scholarly journals Determining the Impact of Wildland Fires on Ground Level Ambient Ozone Levels in California

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1131
Author(s):  
Ricardo Cisneros ◽  
Haiganoush K. Preisler ◽  
Donald Schweizer ◽  
Hamed Gharibi
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Ozone Level ◽  
Ground Level Ozone ◽  
Sensing Technology ◽  
Smoke Plumes ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
The Impact

Wildland fire smoke is visible and detectable with remote sensing technology. Using this technology to assess ground level pollutants and the impacts to human health and exposure is more difficult. We found the presence of satellite derived smoke plumes for more than a couple of hours in the previous three days has significant impact on the chances of ground level ozone values exceeding the norm. While the magnitude of the impact will depend on characteristics of fires such as size, location, time in transport, or ozone precursors produced by the fire, we demonstrate that information on satellite derived smoke plumes together with site specific regression models provide useful information for supporting causal relationship between smoke from fire and ozone exceedances of the norm. Our results indicated that fire seasons increasing the median ozone level by 15 ppb. However, they seem to have little impact on the metric used for regulatory compliance, in particular at urban sites, except possibly during the 2008 forest fires in California.

scholarly journals The ground-level ozone concentration is inversely correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases in Warsaw, Poland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Wiśniewski ◽  
Wiesław Kozak ◽  
Maciej Wiśniewski
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Ozone Concentration ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Viral Agent ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Weather Factors ◽  
Ground Level Ozone ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

AbstractCOVID-19, which is a consequence of infection with the novel viral agent SARS-CoV-2, first identified in China (Hubei Province), has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. As of September 10, 2020, over 70,000 cases and over 2000 deaths have been recorded in Poland. Of the many factors contributing to the level of transmission of the virus, the weather appears to be significant. In this work, we analyze the impact of weather factors such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and ground-level ozone concentration on the number of COVID-19 cases in Warsaw, Poland. The obtained results show an inverse correlation between ground-level ozone concentration and the daily number of COVID-19 cases.

scholarly journals The ground level ozone concentration is inversely correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases in Warsaw, Poland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Wisniewski ◽  
Wieslaw Kozak ◽  
Maciej Wisniewski
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Ozone Concentration ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Viral Agent ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Weather Factors ◽  
Ground Level Ozone ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19, which is a consequence of infection with the novel viral agent SARS-CoV-2, first identified in China (Hubei Province), has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. As of September 10, 2020, over 70,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths have been recorded in Poland. Of the many factors contributing to the level of transmission of the virus, the weather appears to be significant. In this work we analyse the impact of weather factors such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and ground level ozone concentration on the number of COVID-19 cases in Warsaw, Poland. The obtained results show an inverse correlation between ground level ozone concentration and the daily number of COVID-19 cases.

scholarly journals Mapping Modeled Exposure of Wildland Fire Smoke for Human Health Studies in California

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia D. Koman ◽  
Michael Billmire ◽  
Kirk R. Baker ◽  
Ricardo de Majo ◽  
Frank J. Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Average Concentration ◽  
Atmospheric Modeling ◽  
Smoke Exposure ◽  
Geographic Scale ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Health Studies ◽  
The Impact

Wildland fire smoke exposure affects a broad proportion of the U.S. population and is increasing due to climate change, settlement patterns and fire seclusion. Significant public health questions surrounding its effects remain, including the impact on cardiovascular disease and maternal health. Using atmospheric chemical transport modeling, we examined general air quality with and without wildland fire smoke PM2.5. The 24-h average concentration of PM2.5 from all sources in 12-km gridded output from all sources in California (2007–2013) was 4.91 μg/m3. The average concentration of fire-PM2.5 in California by year was 1.22 μg/m3 (~25% of total PM2.5). The fire-PM2.5 daily mean was estimated at 4.40 μg/m3 in a high fire year (2008). Based on the model-derived fire-PM2.5 data, 97.4% of California’s population lived in a county that experienced at least one episode of high smoke exposure (“smokewave”) from 2007–2013. Photochemical model predictions of wildfire impacts on daily average PM2.5 carbon (organic and elemental) compared to rural monitors in California compared well for most years but tended to over-estimate wildfire impacts for 2008 (2.0 µg/m3 bias) and 2013 (1.6 µg/m3 bias) while underestimating for 2009 (−2.1 µg/m3 bias). The modeling system isolated wildfire and PM2.5 from other sources at monitored and unmonitored locations, which is important for understanding population exposure in health studies. Further work is needed to refine model predictions of wildland fire impacts on air quality in order to increase confidence in the model for future assessments. Atmospheric modeling can be a useful tool to assess broad geographic scale exposure for epidemiologic studies and to examine scenario-based health impacts.

