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Atmosphere, Volume 17, Issue 3 (March 2026) – 5 articles

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23 pages, 10174 KB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Flood Susceptibility Using a Data-Driven, GIS-Based Frequency Ratio Model

by Roshan Sewa, Bishal Poudel, Sujan Shrestha, Dewasis Dahal and Ajay Kalra

Atmosphere 2026, 17(3), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17030231 - 24 Feb 2026

Abstract

Flooding is one of the major natural disasters that have a major impact on urban areas due to the increasing intensity of factors like extreme weather conditions, climate change, and unplanned urbanization. Considering Cook County, Illinois, the rapid development of the region, flat topography, and the induced rainfall extremes from climate change increase the potential risk of flooding when interacting with dense urban exposure and infrastructure. This study employed the Frequency Ratio (FR) model in a GIS environment to create a high-resolution flood susceptibility map of the county. The map was developed using 281 historical flood points collected from several authoritative sources, such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Storm Events Database records, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)-based FIRMette products, and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) flood-inundation studies. Thirteen conditioning factors, including land use, elevation, slope, soil drainage, rainfall, and distance to the stream, were used to calculate FR values and to develop the Flood Susceptibility Index (FSI). The resulting FSI was grouped into four susceptibility zones: low, medium, high, and very high. The findings indicated that more than 64% of Cook County has a high and very high risk of flood susceptibility, particularly in the vicinity of major river corridors. The model was validated using testing data with a 91.4% prediction accuracy, which also demonstrated the reliability and applicability of the FR model in the urban flood susceptibility assessment. The map serves as a valuable tool for risk-based urban planning and design of flood mitigation infrastructure in one of the most populated counties in the United States. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Meteorology)

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18 pages, 2284 KB

Open AccessArticle

Pollution Characteristics, Health Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in Urban Park Soil Particles of Taiyuan, China

by Haiying Wei, Zhiqiang Wei, Aiqin Liu, Lei Wang, Ming Han, Yupeng He, Hong Geng and Zhihong Zhang

Atmosphere 2026, 17(3), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17030230 - 24 Feb 2026

Abstract

To investigate the pollution characteristics, potential risks and source apportionment of heavy metals in soil particles from urban parks in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, thirty soil samples were collected and processed into soil particles, and the concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, As, and Hg were subsequently measured. The results demonstrated that the mean concentrations of all eight heavy metals exceeded the natural lithogenic background values of Shanxi Province, with Hg, Cr, Pb and Cd exhibiting high variability. Obvious heavy metal accumulation was observed in the central urban area of Taiyuan, and Cd in park soil particles posed moderate to heavy contamination. The coefficient of variation (CV) values for Hg, Cr, Pb, and Cd were above 35%, and their enrichment factor (EF) values were greater than 1.5, implying that contamination of these four heavy metals was predominantly influenced by anthropogenic activities. The potential ecological risk index (RI) and contamination severity index (CSI) revealed that most sampling sites exhibited strong ecological hazards. Both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks associated with heavy metals were within acceptable thresholds for both adults and children. Compared to adults, children were identified as being more vulnerable to heavy metal exposure than adults. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis identified four primary sources: traffic emissions (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd), horticultural activities (Hg), natural sources (As), and industrial emissions (Cr, Ni), which contributed 33.53%, 27.03%, 15.62%, and 23.82% to the total heavy metal load, respectively. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for the prevention, control, and management of heavy metal pollution in urban park soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composition Analysis and Health Effects of Atmospheric Particulate Matter (2nd Edition))

28 pages, 11156 KB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment in Missile Stage Impact Zones Using Mapping Data and a Digital Passport Approach

by Aliya Kalizhanova, Anar Utegenova, Yerlan Bekeshev, Murat Kunelbayev and Zhazira Zhumabekova

Atmosphere 2026, 17(3), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17030229 - 24 Feb 2026

