % to 80 % of the 30–50 nm particle number density. DMS-oxidation-driven nucleation is facilitated by the presence of atmospheric ammonia arising from seabird-colony emissions, and potentially also from coastal regions, tundra, and biomass burning. Via accumulation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a significant fraction of the new particles grow to sizes that are active in cloud droplet formation. Although the gaseous precursors to Arctic marine SOA remain poorly defined, the measured levels of common continental SOA precursors (isoprene and monoterpenes) were low, whereas elevated mixing ratios of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) were inferred to arise via processes involving the sea surface microlayer. (3) The variability in the vertical distribution of black carbon (BC) under both springtime Arctic haze and more pristine summertime aerosol conditions was observed. Measured particle size distributions and mixing states were used to constrain, for the first time, calculations of aerosol–climate interactions under Arctic conditions. Aircraft- and ground-based measurements were used to better establish the BC source regions that supply the Arctic via long-range transport mechanisms, with evidence for a dominant springtime contribution from eastern and southern Asia to the middle troposphere, and a major contribution from northern Asia to the surface. (4) Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic indicate that a major source of these particles is mineral dust, likely derived from local sources in the summer and long-range transport in the spring. In addition, INPs are abundant in the sea surface microlayer in the Arctic, and possibly play a role in ice nucleation in the atmosphere when mineral dust concentrations are low. (5) Amongst multiple aerosol components, BC was observed to have the smallest effective deposition velocities to high Arctic snow (0.03 cm s−1).

In this communication we provide our answers to the comments by Usoskin (2017) on our recent paper (Popova et al, 2017a). We show that Principal Component Analysis (PCA) allows us to derive eigen vectors with eigen values assigned to variance of solar magnetic field waves from full disk solar magnetograms obtained in cycles 21–23 which came in pairs. The current paper (Popova et al, 2017a) adds the second pair of magnetic waves generated by quadruple magnetic sources. This allows us to recover a centennial cycle, in addition to the grand cycle, and to produce a closer fit to the solar and terrestrial activity features in the past millennium.

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors R-I and R-II, each with an effective volume of 6.0 l were used to study the treatability of actual effluent obtained from paper mills at a mesophilic temperature and neutral pH. Methanol, as a source of an easily biodegradable substance along with activated carbon of effective size 1.5 mm–2.5 mm were added to the reactor R-I to a total depth of 12 cm to evaluate its efficiency. The pH of both the reactors were kept constant at neutral by adding an external buffer solution of 0.03 M NaHCO3 with the feed solution. It was observed that corresponding to an organic loading rate of 3.5 kg-COD/m3-day, the overall chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of the reactors R-I and R-II were 88% and 64%, respectively. The absorbable organic halides removal efficiency was observed to be 72% and 47% for reactorR-I and R-II, respectively. During the study it was however observed that, the treatability efficiency of reactor R-I was comparatively better but the amount of its biogas production was slightly lower than that of R-II. The average biogas production in reactors R-I and R-II during the course of study was observed as 0.33 l/g-CODremoved and 0.42 l/g-CODremoved respectively, with a mean methane composition of 58%–61% in both the reactors. Kinetic coefficients of k, Ks, Y and kd were determined to be 0.7 g-TOC/g-VSS.d, 0.30 g-TOC/l, 0.26 g-VSS/g-TOC and 0.02 day–1 respectively, based on the results obtained from reactor R-I. The results of this study showed that the use of methanol andan activated carbon in a UASB reactor to anaerobically digest the paper mills effluent at a mesophilic temperature and a neutral pH reactor was quite a feasible and viable technique.