scholarly journals Forest Fire Effects on Air Quality in Ontario: Evaluation of Several Recent Examples

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 1059-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Dempsey
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Transport Mechanisms ◽  
Wildfire Smoke ◽  
Smoke Plumes ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
Degree Of Confidence ◽  
High Degree

Several events were studied to examine the sources of smoke and pollutants that may affect air quality in Ontario as well as the transport mechanisms that result in effects on ground-level air quality. The selected events were strongly suspected of being influenced by forest fire smoke plumes and the evaluation of the events in this study confirmed (to a high degree of confidence) that smoke made a contribution to the measured pollutants. The main satellite-based remote-sensing product that correlated well with wildfire smoke plumes was carbon monoxide column amount.

scholarly journals Spatial-Temporal Variability of Small Gas Impurities over Lake Baikal during the Forest Fires in the Summer of 2019

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Galina Zhamsueva ◽  
Alexander Zayakhanov ◽  
Vadim Tcydypov ◽  
Ayuna Dementeva ◽  
Tumen Balzhanov
Keyword(s):  
Lake Baikal ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Trace Gases ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Water Area ◽  
Ground Level Ozone ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Lake Baikal—a unique ecosystem on a global scale—is undoubtedly of great interest for a comprehensive study of its ecosystem. In recent years, one of the most significant sources of atmospheric pollution in the Baikal region was the emission of smoke aerosol and trace gases from forest fires, the number of which is increasing in the region. The transport and accumulation of aerosol and small gas impurities over water area of Lake Baikal is observed every summer due to forest fires occurring in the boreal forests of Siberia. The atmosphere above the lake covers a huge area (31,500 km2) and is still a little-studied object. This article presents the results of experimental studies of ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere over Lake Baikal, carried out on a research vessel during the boreal forest fires in Siberia in the summer of 2019.

Association of Air Pollutant Exposure and Sinonasal Histopathology Findings in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

2021 ◽  
pp. 194589242199365
Author(s):  
Tirth R. Patel ◽  
Bobby A. Tajudeen ◽  
Hannah Brown ◽  
Paolo Gattuso ◽  
Phillip LoSavio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Chronic Rhinosinusitis ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Ozone Exposure ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Sinus Surgery ◽  
Ground Level Ozone ◽  
The Impact

Background Ambient air pollution is well known to cause inflammatory change in respiratory epithelium and is associated with exacerbations of inflammatory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, limited work has been done on the impact of air pollution on pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis and there are no reports in the literature of how pollutant exposure may impact sinonasal histopathology in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Objective This study aims to identify associations between certain histopathologic characteristics seen in sinus tissue of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and levels of particulate air pollution (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone in their place of residence. Methods A structured histopathology report was created to characterize the tissues of CRS patients undergoing sinus surgery. An estimate for each patient’s exposure to air pollutants including small particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone was obtained using the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJSCREEN). Mean pollutant exposures for patients whose tissues exhibited varying histopathologic features were compared using logistic regression models. Results Data from 291 CRS patients were analyzed. Higher degree of inflammation was significantly associated with increased ozone exposure (p = 0.031). Amongst the patients with CRSwNP (n=131), presence of eosinophilic aggregates (p = 0.018) and Charcot-Leyden crystals (p = 0.036) was associated with increased ozone exposure. Conclusion Exposure to ambient air pollutants may contribute to pathogenesis of CRS. Increasing ozone exposure was linked to both higher tissue inflammation and presence of eosinophilic aggregates and Charcot-Leyden crystals in CRSwNP patients.

scholarly journals Consequences of human modification of the global nitrogen cycle

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1621) ◽  
pp. 20130116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Willem Erisman ◽  
James N. Galloway ◽  
Sybil Seitzinger ◽  
Albert Bleeker ◽  
Nancy B. Dise ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Single Atom ◽  
Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽  
Ground Level Ozone ◽  
Human Modification ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Nitrogen Cycle

The demand for more food is increasing fertilizer and land use, and the demand for more energy is increasing fossil fuel combustion, leading to enhanced losses of reactive nitrogen (N r ) to the environment. Many thresholds for human and ecosystem health have been exceeded owing to N r pollution, including those for drinking water (nitrates), air quality (smog, particulate matter, ground-level ozone), freshwater eutrophication, biodiversity loss, stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change and coastal ecosystems (dead zones). Each of these environmental effects can be magnified by the ‘nitrogen cascade’: a single atom of N r can trigger a cascade of negative environmental impacts in sequence. Here, we provide an overview of the impact of N r on the environment and human health, including an assessment of the magnitude of different environmental problems, and the relative importance of N r as a contributor to each problem. In some cases, N r loss to the environment is the key driver of effects (e.g. terrestrial and coastal eutrophication, nitrous oxide emissions), whereas in some other situations nitrogen represents a key contributor exacerbating a wider problem (e.g. freshwater pollution, biodiversity loss). In this way, the central role of nitrogen can remain hidden, even though it actually underpins many trans-boundary pollution problems.

