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Stable isotope ratios of water (δ² H and δ18O) are important indicators which describe hydrological processes in the environment. These parameters allow to analyse structure, status, migration of pollutants and processes of the groundwater system. Groundwater from dug wells is widely used as a drinking water source highlighting the importance of investigation of water quality and its possible flows and sources. Despite available centralized water systems, there are still wide territories where dug wells are the main source of drinking water supply. Dug wells are recharged from shallow groundwaters which makes them more vulnerable to anthropogenic contamination. Therefore, quality monitoring and estimation of anthropogenic influences are of importance. Quality requirements of drinking water do not provide measurements of stable isotope ratios in drinking water, but the combination of those elements can be valuable for the characterization of impacts on groundwater quality. The aim of this study was to survey 64 dug wells in Eastern Latvia and analyse water quality together with measurements of stable isotope ratios. Measurements were performed twice, i.e., autumn and spring to track water sources in wells and describe the extent of possible impacts. This approach can indicate the magnitude of local factor impacts on drinking water quality. Surveyed wells provide high differences in analysed parameters, for example, nitrate concentrations in autumn varies from 0.44 to 108.26 mg L-1. Also, other detected parameters are variable; therefore, tracking water flow with stable isotope values gives better insight into the water quality of the studied region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater lakes and rivers are habitats of variety of organisms and their populations giving great importance for freshwater ecosystems and providing water resources, food and recreational possibilities for humans. In spite of their fundamental importance to humans, freshwater lakes have been affected by anthropogenic disturbances, which have led to serious negative effects on the structure, functions and quality of these ecosystems. Lake ecosystems are dependent on inflow of water and supply of matter and energy from their catchment area. In studied lakes significant anthropogenic impact in loads of nutrients in their sediments and water was detected. This highlights the well-known problem of freshwaters in the World and in Europe - eutrophication, which can lead to increased productivity of water ecosystems - increased algae blooms, spreading of macrophytes and decreasing of oxygen content in water. Studied lake ecosystems show presence of human impact, not only by physiochemical parameters, but also by changes in biomass production, cyanobacterial algal blooms and overgrowing with macrophytes was observed. In order to improve water quality, appropriate management measures should be applied. We have analysed advantages and disadvantages of such measures as sediment removal, constructing of wetlands, cutting reeds and forming ecotones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution in cities caused by traffic is an important environmental and health issue worldwide. Air pollution caused by traffic exceeds air pollution from other anthropogenic sources, such as industrial, various heat supply and residential areas. This study analyzes a wide range of pollutants in snowpacks at different intensity roads in one of the largest cities in Latvia in Jelgava. Snow samples are taken from three sampling points at distance of 1 m, 10 m, and 20 m from the roadway. In the study, various metals, namely lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), silicon (Si), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr) are analyzed in the study. Samples are acidified to 1% HNO3, then left for 3 days and filtered through a paper filter. ICP-OES spectroscopy „iCAP 7000” is used for analysis. Most pollutants show similar trends; higher concentrations of pollutants are observed at a distance of 1 m from the roadway compared to samples taken from further sampling points. Concentrations of pollutants decrease significantly at distance of 10 m. Comparing the concentrations of Pb, Zn, and V at a distance of 1m from the roadway and at a distance of 10 m from the roadway, the concentrations of pollutants decrease by 6 to 11 times. The highest concentrations of Cu, Cr, Mn, Pb, V, Zn are located on roadway Jelgava-Riga about 4 km from city center of Jelgava. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution has a negative impact on human health and the ecosystem as a whole. It causes a variety of diseases, such as asthma, various lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, which particularly affect children and the elderly. The aim of the study is to determine how the preparation of melted snow samples for analysis influences concentrations of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) in snow samples. For snow samples analysis ICP-OES spectrometer "iCAP 7000" is used. In study, 180 snow samples are collected in 60 different locations in Jelgava city. Two different sample preparation methods are used to determine Pb, Zn, Ni, V, Cu, Mn in concentration in snow samples. In the first sample preparation method, the snow samples are filtered through a paper filter and acidified to 1% HNO3, while in the second preparation method snow samples are acidified to 1% HNO3, aged for 3 days and then filtered through a paper filter. The results shows that samples that are filtered and then acidified have lower concentrations of contamination than samples acidified with dust. Concentrations of Pb, Zn, Ni, V, Cu, Mn in snow samples between both sample preparation methods differ significantly. The results show that contamination accumulates in dust, and therefore they are the most dangerous to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is one of the main factors that affects human health. It may affect our health in many ways both long and short term. Exposure time of air pollution increases the risk of respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia, lung cancer, and causes cardiovascular diseases. Air pollution affects different groups of individuals in various ways. An objective of this study was to investigate the level of pollution in snow blanket in Jelgava city after exposition of 7 days and to determine the cause of pollution in different parts of Jelgava city. In Jelgava city, 60 sampling plots were established, which cover the whole city area and describe the main streets, industrial districts and areas with private houses. In each sampling plot in February 2018, 1.0-1.5 kg of snow was collected and the depth of snow in sampling time was 7-12 