Hamilton’s Air Pollution Hot Spots

Mobile Air Quality Monitoring to Determine Local Impacts  (39 page pdf, Denis Corr, Rotek Environmental Inc. July 2011) Also discussed here: Unique study maps neighbourhood air pollution  (Hamilton Spectator, Jan. 20, 2012) And here: A Public Health Assessment of Mortality and Hospital Admissions Attributable to Air Pollution in Hamilton  (3 page pdf, School of Geography [...]

The State of Air Pollution in Europe

The European Environment – State and Outlook 2010 – Air Pollution (46 page pdf, European Environment Agency, 2010) The report reviewed today is an overview of the progress (or lack of progress) being made or forecast in Europe to meet EU objectives. Clearly, the main challenge has to do with particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide [...]

The Application of Air Quality Models in Europe

The application of models under the European Union’s Air Quality Directive: A technical reference guide  (76 page pdf, European Environment Agency, Sep. 2011) Today’s focus is on the application of air quality models in Europe, noting the limitations and benefits of models in combination with ground-based or space-based monitors. There are several very useful tables [...]

Can Simulation Modelling Steer Us toward Sustainability?

Virtual Sustainability (16 page pdf, Sims Bainbridge, W. Sustainability 2010, 2, 3195-3210, Sep. 30,2010) Models simulating  the ways that people interact with the natural world and themselves have long been used to create scenarios that allow environmental and economic policies to be tested. The World 2 model was developed Jay W. Forrester in 1970, using [...]

Classifying Assessing Health Impacts from Urban Air Pollution Differences

Implications of different approaches for characterizing ambient air pollutant concentrations within the urban airshed for time-series studies and health benefits analyses (26 page pdf, Matthew J Strickland, Lyndsey A Darrow, James A Mulholland, Mitchel Klein, W DANA Flanders, Andrea Winquist and Paige E Tolbert, Environmental Health 2011, 10:36, May 11, 2011) Today’s review article examined [...]

Modelling Exposure to Health Risks from Air Pollution

Combining Regional- and Local-Scale Air Quality Models with Exposure Models for Use in Environmental Health Studies (12 page pdf, Vlad Isakov, Jawad S. Touma, and Janet Burke, Danelle T. Lobdell, Ted Palma, Arlene Rosenbaum, Haluk Ozkaynak, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Vol. 59:461– 472, Apr. 2009)   Today’s focus is on ways [...]

An Urban Air Pollution Simulator

Smog City Today’s review is about a computer simulator from California showing ozone levels over a day as a function of population, temperature, amount of cars and trucks, industry etc. To see Key Quotes and Links about this post, go to the new internet platform for Pollution Free Cities by clicking HERE

Neural Network Modelling and Residential Building Energy Consumption

Analysis of a Residential Building Energy Consumption Demand Model (13 page pdf, Wei Yu, Baizhan Li, Yarong Lei and Meng Liu, Energies 2011, 4(3), 475-487, Mar. 10, 2011)   One of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions world-wide is the fuel used to heat (or cool) residences. Today’s review article uses advanced neural network [...]

Modelling Rush Hour Emissions for Ottawa’s Major Roadways

Development of a Methodology for Estimating Vehicle Emissions (416 page pdf thesis, Jennifer Armstrong, Carleton University, AMICUS service of Library and Archives Canada, Aug. 2000)   The report reviewed today is a ground-breaking thesis by a graduate student at Carleton University’s engineering school which won awards from the Ontario Ministry of Environment and the Professional [...]

Health Outcomes of Reducing the Local Air Pollution Burden

Feasibility of Assessing Public Health Impacts of Air Pollution Reduction Programs on a Local Scale: New Haven Case Study (31 page pdf, Lobdell DT, Isakov V, Baxter L, Touma JS, Smuts MB, Özkaynak H, Environ Health Perspect, 18 Feb.18, 2011)     Today’s review article examines the feasibility of applying air quality modelling to the [...]

3D Forecasts of Air Quality – PREV’AIR

PREV’AIR -An Operational Forecasting and Mapping System for Air Quality in Europe (11 page pdf, Bulletin of American Meteorological Society, Jan. 2009) Also discussed here: PREV’AIR Key Quotes: “[French] local authorities in charge of air pollution can now inform the public and take emergency decisions related to air pollution control not only on the basis [...]