Acidity is a critical characteristic of aerosol particles that impacts many atmospheric chemical reactions. However, the measurement of aerosol acidity remains challenging because of the high ionic strength of atmospheric aerosol particles. In this study, we developed and evaluated a direct method for measuring the pH of atmospheric aerosol samples using pH testing paper. We first examined the color responses of six pH testing papers under various ionic strengths and selected the best performing paper for further testing at higher ionic strength. This paper was then tested under realistic high-ionic-strength conditions created using hygroscopic equilibrium under high and constant relative humidity (RH). A KNO3 saturated solution was used to maintain an RH of 92% in an airtight box. Under these conditions, the hygroscopic constituents in aerosol particles form droplets of aqueous solutions that possess high ionic strength. On the basis of these results, a method for the direct pH measurement of aerosol particle samples was developed. The pH of the atmospheric aerosol samples was measured using this method under high RH to demonstrate its versatility. Our results indicate that this method requires more than approximately 12 μg per spot of fine (PM0.2–2.0 in this study) particles to form a detectable droplet. Compared with previous methods, our direct pH measurement method is simpler, more convenient, and reliable for wide application without excess dilution in practice, and it may be used to obtain important basic information required to study atmospheric aerosols.

On-site measurement of methanethiol (CH 3 SH) was performed for three years on ships and cars near a pulp and paper plant standing on the shore of Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to investigate the behavior and impact of atmospheric CH 3 SH emitted from a point source. Despite its strong odor, there are few reports on atmospheric CH 3 SH, while many investigations have been carried out on dimethyl sulfide (DMS). In this work, CH 3 SH and DMS were measured every 15 min by a recently developed automated instrument based on single column trapping/separation and chemiluminescence measurement. Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and ozone were also measured simultaneously by individual instruments. Of these sulfur compounds, CH 3 SH was dominant and its concentration sometimes reached several tens of ppbv. The concentration of CH 3 SH was high at night, because of the lack of photodecomposition and local winds from the mountain to the lake. Such time variation was marked in the summer. The CH 3 SH level decreased significantly downwind, while decreases in concentrations of other compounds such as DMS and SO 2 were relatively small. From these temporal and spatial variations, the behavior of CH 3 SH is described in this paper. The impact of CH 3 SH near the Siberian big sources is discussed with the presented data.

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) identified by Madden and Julian in the early 1970s has been well recognized as the most prominent intraseasonal signal in the tropics. Its discovery and its relationship with other weather phenomena such as tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most significant advancements in modern meteorology with broad and far-reaching impacts. The original study by Madden and Julian used radiosonde data on Canton Island, and their spectral analysis revealed the signal of a 40–50-day oscillation.It has come to our attention that an earlier study by Xie et al. published in a Chinese journal documented an oscillatory signal of a 45-day period using radiosonde data from several stations between 70° and 125°E in the tropics. The 40–50-day signal found by Xie et al. is strikingly evident without any filtering. Xie et al. identified that occurrences of TCs are correlated with the 40–50-day variation of low-level westerlies at these stations. The original figures in Xie et al.’s article were hand drawn. Their results are verified using data from a longer period of 1958–70. The 40–50-day oscillation in the monsoon westerlies and its relationship with the occurrence of TCs are confirmed and further expanded upon.This study serves the purpose of bringing recognition to the community of the identification of a 40–50-day signal published in Chinese in 1963 and the discovery of the correlation between MJO phases and TC genesis three decades earlier than studies on this subject published outside China.

The STatistical Analogue Resampling Scheme (STARS) statistical approach was recently used to project changes of climate variables in Germany corresponding to a supposed degree of warming. We show by theoretical and empirical analysis that STARS simply transforms interannual gradients between warmer and cooler seasons into climate trends. According to STARS projections, summers in Germany will inevitably become dryer and winters wetter under global warming. Due to the dominance of negative interannual correlations between precipitation and temperature during the year, STARS has a tendency to generate a net annual decrease in precipitation under mean German conditions. Furthermore, according to STARS, the annual level of global radiation would increase in Germany. STARS can be still used, e.g., for generating scenarios in vulnerability and uncertainty studies. However, it is not suitable as a climate downscaling tool to access risks following from changing climate for a finer than general circulation model (GCM) spatial scale.

