Search Results (27)

IPCC climate forecast models, applicable to the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), predict a decrease in atmospheric precipitation, greater variability, and an increase in aridity. In recent years, the entire region has been experiencing unprecedented climate upheavals. Climatic droughts have become increasingly severe and recurrent (drastically reducing water stocks). We are also witnessing a remarkable increase in temperatures and a greater frequency of heat waves. Faced with these new provisions, this territory (long considered an area of water stress) is now subject to very strong tensions, which have led to a greater demand for water and a decrease in supply. To understand the intensity of this “climate–water” crisis, we propose an analysis of this priority issue based on the evolution of precipitation over more than half a century of records. To determine precipitation trends and define rainfall cycles in these three countries, the graphical chronological method of information processing (MGCTI) of the “BERTIN Matrix” type is used. Annual precipitation totals from 29 stations were used for the MGCTI (chronological graphic method of information processing) for the period 1970–2023. These data come from the national meteorological networks of the National Meteorological Office (ONM) for Algeria, National Institute of Meteorology (NIM) for Tunisia, and National Directorate of Meteorology (DMN) for Morocco, and the from the websites of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and “TuTiempo Network”. Monthly pluviometric totals from three stations, Dar El Beida (Algeria), Casablanca (Morocco), and Tunis (Tunisia), as well as the monthly NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) and MOI (Mediterranean Oscillation Index) were used for the wavelet coherence method for the period 1970–2022. Data analysis shows that the entire region is subject to four extreme precipitation cycles (dry and wet). The last dry period was remarkably intense and led to a sharp increase in water stress throughout the region. An analysis of monthly precipitation from three stations (Casablanca, Dar El Beida, and Tunis) using the wavelet coherence method also highlighted a close relationship with the “NAO” and “MOI” circulation. Full article

Based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), a water isotopes detection system was developed to detect the isotopic abundance of water vapor in the atmosphere. A single 1483.79 cm⁻¹ quantum cascade laser (QCL) and a 3120 cm optical path multi-pass cell (MPC) were adopted in the detection system. The selected spectral range, as well as the laser technology used, is particularly interesting for the real-time monitoring of water vapor isotopes in the atmosphere. In this study, a single laser can be used to perform high-sensitivity, rapid investigations of H₂O, H₂¹⁸O, H₂¹⁷O, and HDO absorption lines. Finally, we measured the abundance values of three isotopes of water vapor in the atmosphere and compared them with data from the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) website, dedicated to exploring the possibility of in situ monitoring of H₂O isotopes in the atmosphere. Full article

Art is perhaps the most important means of expressing creativity and imagination. It can serve as a form of communication, allowing artists to convey messages and comment on various topics. Environmental art is a dynamic and multifaceted form of artistic expression that highlights the causes and consequences of environmental problems, such as atmospheric pollution, and facilitate the environmental awareness of societies along with the need to find sustainable solutions to address environmental degradation. The aim of this study was to present paintings created by impressionists that depict atmospheric pollution. A total of 43 paintings were listed after searching the websites of 26 museums worldwide and 10 of them were indicatively selected by applying specific criteria and commented on in this paper. Four of the selected paintings were created by Claude Monet, two by Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin, and the rest of them by James McNeill Whistler, Charles-François Daubigny, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent Van Gogh. These 10 paintings depict, among other things, the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, due to fossil fuel combustion, mainly coal, which contributes to smog development. This study could be exploited by authorities, associations, educational centres, and other interested parties when planning educational activities for the causes, consequences, and solutions of atmospheric pollution over time, while promoting the use of art in environmental and sustainability education. Full article

The conditions in Mira variable atmospheres make them wonderful laboratories to study a variety of stellar physics such as molecule–grain formation, dust production, shock chemistry, stellar winds, mass loss, opacity-driven pulsation, and shocks. We were awarded an NSF grant to analyze over a decade of synoptic observations from the Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) of 106 Miras to curate a Mira Reference Dataset. The Miras included in this dataset include M-types, S-types, and C-types, and span a wide range of pulsation periods. PTI measured K-band angular sizes that when combined with a distance allow us to directly determine fundamental stellar parameters such as effective temperature, radial size, and bolometric flux. Supplementing observations with interferometric measurements of the stars opens the Mira laboratory to a wealth of different experiments. We provide two case studies to serve as examples of the power of the Mira Reference Dataset. The first case study describes combining PTI measurements with Spitzer IRS spectra of M-type Miras, which allowed us to fully characterize ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ gas in their atmospheres. The second case study examines how PTI narrow-band data can be used to study phase-dependent pulsation effects on the stellar atmosphere. We provide a list of all the Miras (with coordinates) included in the set for anyone who would like to add them to their observing programs. All the data we produce and collate for this Mira Reference Dataset will be hosted and curated on a website open to the public so that other researchers and citizen scientists can participate in expanding the utility and body of knowledge on this set of “wonderful” stars. Full article

