scholarly journals PM<sub>10</sub> measurements in urban settlements after lava fountain episodes at Mt Etna, Italy: pilot test to assess volcanic ash hazard on human health

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 3925-3953
Author(s):  
D. Andronico ◽  
P. Del Carlo
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
New South ◽  
Coarse Particles ◽  
Lava Fountain ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Mt Etna ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tephra Fallout

Abstract. In this paper we focus on the potential risks caused by the sub-10 micron fraction of volcanic ash (particulate matter: PM10) after the basaltic explosive eruptions from Mt Etna volcano (Italy), which have dramatically increased in frequency over the last 20 years. We present results deriving from the study of the ash concentration in the air following the lava fountain episode from the New South-East Crater of Etna on 15 November 2011, which caused tephra fallout over the eastern slope of the volcano. Short-duration tests of PM10 measurements were carried out at three different sites using a TSI® DustTrakTM aerosol monitor a few hours after the end of the eruption, and readouts of the air quality were repeated at the same sites a month later without volcanic activity. Furthermore, ash samples were characterized by grain-size, componentry, morphological and petro-chemical analyses. By comparing PM10 levels measured a few hours after the 15 November lava fountain and on 15 December, we found that relatively low amounts (500–1500 g m-2) of tephra fallout cause high levels of PM10 in the air. This is because the coarse particles, like basaltic ash, are readily broken up by traffic and hence remobilized into the air, due to their intrinsic, physical and morphological features. We believe that in the future the impact from ash fallout in the Etnean territory should receive proper attention in order to avoid potential health problems; this may be achieved by accomplishing simple but effective actions, first and foremost the prompt removal of the ash deposits from the urbanized areas.

scholarly journals PM<sub>10</sub> measurements in urban settlements after lava fountain episodes at Mt. Etna, Italy: pilot test to assess volcanic ash hazard to human health

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Andronico ◽  
P. Del Carlo
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Coarse Particles ◽  
Lava Fountain ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Mt Etna ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tephra Fallout

Abstract. We have carried out a preliminary study on the potential risks caused by the sub-10 µm fraction of volcanic ash (particulate matter, PM10) after the basaltic explosive eruptions from Mt. Etna volcano (Italy), which have dramatically increased in frequency over the last 20 years. We present results deriving from the study of the ash concentration in the air following the lava fountain episode from the New Southeast Crater of Etna on 15 November 2011, which caused tephra fallout over the eastern slope of the volcano. Short-duration tests of PM10 measurements were carried out at three different sites using a TSI® DustTrakTM aerosol monitor a few hours after the end of the eruption, and readouts of the air quality were repeated at the same sites a month later without volcanic activity. Furthermore, ash samples were characterized by grain size, componentry and morphological and petrochemical analyses. By comparing PM10 levels measured a few hours after the 15 November lava fountain and on 15 December, we found that relatively low amounts (500–1500 g m−2) of tephra fallout cause high levels of PM10 in the air. This is because the coarse particles, particularly basaltic ash, are readily broken up by traffic and hence remobilized into the air. We believe the impact from ash fallout in the Etnean territory should receive greater attention, especially regarding potential health problems. Simple but effective actions can be implemented to reduce eventual risks, first and foremost the prompt removal of the ash deposits from the urbanized areas.

scholarly journals FALL3D-8.0: a computational model for atmospheric transport and deposition of particles, aerosols and radionuclides – Part 2: Model validation

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 409-436
Author(s):  
Andrew T. Prata ◽  
Leonardo Mingari ◽  
Arnau Folch ◽  
Giovanni Macedonio ◽  
Antonio Costa
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Model Validation ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Test Suite ◽  
Structure Amplitude ◽  
Satellite Retrievals ◽  
Mt Etna ◽  
Ash Cloud ◽  
Tephra Fallout