This paper describes the results of comprehensive empirical studies of the inherent optical properties (IOPs), the remote sensing reflectance R rs (λ) and the contents of the principal optically active components (OAC) i.e. coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and chlorophyll a , in the waters of 15 lakes in Polish Pomerania in 2007–2010. It presents numerous spectra of the total absorption a (λ) and scattering b (λ) ≈ b p (λ) of light in the visible band (400–700 nm) for surface waters, and separately, spectra of absorption by CDOM a CDOM (λ) and spectra of the mass-specific coefficients of absorption a * (SPM) p (λ) and scattering b * (SPM) p (λ) by SPM. The properties of these lake waters are highly diverse, but all of them can be classified as Case 2 waters (according to the optical classification by Morel & Prieur 1977) and they all have a relatively high OAC content. The lakes were conventionally divided into three types: Type I lakes have the lowest OAC concentrations (chlorophyll concentration C a = (8.76 ± 7.4) mg m −3 and CDOM absorption coefficients a CDOM (440) = (0.57 ± 0.22) m −1 (i.e. mean and standard deviation), and optical properties (including spectra of R rs (λ)) resembling those of Baltic waters. Type II waters have exceptionally high contents of CDOM ( a CDOM (440) = (15.37 ± 1.54) m −1 ), and hence appear brown in daylight and have very low reflectances R rs (λ) (of the order of 0.001 sr −1 ). Type III waters are highly eutrophic and contain large amounts of suspended matter, including phytoplankton ( C SPM = (47.0 ± 39.4) g m −3 , C a = (86.6 ± 61.5) mg m −3 ; a CDOM (440) = (2.77 ± 0.86) m −1 ). Hence the reflectances R rs (λ) of these type of waters are on average one order of magnitude higher than those of the other natural waters, reaching maximum values of 0.03 sr −1 in λ bands 560–580 nm and 690–720 nm (see Ficek et al. 2011). The article provides a number of empirical formulas approximating the relationships between the properties of these lake waters.

The paper describes the hydrodynamic part of the coupled ice-ocean model that also includes the ecosystem predictive model. The Baltic Sea model is based on the Community Earth System Model (CESM from NCAR – National Centre for Atmospheric Research). CESM was adopted for the Baltic Sea as a coupled sea-ice model. It consists of the Community Ice CodE (CICE, model version 4.0) and the Parallel Ocean Program (POP, version 2.1). The models are linked through a coupler (CPL7), which is based on the Model Coupling Toolkit (MCT) library. The current horizontal resolution is about 2 km (1/48 degrees). The ocean model has 21 vertical levels and is forced by atmospheric fields from the European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast (ECMWF). A preliminary validation of the hydrodynamic module with in situ measurements and reanalysis from My Ocean ( http://www.myocean.eu ) has also been done. In the operational mode, 48-hour atmospheric forecasts provided by the UM model from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling of Warsaw University (ICM) are used. The variables presented on the website in real time for a 48-hour forecast are temperature, salinity, currents, sea surface height, ice thickness and ice coverage ( http://deep.iopan.gda.pl/CEMBaltic/newlay/index.php ). The embedded model of the marine ecosystem, like ice, is not taken into account in this paper.

Cooling tower emissions are harmful for several reasons such as air polluting, wetting, icing and solid particle deposition, but mainly due to human health hazards (i.e. Legionella). There are several methods for measuring drift drops. This paper is focussed on the sensitive paper technique, which is suitable in low drift scenarios and real conditions. The lack of an automatic classification method motivated the development of a digital image process algorithm for the Sensitive Paper method. This paper presents a detailed description of this method, in which, drop-like elements are identified by means of the Canny edge detector combined with some morphological operations. Afterwards, the application of a J48 decision tree is proposed as one of the most relevant contributions. This classification method allows us to discern between stains whose origin is a drop and stains whose origin is not a drop. The method is applied to a real case and results are presented in terms of drift and PM10 emissions. This involves the calculation of the main features of the droplet distribution at the cooling tower exit surface in terms of drop size distribution data, cumulative mass distribution curve and characteristic drop diameters. The Log-normal and the Rosin–Rammler distribution functions have been fitted to the experimental data collected in the tests and it can been concluded that the first one is the most suitable for experimental data among the functions tested (whereas the second one is less suitable). Realistic PM10 calculations include the measurement of drift emissions and Total Dissolved Solids as well as the size and number of drops. Results are compared to the method proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessing its overestimation. Drift emissions have found to be 0.0517% of the recirculating water, which is over the Spanish standards limit (0.05%).