cm. The snow samples were taken from entire snow depth, because it represents the level of air pollution between the period of permanent snow blanket and time when sample was taken. The chemical elements were analysed in 180 snow samples from city and in 3 samples from natural forest. The concentration of chemical elements was calculated in melting snow water and HNO3 solution. The concentrations were determined by using an inductively connected plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) method. The pollutant groups were distributed by using data of chemical elements and cluster analysis. The relatively clean, medium polluted and polluted areas were distributed by using ArcGIS software depending on the chemical elements characteristic of the sources of pollution. The results show the negative impact of transport corridors and private building on air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than half of the world population lives in cities. In 2030, 80% of the world population will live in urban areas, according to United Nations migration forecasts. People who are living in cities are exposed to air pollution. The concentration of air pollution is increased by traffic intensity. Increasing traffic intensity increases the number of automobile congestion in large cities. Therefore, there is a need to implement the measures for reducing air pollution in surroundings. Scientific studies show that emissions from vehicle establish more than 90% of air pollution in the urban environment. Air pollution is associated with many premature deaths every year. The snow samples from the entire depth of snow show the pollution rate during the period of the permanent snow blanket and the sampling time. In this study, snow blanket pollution was investigated in Jelgava in February 2017 and 2018 after exposition of 7 days. The 20 sampling plots were created in the city and one plot in the natural area of the southern side of Jelgava. In each sampling area, 1.0-1.5 kg of snow was collected and in each plot 3 samples were taken for testing. In 2017, the average snow depth was 6-10 cm, but in 2018 the snow depth was 7-12 cm. The chemical elements were detected in 63 snow samples from February 2017 and 63 in snow samples from February 2018. 126 snow samples in total were analysed. The concentrations of the chemical elements were calculated in the melting snow water and in the HNO3 solution. Concentrations were determined by using an inductively connected plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) method. The results of the chemical elements in snow show a similar level of pollution. However, there are minor differences in the spatial distribution of pollution due to differences in transport flow and climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialization and urbanization have led to environmental contamination with heavy metals worldwide. In urban environment, the large inputs of anthropogenic contaminants in atmosphere are arising from mobile sources and stationary sources.Taking samples from all depth of snow, data can be obtained from persistent snow cover to the sampling time. Snow samples were collected in each sampling plot taking from 1.0 to 1.5 kg of snow. The average depth of snow was between 6 and 10 cm. The aim of study was to determine the distribution of heavy metals in Jelgava city. In this study the pollution level of the snow cover in Jelgava during the January and February of 2017 after the 7 days exposition had been investigate. Cu, Pb, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn, Al and Mn were determined in 120 samples of snow and 60 samples of lichens (Xanthoria parietina) from urban areas and 6 reference samples of snow and 3 samples of lichens (Xanthoria parietina) from natural forest. The concentration of heavy metals was estimated in the melted snow water and HNO3 solution and mineralised lichens in HNO3 and H2 O2 solution using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) method. The heavy metal concentration data were analysed using agglomerative hierarchical clustering method. The results show three groups of samples: the first group characterise points close to railway and industrial territories, the second group of samples characterise transit roads with intensive urbanisation and the third group include clean forest sample and all open areas in Jelgava city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work is to conduct debate on aspects that interconnect energy efficiency of insulation projects and human behavioural aspects. The objective of this paper is to describe the significant difference between energy as a physical phenomenon and the usage of energy for the good and profit of the consumer as the human behaviour and perception of energy inevitably should be taken into consideration while elaborating governmental strategies and performing energy efficient insulation projects. Insight in legislation and discourse debate on link between consumer behavioural and the dual perception of energy aspects, while performing insulation projects in Latvia is presented. Findings focused on energy consumption behaviour and rebound effects state problems very clear: 1) public is not ready to invest for energy efficiency maintenance; 2) information on energy efficiency projects have weak dissemination among the society and in sustainable education. Innovative marketing and informative tools should be used in order to promote behavioural changes in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anthropogenic sources of air pollution such as transport, energetics, household heating and industry generate different trace element footprint. The urban planning is one of tool to reduce air pollution with trace elements. The aim of this study is to identify air pollution sources in Jelgava city using trace elements. The snow sampling were collected during January and February 2017. The January snow samples characterise average Jelgava city air pollution. However, February characterises intensive tourism impact on total air quality of Jelgava city. The snow samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP-OES). The data analysis consists of three stages. First, data verification and development of waste burning; burning of oil and fossil materials; wastewater treatment and utilisation of sewage sludge; transport; metal industry and fireworks typical pollution trace element data sets. Second, the cluster analysis of each data set, by developing three groups of pollution level for each pollution source. Third the results of clusters were analysed using GIS, and the areas with different air pollution risks were identified. The results show strong evidence of transport and household impact on air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]