In this study, umami peptides were screened and characterized from bovine bone soups manufactured via atmospheric and high-pressure boiling. Peptide fractions with molecular weights less than 3 kDa were selected for peptide sequencing using LC-MS/MS, the toxicity prediction of the umami peptides was carried out by using an website, and the peptides were screened according to the binding energy, i.e., three peptides including YDAELS, TDVAHR, and ELELQ were selected. The three umami peptides were further synthesized, and their umami thresholds were determined through sensory evaluation and electronic tongue analysis, ranging from 0.375 to 0.75 mg/mL. All three peptides exhibited a significant synergistic taste enhancement effect when combined with MSG (monosodium glutamate) solution. The molecular docking of the umami peptides with the T1R1/T1R3 receptor revealed the mechanism of umami presentation, and the main interaction forces between the three umami peptides and the receptor were hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic interactions. Full article

This paper addresses the riverine flood events that have occurred in Greece over the last 136 years (i.e., during the 1886–2022 period), focusing, amongst others, on the case of urban floods. The flood record of various sites of the country has been collected and analyzed to determine their spatial and temporal distribution. Greece is a country where flood data and records are very scarce. Therefore, as there is not an integrated catalog of Greek floods spanning from the 19th century to recently, this is the first attempt to create an integrated catalog for Greece. The sources used include published papers, local and regional newspapers and public bodies (mainly the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the official websites of Greek municipalities). Additionally, the main factors responsible for their occurrence have been issued, regarding the country’s climatic, geological and geomorphological setting, as well as human interventions. In addition, the atmospheric circulation driving factors of floods are assessed via an unsupervised neural network approach (i.e., Self-Organizing Maps). Based on the results of this research, an online GIS-based database has been created, depicting the areas that have been struck by riverine floods in Greece. By clicking a flood event in the online database, one can view several characteristics, depending on data availability, such as duration and height of the rainfall that caused them and number of fatalities. Long-term trends of mean and extremes seasonal precipitation also linked to the spatial distribution of floods. Our analysis shows that urban floods are a very large portion of the overall flood record, and they mainly occur in the two large urban centers, Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as near large rivers such as Pineios. Autumn months and mainly November are the periods with higher flood hazards, based on past records and cyclonic atmospheric circulation constitutes the principal driving factor. Our results indicate that a flood catalog at national level is of fundamental importance, as it can provide valuable statistical insights regarding seasonality, spatial distribution of floods, etc., while it can also be used by stakeholders and researchers for flood management and flood risk analysis and modelling. Full article

As several researches indicate, since the 1950s one observed unprecedented warming of the atmosphere and oceans, resulting from greenhouse gas emissions and changes in land use and occupation, leading to sea level rise and impacts on coastal areas. In the municipality of Niterói—Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where a large urban concentration in coastal areas is observed, a Climate Change Adaptation System was developed, through which mitigation and adaptation strategies are combined, in order to: reduce vulnerabilities; avoid losses and damages; build instruments to allow adaptation of natural, human, productive and infrastructure systems. In this context, this paper aims to measure possible impacts, in the biophysical and socioeconomic spheres, resulting from an eventual 0.50 m rise in mean sea level, which represents an optimistic scenario according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In contrast to similar studies, this work also considered daily and occasional water level variations, represented by the highest astronomical tide and the highest storm surge observed in the studied region. The following data were applied: digital elevation model, 2010 population census data, and real estate information. With the altimetry data, by means of GIS, the census sectors inserted in the affected areas were selected, to obtain data regarding population, number of households, and income. Specialized websites were applied to collect average property values. The simulations revealed that approximately 2950 households and more than 9000 residents could be directly affected, with losses that could exceed R$ 3.60 billion. The Oceanic Region is configured as the most exposed region, susceptible to losses of several ecosystems, economic losses in residential areas and possible destruction of urban infrastructure. Full article