Flooding is the most destructive natural hazard in the Baltic Sea Basin in general and in Poland in particular. The notion includes floods from rivers and mountain torrents, as well as floods from sea surges in coastal areas, and floods from sewage systems. There have been several large floods in Poland in the last century and in recent decades, with damage exceeding 1% of the Polish GDP. The spatial and temporal characteristics of the flood risk in Poland are reviewed and observations and projections of changes in the flood hazard in the country are discussed. Furthermore, flood defences and flood preparedness systems in Poland are examined, with particular reference to the European Union (EU) Floods Directive, which is being implemented in Poland, an EU country. Finally, the public debate on flood risk and flood preparedness is reviewed.

Virgin newsprint paper from thermo-mechanical pulp was subjected to a laboratory recycling scheme, which involved mimeograph-printing, re-pulping, de-inking, washing, refining, and handsheetforming, without adding other fibre in between cycles. Fibre dimension, pulp freeness and paper properties were determined after each cycle until the fifth, at which about 20% of the original material remained. The remaining fibre was then mixed with virgin pulp, the original newsprint and unsorted mixed office waste to determine the proportion necessary for acceptable properties. The results indicated remarkable modification in distribution of fibre properties, a decreasing amount of long fibre with corresponding increase of short fibre in the course of recycling and loss of fibre. Refining generally improved the strength properties of paper from recycled fibre. About 20 % to 30 % of either thermo-mechanical pulp or unsorted mixed office waste was found sufficient for blending with recycled fibre to obtain acceptable strength properties.

The concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the ambient air from a massive open burning of joss paper was simultaneously measured at an open-burning site (OS) and a downwind site (DS) from 6 to 8 August 2006. A total of 16 major PAHs (particle-bound and gas-phase) concentrations were extracted by the Soxhlet analytical method and analyzed by gas chromatography. The dominant PAHs of the total mass of the organic compound at both the sampling sites were low-molecular-weight species. Further, the results showed that the start burning/end burning-dominant PAH concentration ratios at the OS and DS were 10 and 6.2, respectively. Diagnostic ratios were also used in this study to characterize and identify the PAH emission sources. The results suggest that the characterization of air pollutants emitted from open-burning joss paper lies between furnace-burning joss paper and wood combustion.

This paper is the second part of the description of the first stage of the SatBaltyk project’s implementation. Part 1 (Woźniak et al. 2011, in this issue) presents the assumptions and objectives of SatBaltyk and describes the most important stages in the history of our research, which is the foundation of this project. It also discusses the operation and general structure of the SatBaltyk system. Part 2 addresses various aspects of the practical applicability of the SatBaltyk Operational System to Baltic ecosystem monitoring. Examples are given of the Baltic’s characteristics estimated using the preliminary versions of the algorithms in this Operational System. At the current stage of research, these algorithms apply mainly to the characteristics of the solar energy influx and the distribution of this energy among the various processes taking place in the atmosphere-sea system, and also to the radiation balance of the sea surface, the irradiance conditions for photosynthesis and the condition of plant communities in the water, sea surface temperature distributions and some other marine phenomena correlated with this temperature. Monitoring results obtained with these preliminary algorithms are exemplified in the form of distribution maps of selected abiotic parameters of the Baltic, as well as structural and functional characteristics of this ecosystem governed by these parameters in the Baltic’s many basins. The maps cover practically the whole area of the Baltic Sea. Also given are results of preliminary inspections of the accuracy of the magnitudes shown on the maps. In actual fact, the errors of these estimates are relatively small. The further practical application of this set of algorithms (to be gradually made more specific) is therefore entirely justified as the basis of the SatBaltyk system for the effective operational monitoring of the state and functioning of Baltic ecosystems. This article also outlines the plans for extending SatBaltyk to include the recording of the effects and hazards caused by current and expected storm events in the Polish coastal zone.