Atmospheric Chemistry Processes in Smog Formation

Predicting Smoggiest Days: Experiments Improve Accuracy of Ozone Predictions in Air-Quality Models (Science Daily, Oct. 28, 2010) Also discussed here: Rate of Gas Phase Association of Hydroxyl Radical and Nitrogen Dioxide (Abstract, Science, Vol. 330. no. 6004, pp. 646 – 649, Oct. 29, 2010) Key Quotes: “The reaction of OH and NO2 to form gaseous [...]

Modelling Air Quality in an Urban Canyon

Estimation of CO concentrations for an urban street canyon in Ireland (8 page pdf, Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, Mar. 5, 2010) Today’s review article looks at the performance of two canyon air quality models – STREET and OSPOM – when compared with stationary monitor located near a busy roadway in Dublin. In addition an [...]

Neuro-fuzzy Urban Air Quality Modelling

Image via Wikipedia Adaptive neuro-fuzzy modeling for prediction of ambient CO concentration at urban intersections and roadways (10 page pdf, Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, May 19, 2010) Modelling of urban air pollution has developed from purely statistical to deterministic but today’s article focuses on neuro-fuzzy techniques which bridges the use of “expert” modelling techniques [...]

Life-Cycle Assessment of Nanotechnology and Health

Image via Wikipedia Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking (16 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2(10), 3323-3338, Oct. 25, 2010) Before futurist Jay W. Forrester at MIT, developed the “World” model for the Club of Rome in 1970, he focussed on the same Systems Dynamic approach by applying it to an urban setting.  Many [...]

Modelling Urban Air Pollution Hot Spots

Modelling Urban Traffic Air Pollution Dispersion (The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. Vol. XXXVII. Part B8. Beijing 2008) The article being reviewed today addresses the need for local authorities to know the distribution of urban air pollution both in the horizontal, as reported in Ottawa Air Quality Information System [...]

Speed vs. Frequency- what counts most?

Applying Highway Concepts to Transit (Human Transit, Apr. 16, 2010) Also discussed here: Illusions of Travel Time in Transit Promotion (Human Transit, Mar. 28, 2010) Secondary reference:  AASHTO GREEN BOOK – A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 5th Edition When assessing options for transit , there is need to think differently than [...]

Global Mortality Impact of Air Pollution

An Estimate of the Global Burden of Anthropogenic Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter on Premature Human Mortality using Atmospheric Modeling ( 36 page pdf, Environ Health Perspect, 09 April 2010) A key reference and estimate of the overall impact of particulate matter and ozone on worldwide deaths. Key Quotes “estimate the global burden of mortality [...]

Air Pollution – Health Effects Methodology

Image via Wikipedia Case-Crossover Analysis of Air Pollution Health Effects: a Systematic Review of Methodology and Application (47 page pdf, Environ Health Perspect, 31 March 2010) Key Quotes: “systematic review of case-crossover (CCO) designs used to study the relationship between air pollution and morbidity and mortality, from the standpoint of methodology and of application..first systematic [...]

London Air Pollution in 3D

This short video shows the relationship between roadside emissions and the city of London‘s topography and building architecture- as well as the future direction of the merging of Geographical Information System (GIS) data bases with air pollution monitoring and mapping. Related articles by Zemanta London’s air pollution worst is Europe, so city faces stiff fines [...]

Can Highway Barriers Contain Pollution from Traffic?

Tracer studies to characterize the effects of roadside noise barriers on near-road pollutant dispersion under varying atmospheric stability conditions (Atmospheric Environment, Volume 44, Issue 2, January 2010, Pages 204-214) Discussed here: Highway Barriers Stifle Sound, Sight, and Soot (Science Daily, Jan. 5, 2010) Also discussed here Highway Barriers Stifle Pollution (the earthy report, Jan. 8,2010) [...]

Satellite-based Estimates of Aerosol Optical Depth and Particulate Matter

What Can Affect AOD–PM2.5 Association? ( 2 page pdf, Environ Health Perspect,  Mar.1, 2010) Also discussed here: Limitations of Remotely Sensed Aerosol as a Spatial Proxy for Fine Particulate Matter (6 page pdf, Environ Health Perspect, June 2009) Key Quotes: “The columnar measurement of AODS consists of aerosols generated by anthropogenic (human) sources …is influenced [...]