This article outlines the design and implementation of an internet-of-things (IoT) platform for the monitoring of soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations. As atmospheric CO₂ continues to rise, accurate accounting of major carbon sources, such as soil, is essential to inform land management and government policy. Thus, a batch of IoT-connected CO₂ sensor probes were developed for soil measurement. These sensors were designed to capture spatial distribution of CO₂ concentrations across a site and communicate to a central gateway using LoRa. CO₂ concentration and other environmental parameters, including temperature, humidity and volatile organic compound concentration, were logged locally and communicated to the user through a mobile (GSM) connection to a hosted website. Following three field deployments in summer and autumn, we observed clear depth and diurnal variation of soil CO₂ concentration within woodland systems. We determined that the unit had the capacity to log data continuously for a maximum of 14 days. These low-cost systems have great potential for better accounting of soil CO₂ sources over temporal and spatial gradients and possibly flux estimations. Future testing will focus on divergent landscapes and soil conditions. Full article

Hydrocarbon activities over the years have been one of the main sources of environmental pollution, creating short and long-term impacts. This study aims to analyze the scientific production of the American continent through a bibliographic review of scientific articles published from the 1970s to the present, in order to contrast relevant scientific information about the types of pollution, water, atmospheric, and acoustic, published in the most important scientific repositories in the world, such as Scopus and Web of Science. The Prisma methodology was adopted for its development. From the plethora of articles collected, a sample of 3879 scientific articles was extracted, from which 3322 of them were excluded, leaving 557 records with remarkable information such as: country, year of publication, type of contamination, remediation if applicable, the associated oil & gas sector, and publication registration on the indexed website. It was noted that the countries with the highest scientific production are the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Furthermore, the Web of Science, unlike Scopus, contains more indexed publications related to the types of contamination objects relevant to this study. On the other hand, publications focused on water pollution are the only ones that come up with remediations; the rest release a smaller number of publications on these topics. Full article

IoT-enabled devices are making it easier and cheaper than ever to capture in situ environmental data and deliver these data—in the form of graphical visualisations—to farmers in a matter of seconds. In this work we describe an aquaculture focused environmental monitoring network consisting of LoRaWAN-enabled atmospheric and marine sensors attached to buoys on Clyde River, located on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. This sensor network provides oyster farmers operating on the river with the capacity to make informed, accurate and rapid decisions that enhance their ability to respond to adverse environmental events—typically flooding and heat waves. The system represents an end-to-end approach that involves deploying a sensor network, analysing the data, creating visualisations in collaboration with farmers and delivering them to them in real-time via a website known as FarmDecisionTECH${}^{\circledR }$. We compared this network with previously available infrastructure, the results of which demonstrate that an in situ weather station was ∼5 ${}^{\circ }$C hotter than the closest available real-time weather station (∼20 km away from Clyde River) during a summertime heat wave. Heat waves can result in oysters dying due to exposure if temperatures rise above 30 ${}^{\circ }$C for extended periods of time (such as heat waves), which will mean a loss in income for the farmers; thus, this work stresses the need for accurate in situ monitoring to prevent the loss of oysters through informed farm management practices. Finally, an approach is proposed to present high-dimensional datasets captured from the sensor network to oyster farmers in a clear and informative manner. Full article

Legislative regulations on atmospheric pollution have been established in different parts of the world for addressing air quality management. An important public commitment, common among all nations, is to ensure environmental safety and health protection, particularly for the most fragile population groups. Each country has its own rules and practices to provide adequate and timely information on ambient air quality. Information is given either through easily accessible media, including websites and apps, or by traditional means of telecommunication. An air quality index (AQI) is definitely a valuable tool for disseminating data on the main regulated pollutants and represents a readable indicator of the prevailing situation of air quality in the area. Several calculating expressions were formulated to combine, in a unique value, different parameters, and a few methods were created to determine and compare different AQIs. This paper gives almost a global overview of approaches and tools used to inform the public about the status of the ambient air quality. Different AQIs are analyzed to contribute to the sharing of air quality management practices and information to raise public awareness and to help policymakers to act accordingly. Full article