Levin et al. (2010 ; hereafter LHA) (Levin, Z., Halfon, N., Alpert, P., 2010. Reassessment of rain experiments and operations in Israel including synoptic considerations. Atmos. Res. 97, 513–525. DOI:10.1016/j.atmosres.2010.06.011.), reanalyzed the results of the operational seeding in northern Israel between 1975 and 2007 and the preceding Israel 2 cloud seeding experiment (1969–1975) and concluded that there is no net increase in precipitation over the target areas. Our analysis revealed that a synoptic bias during Israel 2 is one of the reasons for the apparent positive effect of seeding in the northern target area and the negative effect in the southern area both of which disappeared in the following experiment in the south (Israel 3; 1975–1995) and the operational seeding in the north. Ben-Zvi et al. (2010 ;hereafter BRG) criticized our paper primarily on the ground that we did not consider the positive results of Israel 1 experiment (1960–1967). It should be noted that in Israel 1 different seeding lines were used from those in both Israel 2 and the operational period. In addition, its raw data is not accessible anymore for reanalysis. Furthermore, Israel 2 had been designed as a confirmatory cross-over experiment to Israel 1 and failed to reproduce its promising results with double ratio (DR) of ~ 1.00, namely, zero rainfall enhancements. The same DR values were also found in Israel 3 and in the operational seeding. Therefore, because of the differences in the two experiments, the lack of access to the raw data and the disappointing results of the confirmatory experiment, we decided to concentrate our analysis on the more recent seeding activities. The attempt by BRG to explain the reduction of the DR to ~ 1.00 in the operational seeding period by the suppression due to pollution have been disproved by Alpert et al. (2008, 2009) and also fail to explain the sharp decline of the target/control ratio right at the beginning of the operational seeding period when the lucky draw in this area came to its end (see LHA).

In 2001–2007 aerosols were measured in the coastal zone (11 campaigns) and over the open waters of the Gdansk Basin (southern Baltic) (5 campaigns). The marine aerosols contained nitrogen and sulphur compounds, which increased their acidity. This situation intensified during the cool months of the year, when fossil fuel emissions were higher, proportionate to energy and heat requirements. Irrespective of the season, these acidic aerosols were neutralized in the reaction with sea salt. The likelihood of sodium nitrate being formed increased at air humidities > 80% and nitrate concentrations > 30 nmol m− 3. Sodium sulphate was present in aerosols mostly in autumn and winter, with northerly advection, and at the highest wind speeds. The excess of free ammonia resulted in the formation of ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate in aerosols over the southern Baltic.

During five campaigns at sea and 11 on land in 2001–2007, aerosols were measured in the coastal zone and over the open sea in the Gdansk Basin (southern Baltic). Sea salt concentrations were high both over Gdynia (2.0–12.2 μ g m − 3 ) and at sea (1.3–14.5 μ g m − 3 ). The intensity of the generation and transport of marine aerosols increased exponentially with wind speeds > 5 m s − 1 over land and > 3 m s − 1 over the Gulf of Gdansk, this being most noticeable with Baltic and oceanic advection. Sea breezes were conducive to the transport of marine aerosols over land areas. The sea was also the origin of both sea salt and non-sea salt sulphate aerosols. An interesting increase in the proportion of non-sea salt-related sulphates (86.7%) was observed in spring, when the biological processes in the sea were more intense.

The emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were quantified for two joss paper furnaces burning two kinds of joss papers (recycled paper made and virgin bamboo made). A cyclone and a wet scrubber were installed in series on one of the two furnaces. Particulate and gaseous PAHs were collected with a sampling system meeting the criteria of U.S. EPA Modified Method 5. Twenty-one species of PAH were analyzed by GC/MS. Individual PAH emission factors vary from less than 1 mg kg −1 fuel to several tens of mg kg −1 fuel. The total (sum of 21 compounds) and the carcinogenic PAH (benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3,-cd]pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene) emission factors were not statistically different for the two furnaces and averaged 71.0 and 3.2 mg kg −1 , respectively. The PAH profiles showed a predominance of naphthalene (58.1%), phenanthrene (11.7%) and fluorene (7.5%). Of the two joss papers examined, bamboo-made joss paper showed less emission in both particulate and gaseous PAHs. For particulate and gaseous PAHs, the removal efficiencies of total PAHs by the air pollution control devices were 42.5% and 11.7%, respectively. PAH emission factors in high airflow conditions were generally lower than those in low airflow condition.

The influence of the near-water wind field on the radiance of a marine shallow was studied on the basis of daily SeaWiFS ocean colour scanner data and QuickScat scatterometer wind data collected from 1999 to 2004 in the southern Caspian Sea, where the deep basin borders a vast shallow west of the shore of meridional extent. It was found that radiance distributions, clustered by wind rhumbs, exhibited different long-term mean patterns for winds of opposing directions: within the shallow’s boundaries, the radiances were about twice as high for winds having an offshore component with reference to the onshore wind conditions. The zonal profile of radiance across the shallow resembled a closed loop whose upper and lower branches corresponded to the offshore and onshore winds respectively. The loop was the most pronounced at sites with 10–15 m of water for any wavelength of light, including the red region. On the basis of specific features of the study area, we attributed this pattern to sunlight backscattered from bottom sediments resuspended by bottom compensation currents induced by the offshore winds.

A primary production model for the Barents Sea shows a hot spot of organic carbon settlement to the sea bed over 100 km long, a shallow pile of highly permeable sediments (mainly large Balanus , Mya and Pecten shell fragments over 1 cm in size) of glacial origin. Hydrodynamic flow models suggest an intensive, deep flow of near-bottom waters into the sediment. Depending on wave height, water in shallow (30 m depth) places may percolate more than 5 m into the sediment. During 10 days of stormy weather as much as 4 to 8 kg wet weight pelagic biomass can be processed per square metre through this extremely permeable sediment. Analogous processes known in coastal waters lead to intense biocatalytic phenomena and metabolism of organic carbon within the seabed, estimated here as more intense than surface consumption. Spitsbergenbanken may be acting as a huge sink for organic carbon and an important source of nutrients in one of the most productive areas of the North Atlantic.

This paper contains a collection of English translations of twenty-one of Hans ERTEL'S papers on geophysical fluid dynamics. The selected papers were originally published between 1942 and 1970 in either German or Spanish. This collection includes the four classic 1942 papers on vorticity and potential vorticity conservation principles and also papers on generalized conservation relations, hydrodynamic commutation formulas, Clebsch and WEBER transformations, and isogons and isotachs in two-dimensional flows.

The remote sensing reflectance R rs , concentrations of chlorophyll a and other pigments C i , suspended particulate matter concentrations C SPM and coloured dissolved organic matter absorption coefficient a CDOM (λ) were measured in the euphotic zones of 15 Pomeranian lakes in 2007–2010. On the basis of 235 sets of data points obtained from simultaneous estimates of these quantities, we classified the lake waters into three types. The first one, with the lowest a CDOM (440 nm) (usually between 0.1 and 1.3 m −1 and chlorophyll a concentrations 1.3 C a −3 ), displays a broad peak on the reflectance spectrum at 560–580 nm and resembles the shape of the remote sensing reflectance spectra usually observed in the Baltic Proper. A set of R rs spectra from the Baltic Proper is given for comparison. The second lake water type has a very high CDOM absorption coefficient (usually a CDOM (440 nm) > 10 m −1 , up to 17.4 m −1 in Lake Pyszne; it has a relatively low reflectance ( R rs −1 ) over the entire spectral range, and two visible reflectance spectra peaks at ca 650 and 690–710 nm. The third type of lake water represents waters with a lower CDOM absorption coefficient (usually a CDOM (440 nm) −1 ) and a high chlorophyll a concentration (usually C a > 4 mg m −3 , up to 336 mg m −3 in Lake Gardno). The remote sensing reflectance spectra in these waters always exhibit three peaks ( R rs > 0.005 sr −1 ): a broad one at 560–580 nm, a smaller one at ca 650 nm and a well-pronounced one at 690–720 nm. These R rs (λ) peaks correspond to the relatively low absorption of light by the various optically active components of the lake water and the considerable scattering (over the entire spectral range investigated) due to the high SPM concentrations there. The remote sensing maximum at λ ≈ 690–720 nm is higher still as a result of the natural fluorescence of chlorophyll a . Empirical relationships between the spectral reflectance band ratios at selected wavelengths and the various optically active components for these lake waters are also established: for example, the chlorophyll a concentration in surface water layer C a = 6.432 e 4.556 X , where X = [max R rs (695 ≤ λ ≤ 720) – R rs (λ = 670)]/max R rs (695 ≤ λ ≤ 720), and the coefficient of determination R 2 = 0.95.