Abstract. This paper presents model validation results for the latest version release of the FALL3D atmospheric transport model. The code has been redesigned from scratch to incorporate different categories of species and to overcome legacy issues that precluded its preparation towards extreme-scale computing. The model validation is based on the new FALL3D-8.0 test suite, which comprises a set of four real case studies that encapsulate the major features of the model; namely, the simulation of long-range fine volcanic ash dispersal, volcanic SO2 dispersal, tephra fallout deposits and the dispersal and deposition of radionuclides. The first two test suite cases (i.e. the June 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle ash cloud and the June 2019 Raikoke SO2 cloud) are validated against geostationary satellite retrievals and demonstrate the new FALL3D data insertion scheme. The metrics used to validate the volcanic ash and SO2 simulations are the structure, amplitude and location (SAL) metric and the figure of merit in space (FMS). The other two test suite cases (i.e. the February 2013 Mt. Etna ash cloud and associated tephra fallout deposit, and the dispersal of radionuclides resulting from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident) are validated with scattered ground-based observations of deposit load and local particle grain size distributions and with measurements from the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring database. For validation of tephra deposit loads and radionuclides, we use two variants of the normalised root-mean-square error metric. We find that FALL3D-8.0 simulations initialised with data insertion consistently improve agreement with satellite retrievals at all lead times up to 48 h for both volcanic ash and SO2 simulations. In general, SAL scores lower than 1.5 and FMS scores greater than 0.40 indicate acceptable agreement with satellite retrievals of volcanic ash and SO2. In addition, we show very good agreement, across several orders of magnitude, between the model and observations for the 2013 Mt. Etna and 1986 Chernobyl case studies. Our results, along with the validation datasets provided in the publicly available test suite, form the basis for future improvements to FALL3D (version 8 or later) and also allow for model intercomparison studies.

A Simulation Environment for Analyzing the Impact of Volcanic Ash on Trajectory-Based Air Traffic Management

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Schmitt ◽  
Ruzica Vujasinovic ◽  
Christiane Edinger ◽  
Julia Zillies ◽  
Vilmar Mollwitz
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Management ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Air Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Simulation Environment ◽  
The Impact

Seed production and seedling emergence of Giant Parramatta grass on the north coast of New South Wales

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
TS Andrews ◽  
RDB Whalley ◽  
CE Jones
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Seed Fall ◽  
The Impact

Inputs and losses from Giant Parramatta grass [GPG, Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. major (Buse) Baaijens] soil seed banks were quantified on the North Coast of New South Wales. Monthly potential seed production and actual seed fall was estimated at Valla during 1991-92. Total potential production was >668 000 seeds/m2 for the season, while seed fall was >146000 seeds/m2. Seed fall >10000 seeds/m2.month was recorded from January until May, with further seed falls recorded in June and July. The impact of seed production on seed banks was assessed by estimating seed banks in the seed production quadrats before and after seed fall. Seed banks in 4 of the 6 sites decreased in year 2, although seed numbers at 1 damp site increased markedly. Defoliation from mid-December until February, April or June prevented seed production, reducing seed banks by 34% over 7 months. Seed banks in undefoliated plots increased by 3300 seeds/m2, although seed fall was estimated at >114 000 seeds/m2. Emergence of GPG seedlings from artificially established and naturally occurring, persistent seed banks was recorded for 3 years from bare and vegetated treatment plots. Sown seeds showed high levels of innate dormancy and only 4% of seeds emerged when sown immediately after collection. Longer storage of seeds after collection resulted in more seedlings emerging. Estimates of persistent seed banks ranged from 1650 to about 21260 seeds/m2. Most seedlings emerged in spring or autumn and this was correlated with rainfall but not with ambient temperatures. Rates of seed bank decline in both bare and vegetated treatment plots was estimated by fitting exponential decay curves to seed bank estimates. Assuming no further seed inputs, it was estimated that it would take about 3 and 5 years, respectively, for seed banks to decline to 150 seeds/m2 in bare and vegetated treatments.

scholarly journals On the Spatial Patterns of Urban Thermal Conditions Using Indoor and Outdoor Temperatures

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 640
Author(s):  
Sadroddin Alavipanah ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
Mohsen Makki ◽  
Mir Muhammad Nizamani ◽  
Salman Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Temperature Data ◽  
Cold Spot ◽  
Temperature Pattern ◽  
Outdoor Temperature ◽  
Residential Units ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

The changing climate has introduced new and unique challenges and threats to humans and their environment. Urban dwellers in particular have suffered from increased levels of heat stress, and the situation is predicted to continue to worsen in the future. Attention toward urban climate change adaptation has increased more than ever before, but previous studies have focused on indoor and outdoor temperature patterns separately. The objective of this research is to assess the indoor and outdoor temperature patterns of different urban settlements. Remote sensing data, together with air temperature data collected with temperature data loggers, were used to analyze land surface temperature (outdoor temperature) and air temperature (indoor temperature). A hot and cold spot analysis was performed to identify the statistically significant clusters of high and low temperature data. The results showed a distinct temperature pattern across different residential units. Districts with dense urban settlements show a warmer outdoor temperature than do more sparsely developed districts. Dense urban settlements show cooler indoor temperatures during the day and night, while newly built districts show cooler outdoor temperatures during the warm season. Understanding indoor and outdoor temperature patterns simultaneously could help to better identify districts that are vulnerable to heat stress in each city. Recognizing vulnerable districts could minimize the impact of heat stress on inhabitants.