Forecasting Air Pollution with Artificial Neural Networks

3-Day-Ahead Forecasting of Regional Pollution Index for the Pollutants NO2, CO, SO2, and O3 Using Artificial Neural Networks in Athens, Greece (15 page pdf, Water Air Soil Pollut, 29 Aug 2009) Key Quotes: “The goal of this study is the construction of models, using ANNs, which give the possibility of forecasting the maximum daily value [...]

The benefits of reducing 1 ton of air pollution

The influence of location, source, and emission type in estimates of the human health benefits of reducing a ton of air pollution (8 page pdf) Key Quotes “The benefit per ton ($/ton) of reducing PM2.5 varies by the location of the emission reduction, the type of source emitting the precursor, and the specific precursor controlled. [...]

Planning Future Cities

A new urban planning tool, MetroQuest ,  is being used to create scenarios for the next few decades and examine the future trends and links between transportation, housing, water, education, jobs, air quality, and many other quality-of-life issues. Regional Air Quality Snapshot (51 page pdf- May 2009) for Chicago. “This Regional Air Quality Snapshot describes [...]

The Greenhouse Effect (1896)

On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground (22 page pdf) “Arrhenius’s paper is the first to quantify the contribution of carbon dioxide to the greenhouse effect and to speculate about whether variations in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide have contributed to long-term variations in climate” Arrhenius [...]

Health Effects of Near-Roadway Air Pollution (EPA)

EPA Research Focus – Health Effects of Near-Roadway Air Pollution (AWMA-Aug, 2009- 5 page pdf) – exciting new EPA study on health impacts within 300 ft of heavy traffic. The quote below about schools near freeways needs to be considered by planners in cities, such as Ottawa and Toronto, bisected by  major highways  which run [...]

Traffic Congestion and Emissions

An Examination of Congestion in Road Traffic Emission Models and Their Application to Urban Road Networks This 393 page PhD thesis by Robin Smit examines traffic emission models (such as the Canadian EMME traffic demand model)and the extent to which they represent congestion as a factor, using actual traffic data from Brisbane, the 3rd largest [...]

AIRGIS

http://www.dmu.dk/International/Air/Models/AIRGIS/ posure studies, as well as urban air quality assessment and management. … Ottawa probably has the basic tools to develop a similar GIS based mappng system here to assess health risk from trafffic

Air pollution at street level in European cities

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/technical_report_2006_1/at_download/file “Air pollution at street level in European cities” European Environment Agency, Copenhagen , 2005 (52 pages) Executive Summary: “Traffic-related air pollution is still one of the most pressing problems in urban areas. Evidence of the adverse health effects of fine particulate matter is continuously emerging and it is alarming that most of the traffic-related [...]

Predicting Air Quality at Street Level – A State-of-Science Review

http://www.eco.on.ca/eng/uploads/eng_pdfs/2008/2008%20air%20quality.pdf “Predicting Air Quality at Street Level – A State-of-Science Review” by RWDI AIR Inc. Consulting Engineers(2008, 30 pages) SUBMITTED TO: Mr. Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Key Quote: “These measurement and forecast systems have proven useful to advise the public about large scale smog events, but do not deal with public exposure to [...]

Welcome to Smog City 2

Welcome to Smog City 2 Source http://www.smogcity2.org/ Using an interactive air pollution simulator to control the air quality in Smog City 2, you can see how individual choices, environmental factors, and different types of land use affect air pollution. …

AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT: WEB-BASED TOOLS

AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT: WEB-BASED TOOLS | BAQ 2008 Source: http://baq2008.org/sw3-fedra Within the framework of the international RTD project WEBAIR (EUREKA E! 3266 EUROENVIRON), a web-based air quality assessment and management information system is being developed in collaboration of partners from 18 countries (http://www.ess.co.at/WEBAIR).

MODELING OF AIR QUALITY AND REGIONAL CLIMATE INTERACTIONS

MODELING OF AIR QUALITY AND REGIONAL CLIMATE INTERACTIONS | BAQ 2008 Source: http://baq2008.org/sw13-jang A series of pioneer modeling efforts have been undertaken to study the interactions of air quality and regional climate as part of USEPA’s “Intercontinental Transport and Climatic Effects of Air Pollutants” (ICAP) project. … – extremely interesting look at links between projected [...]