Abstract

This paper proposes an approach to digitizing the environmental passport for areas where detachable parts of launch vehicles fall in Kazakhstan based on an interactive geographic information system platform and smart maps. An example is considered for zone U-4 (“Ulytau” district of the “Karaganda” region), which includes the fall zones of “Soyuz” launch vehicle blocks (IZ 26, 32, 34, 42, 56). The natural and climatic factors and hazards of the territory are analyzed: the total area of the zones under consideration exceeds 4.1 million hectares, annual precipitation varies between 218 and 289 mm, strong winds of 5.0–6.8 m/s are characteristic, and a high level of fire hazard can develop within 6–7 days. Data on fires for 2021 are provided. For an integrated assessment, a normalized system criterion, environmental sustainability indicator (0–1), has been introduced, aggregating four groups of criteria (chemical, mechanical, pyrogenic, biota) with a breakdown of contributions and calculation of uncertainty (σ and 95% CI). The system criterion of environmental sustainability map identifies local ‘hot spots’ with levels of around 0.8–1.0, while the uncertainty map shows maximums of up to 0.12–0.14 (with background values of ~0.02–0.08), which increases the validity of management decisions on monitoring and reclamation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Atmospheric Techniques, Instruments, and Modeling)

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23 pages, 2435 KB

Open AccessArticle

Blue Hydrogen Cogeneration as an Energy Vector for a Sustainable Future: A Case for Alberta, Canada

by Malcolm MacLeod, Anne Aditola Titcombe and Eric Croiset

Atmosphere 2026, 17(3), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17030228 - 24 Feb 2026

Abstract

Hydrogen is a promising clean energy vector capable of decarbonizing future energy systems. This study explores blue hydrogen production via a modified autothermal reforming process, integrated with oxy-fuel combustion and carbon capture technologies. The process achieves approximately 99.8% carbon dioxide capture while co-generating electricity, improving both environmental and economic performance. A detailed techno-economic analysis for Alberta, Canada, shows that hydrogen can be produced at a competitive cost of $1.70 per kilogram, depending on natural gas supply pressure, with CO₂ emissions of just 3.82 kg-CO₂/kg-H₂, meeting stringent international low-carbon thresholds. Key parameters like natural gas supply pressure, oxygen-to-methane ratio, and turbine pressure ratio were optimized for flexibility, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Sensitivity analysis identified financial, policy, and grid decarbonization factors as key drivers of production costs. Compared to other methods, this process stands out for its superior environmental and economic outcomes, particularly in regions with ample natural gas and carbon capture infrastructure. The study underscores the importance of process innovation in advancing sustainable blue hydrogen. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Air Pollution Control Technology for Energy Transition (Net-Zero Emissions))

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24 pages, 5243 KB

Open AccessArticle

Vegetation Responses to Climate Extremes Across China: Lagged Effects and Dominant Drivers Revealed by Long-Term kNDVI Observations

by Feng Xu, Xiaodong Deng, Hongrui Li, Zijian Liu, Ziming Wang, Bohan Wang, Peng Zhou and Jiqiang Niu

Atmosphere 2026, 17(3), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17030227 - 24 Feb 2026

Abstract

Quantifying the relative roles of climate change and human activities in vegetation change is essential for sustainable restoration planning, yet the impacts of extreme climate events and their time-lagged effects are often overlooked, biasing assessments of climatic controls. Here, we developed an integrated pattern–process–attribution framework to evaluate vegetation dynamics across China’s four major climatic zones using a long-term, high-resolution kernel normalized difference vegetation index (kNDVI) dataset for 2000–2024. Theil–Sen trend estimation and the coefficient of variation (CV) were used to characterize long-term changes and interannual stability. Partial correlation analysis was applied to isolate the independent associations between kNDVI and extreme climate indices while controlling for background mean temperature and precipitation, and lagged correlation analysis with 0–3-month lags was used to quantify delayed responses. A regression-based residual attribution was further used to decompose observed kNDVI changes into a climate-driven component and a human-activity-related component (approximated by the residual not explained by temperature and precipitation). Results show widespread greening with pronounced spatial heterogeneity, with the most extensive improvement in the Tropical and Subtropical Humid Region and the Temperate Humid and Semi-humid Region. Vegetation stability exhibits a southeast–northwest contrast, and the highest variability occurs in the Temperate Arid and Semi-arid Region and the western Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Responses to climate extremes are region-dependent and generally short-lagged (mean 0.35–1.05 months), with drought constraints dominating in arid regions and thermal extremes (TXx) most relevant on the plateau. Nationally, human activities contribute 70.8% of vegetation change, exceeding the climate-driven contribution (29.2%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Big Data Analytics for Climate and Human Impacts on Terrestrial Ecosystems)

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