Air pollution has a significant impact on the use of solar energy. On the one hand, the polluted environment directly reduces the intensity of solar radiation, on the other hand, pollution of the environment will also reduce the life of the equipment. Therefore, mastering the dynamic characteristics of the atmospheric environment has certain guiding significance for the efficient utilization of solar energy. In this study, the concentrations of particulate matter, CO, SO₂ and NO₂ from Tianyun big data website are analyzed to obtain the general characteristics of particulate pollution in Wuhan. At the same time, a long-period sampling atmospheric particulate matter sampler in the Huangjiahu area of Wuhan has been used, and experimental analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of the samples has been obtained. The results show that both PM2.5 and PM10 show obvious seasonal changes, and the concentration of the four anions during the sampling period is SO₄²⁻ > NO₃⁻ > Cl⁻ > F⁻. During the sampling period, atmospheric particulate matter is mainly composed of organic matter, inorganic anions and oxides of more than 20 elements. The results of the enrichment factor analysis show that elements such as Br, Pb, Sb and Zn are the main enriched elements during the sampling period. The enrichment factors of these elements are 246.43 ± 168.81, 133.28 ± 115.03, 403.305 ± 396.18 and 90.67 ± 67.01, respectively. The high enrichment of these elements also reflects the contribution of motor vehicle exhaust emission during the sampling period. Traffic source is the main emission source in the Huangjiahu area of Wuhan. This research has a certain guiding significance for many industries such as energy utilization, environmental monitoring, health care, transportation and so on. Full article

This study used a consumer survey to identify resources and services that are important to farmers’ market (FM) shoppers. The questionnaire was distributed onsite in six FMs in Tennessee, and a total of 506 FM shoppers responded. The most important resources and services in terms of a shopper’s decision to visit a FM are identified as supporting local food, quality, friendly, and diverse vendors, and food origin. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) reveals that convenience and close to home are more important to women; price is more important to younger and lower-income shoppers, while quality, convenience, interaction with farmers/producers, and food origin are more important to older shoppers. Content analysis indicated that FM shoppers were impressed with FM atmosphere and liked the quality, variety, and convenience provided by FMs, but disliked not having clear information such as product labels and websites. Full article

In the environment in which an increasing number of older travelers are participating in online tourism platforms, for older travelers who face multiple barriers in using e-commerce, it is essential to identify factors promoting older travelers’ website usage for their well-being and sustainable travel industry. This study aims to identify the key factors of website atmosphere for enhancing older travelers’ familiarity, investigate the relationship between older adults’ website familiarity and revisit intention, and test the moderating role of cognitive age. A web-based survey was conducted, and the sample consisted of 305 US residents 50 years of age and older who had experienced travel websites. The results indicated that three subdimensions of older travelers’ website familiarity—informativeness, effectiveness, and entertainment—positively influence their website familiarity. Additionally, the impact of informativeness on website familiarity is stronger for travelers who identify as younger than their chronological age. Moreover, older travelers’ familiarity with a website improves their revisit intention. The current study found not only significant travel website atmosphere factors to boost older travelers’ participation in online tourism platforms but also significant older travelers’ groups depending on their cognitive age perception to magnify the effect of website atmosphere. Full article

In many countries around the world (including the United States, Canada, and Spain), research is being conducted into the impact of air pollution on the formation of various types of cancer. For a long time it was thought that the inhalation of pollutants could lead to lung diseases. Now the effects of air pollutants on tumors in the airways, kidneys, bladder, breast, and colon have been investigated and are better understood. It is now known that particulates in air pollution can cross the blood–brain barrier and also reach the placenta. The aim of this study was to find a possible relationship between the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere and the formation of specific types of tumors in the Polish population. Two databases available on the Internet were used in the analysis: the bank of measurement data on air quality in Poland (the repository of Environmental Protection Inspection) and cancer statistics. The pollution measurement data for the years 2000–2016 were taken from the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection website, a database with results from 264 stations located in Poland for 13 types of gases and atmospheric pollutants. Statistical data on cancer C00–D09 (according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10)) in the Polish population in the years 1999–2015 were retrieved from onkologia.org.pl. A novel code was constructed, allowing the downloading of statistics from the databases, examination of their correlation, and selection of the best model of regression through machine learning. The results of the analyses indicate a high correlation of air pollution with the incidence of selected types of cancer. Particularly noteworthy is the observed effect of NO_x on the incidence of small and large intestine cancers in the Masovia and West Pomerania provinces. The other gases and pollutants with the most significant impact on the incidence of gastrointestinal cancer have also been identified. Based on statistical analysis, we found a correlation between air pollution and tumor incidence in individual provinces, as well as an influence of the emission of nitrogen oxides on the cancer incidence rate. Full article