In order to evaluate the use of paper as a mulch for plant production, this research investigated the optical characteristics of two recycled papers (Emboss and Eco, beige 120 g/m2, and dark brown 55 g/m2, respectively) and a silver-polyethylene film (Silver, containing aluminum powder). We measured transmittance and reflectance of these materials as mulches under light controlled and open field (Tottori Sand Dune) conditions. Reflectance was defined as a ratio of reflective radiance of the mulch surface to that of the reflection standard surface.Used as mulches, all three materials would inhibit weed growth as they prevented the penetration of light at 660 nm, which stimulates weed germination. Mean transmittance at 400-700 nm for all three was less than 1%. The reflectance of Emboss and Eco was low for ultraviolet (350-400 nm). but high for visible (400-700 nm) and near infrared rays (700-2, 500 nm). The opposite was found with Silver. The radiances of the three mulches on fair and cloudy days were compared. The radiance of the three mulches on the cloudy day were high for ultraviolet but low for visible and near infrared rays. The light scattering property of each material was measured hemispherically at 5 angles: 30°, 60°, 90°, 120° and 150°. Silver reflected light more strongly in the direction against the angle of the sun. In contrast, Emboss generally reflected more light than Eco in all directions, both had no significant differences among the directions. Because Emboss reflects photosynthetically active radiation (400-700nm) at a wider angle than Silver, it may be better for plant photosynthesis.

A lifecycle assessment to estimate greenhouse gas emissions in Australia from the paper cycle is summarised. The greenhouse gas emissions from paper in Australia in 1999/2000 were estimated to be 12.1 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 equivalent. Nearly half of this amount consisted of CH4 emissions from landfilled waste paper. Various waste management options were modelled to investigate the greenhouse impact of a tonne of paper over its whole lifecycle. Options that keep paper out of landfills significantly reduce greenhouse emissions, waste-to-energy recovery being most effective. Recycling is also beneficial, and is of particular interest from a management perspective because it can be controlled by the pulp and paper industry. These findings can be extended to other wood-based and organic wastes.

Ash formation during industrial-scale bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) and circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) combustion of bark, waste wood and paper mill sludges has been studied. The principal ash formation mechanism was the sintering of 0.2–4 μ m paper filler mineral particles into larger, porous ash agglomerates from 10 to 200 μ m in size which dominated the fly ash total mass and specific surface area. Fly ash total mass concentration at the electrostatic precipitator inlet conditions varied from 4.5 g N -1 m -3 at BFB to 8.3 g N -1 m -3 at CFB while the respective total surface area concentrations as determined with nitrogen absorption were 32 and 83 m 2 N -1 m -3 . During bark combustion in the BFB, we observed an ultrafine mode at 0.05 μ m consisting of spherical particles and their chain-type agglomerates. Ultrafine mode mass and surface area concentrations were 3 and 0.1 m 2 N -1 m -3 , respectively, as determined with the electrical low-pressure impactor and with the differential mobility analyzer. Ultrafine particles were formed via nucleation of volatilized ash species followed by particle growth via collision and coalescence and via vapor condensation. During waste wood combustion in the CFB, ultrafine particle concentration was significantly lower than during bark combustion in BFB, indicating reduced ash volatilization during CFB combustion. When co-firing sludge with bark in the BFB and with waste wood in the CFB ultrafine particle concentration was further reduced. Results from continuous aerosol measurements by the electrical low-pressure impactor (ELPI), by the scanning differential mobility analyzer (SMPS) and by the tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) as the function of BFB process conditions suggest that co-combustion of sludge reduces significantly the ultrafine particle formation rate. No significant enrichment of alkali and trace metals in the ultrafine particles was observed.