Feasibility of forest-fire smoke detection using lidar

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei B. Utkin ◽  
Armando Fernandes ◽  
Fernando Simões ◽  
Alexander Lavrov ◽  
Rui Vilar
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Fire Detection ◽  
High Repetition Rate ◽  
Smoke Detection ◽  
Smoke Plume ◽  
Smoke Plumes ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
532 Nm

The feasibility and fundamentals of forest fire detection by smoke sensing with single-wavelength lidar are discussed with reference to results of 532-nm lidar measurements of smoke plumes from experimental forest fires in Portugal within the scope of the Gestosa 2001 project. The investigations included tracing smoke-plume evolution, estimating forest-fire alarm promptness, and smoke-plume location by azimuth rastering of the lidar optical axis. The possibility of locating a smoke plume whose source is out of line of sight and detection under extremely unfavourable visibility conditions was also demonstrated. The eye hazard problem is addressed and three possibilities of providing eye-safety conditions without loss of lidar sensitivity (namely, using a low energy-per-pulse and high repetition-rate laser, an expanded laser beam, or eye-safe radiation) are discussed.

Eye-safe lidar measurements for detection and investigation of forest-fire smoke

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei B. Utkin ◽  
Armando Fernandes ◽  
Alexander Lavrov ◽  
Rui Vilar
Keyword(s):  
Laser Beam ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Fire Detection ◽  
Layer By Layer ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Smoke Plumes ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Fire Smoke

The problem of eye safety in lidar-assisted wildland fire detection and investigation is considered as a problem of reduction of the hazard range within which the laser beam is dangerous for direct eye exposure. The dependence of this hazard range on the lidar characteristics is examined and possible eye-safety measures discussed. The potential of one of the cheapest ways of providing eye safety, which is based on placing the lidar in an elevated position and using a 1064-nm laser beam with increased divergence, is also investigated experimentally. It is demonstrated that a lidar system operating with wider beams maintains its ability to detect smoke plumes efficiently. Providing eye-safe conditions allows scanning of the internal 3D structure of smoke plumes in the vicinity of fire plots. Examples are given as layer-by-layer smoke concentration plots on the topographic map.

scholarly journals A comparison of four receptor models used to quantify the boreal wildfire smoke contribution to surface PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the BORTAS-B experiment

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 24043-24086
Author(s):  
M. D. Gibson ◽  
J. Haelssig ◽  
J. R. Pierce ◽  
M. Parrington ◽  
J. E. Franklin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Chemical Marker ◽  
Wildfire Smoke ◽  
Receptor Models ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Wild Fire ◽  
Fire Smoke ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper presents a quantitative comparison of the four most commonly used receptor models, namely Absolute Principal Component Scores (APCS), Pragmatic Mass Closure (PMC), Chemical Mass Balance (CMB), and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). The models were used to predict the contributions of a wide variety of sources to PM2.5 mass in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites (BORTAS) experiment. However, particular emphasis was placed on the capacity of the models to predict the boreal wild fire smoke contributions during the BORTAS experiment. Using PMF, a new woodsmoke enrichment factor of 52 was estimated for use in the PMC receptor model. The results indicate that the APCS and PMC receptor models were not able to accurately resolve total PM2.5 mass concentrations below 2.0 μg m−3. CMB was better able to resolve these low PM2.5 concentrations, but it could not be run on 9 of the 45 days of PM2.5 samples. PMF was found to be the most robust of the four models since it was able to resolve PM2.5 mass below 2.0 μg m−3, predict PM2.5 mass on all 45 days, and utilized an unambiguous woodsmoke chemical marker. The median woodsmoke relative contribution to PM2.5 estimated using PMC, APCS, CMB and PMF were found to be 0.08, 0.09, 3.59 and 0.14 μg m−3, respectively. The contribution predicted by the CMB model seems to be clearly too high based on other observations. The use of levoglucosan as a tracer for woodsmoke was found to be vital for identifying this source.

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