In this paper several statements of Kandlikar and Ramachandran concerning the one-to-one correspondence between the spectrometric channels and aerosol size classes, overlaps of the kernels of integral equation, errors of the algebraic systems’ solutions and some inversion algorithms are discussed. It is shown that expression A −1 e ( A -linear algebraic system matrix, e -vector of the experimental errors) cannot be interpreted as the standard deviation of random errors and its adequate interpretation is given. The expressions for standard deviation of the system's solution are derived using the error propagation formula. It is indicated that known inequality for the errors of linear systems’ solutions including condition number of matrix cond is not applicable to the random errors, and the new inequality is given. The approach of smooth continuous size distribution function concept is shown to meet with difficulties since its actual realization is discrete, stochastic and has only two values: 0 and 1.

International audience; No abstract available

High ozone levels are regularly reached during summer period in South-European urban areas, calling for careful design of primary pollutants emission reduction strategies. In this perspective the CALGRID modelling system has been applied to Milan metropolitan area, located in the Po Valley, the most industrialised and populated area in Italy. For the first modelling exercise, a simulation domain of 100×100 km2 has been considered and a summer period, characterised by high photochemical activity, has been selected. Hourly emissions have been derived by spatially and temporally disaggregating national inventories data, while standard upper-air and ground-based meteorological data have been used as input to the CALMET pre-processor. A careful analysis of simulation results versus local network monitoring data has revealed some critical points, related to both modelling assumptions and practical data availability. A satisfactory reproduction of daytime ozone behaviour has been, in fact, accomplished, both in urban and suburban sites, while nighttime primary pollutants accumulations and consequent ozone consumption simulated by the model have not found correspondence in the measurements. Nitrogen dioxide has been also successfully modelled, mostly in city surroundings, whereas higher discrepancies have been found in some urban stations. Possible explanations of these facts are discussed in the paper, giving an insight for further work.

Anders K. Angstrom was known primarily for his contributions to the field of atmospheric radiation. However, his scientific interests encompassed many diverse topics. This paper describes the contents of two early, remarkable, and, until recently, largely unknown papers by Angstrom on probability forecasting and the use/value of weather forecasts. These papers, entitled “Sannolikhet och Praktisk Vaderleksprognos” (“Probability and Practical Weather Forecasting”) and “On the Effectivity of Weather Warnings,” were published in 1919 and 1922, respectively. Noteworthy features of these two papers include 1) a discussion of the sources of uncertainty in weather forecasting, 2) discourses on the problems of estimating probabilities by means of empirical relative frequencies and forecasters' subjective judgments, 3) the use of a Gaussian model to describe the accuracy of minimum temperature forecasts, 4) the identification of the ratio of the protection costa to the “risked value” if protective action is not tak...

The action required to stem the environmental and social implications of climate change depends crucially on how humankind shapes technology, economy, lifestyle and policy. With transport CO2 emissions accounting for about a quarter of the total, we examine the contribution of CO2 output by scientific travel. Thankfully for the reputation of the scientific community, CO2 emissions associated with the trips required to present a paper at a scientific conference account for just 0.003% of the yearly total. However, with CO2 emissions for a single conference trip amounting to 7% of an average individual’s total CO2 emissions, scientists should lead by example by demonstrating leadership in addressing the issue.