scholarly journals Development of a Rapid Risk and Impact Assessment Tool to Enhance Response to Environmental Emergencies in the Early Stages of a Disaster: A Tool Developed by the European Multiple Environmental Threats Emergency NETwork (EMETNET) Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma-Jane Goode ◽  
Eirian Thomas ◽  
Owen Landeg ◽  
Raquel Duarte-Davidson ◽  
Lisbeth Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Protection Mechanism ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Environmental Disasters ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Impact

AbstractEvery year, numerous environmental disasters and emergencies occur across the globe with far-reaching impacts on human health and the environment. The ability to rapidly assess an environmental emergency to mitigate potential risks and impacts is paramount. However, collating the necessary evidence in the early stages of an emergency to conduct a robust risk assessment is a major challenge. This article presents a methodology developed to help assess the risks and impacts during the early stages of such incidents, primarily to support the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism but also the wider global community in the response to environmental emergencies. An online rapid risk and impact assessment tool has also been developed to promote enhanced collaboration between experts who are working remotely, considering the impact of a disaster on the environment and public health in the short, medium, and long terms. The methodology developed can support the appropriate selection of experts and assets to be deployed to affected regions to ensure that potential public health and environmental risks and impacts are mitigated whenever possible. This methodology will aid defensible decision making, communication, planning, and risk management, and presents a harmonized understanding of the associated impacts of an environmental emergency.

scholarly journals From COVID-19 adversity comes opportunity: teaching an online integrative medicine course

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002713
Author(s):  
Eran Ben-Arye ◽  
Yael Keshet ◽  
Ariel Schiff ◽  
Catherine Zollman ◽  
Emanuela Portalupi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Integrative Medicine ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Elective Course ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundWe examine the impact of a 5-day online elective course in integrative medicine (IM) taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, attended by 18 medical students from two faculties of medicine in Israel.MethodsThe course curriculum addressed effectiveness and safety of IM practices highlighting supportive and palliative care, demonstrated the work of integrative physicians (IPs) in designing patient-tailored treatments and taught practical skills in communication regarding IM. Group discussions were conducted via Zoom with 32 physicians, healthcare practitioners and IM practitioners working in integrative academic, community and hospital-based settings, in Israel, Italy, UK and Germany. An 18-item questionnaire examined student attitudes and perceived acquisition of skills for implementing what was learned in clinical practice. Student narratives were analysed using ATLAS.Ti software for systematic coding, identifying barriers and advantages of the online learning methodology.ResultsStudents reported a better understanding of the benefits of IM for specific outcomes (p=0.012) and of potential risks associated with these therapies (p=0.048). They also perceived the acquisition of skills related to the IM-focused history (p=0.006), learnt to identify effectiveness and safety of IM treatments (p=0.001), and internalised the referral to IPs for consultation (p=0.001). Student narratives included reflections on the tools provided during the course for assessing effectiveness and safety, enhancing communication with patients, enriching their patient-centred perspective, raising awareness of available therapeutic options, and personal and professional growth.ConclusionsOnline clinical electives in IM are feasible and can significantly increase students’ awareness and modify attitudes towards acquirement of patient-centred perspectives.

scholarly journals Potential health impact of increasing adoption of sustainable dietary practices in Sweden

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Patterson ◽  
Patricia Eustachio Colombo ◽  
James Milner ◽  
Rosemary Green ◽  
Liselotte Schäfer Elinder
Keyword(s):  
Health Impact ◽  
Milk Intake ◽  
Processed Meat ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
Equal Weight ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Swedish Population ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Red And Processed Meat

Abstract Background An urgent transition to more sustainable diets is necessary for the improvement of human and planetary health. One way to achieve this is for sustainable practices to become mainstream. We estimated the potential health impact of wider adoption of dietary practices deemed by consumers, researchers and stakeholders in Sweden to be niche, sustainable and with the potential to be scaled up. Methods A life table method was used to estimate the impact - changes in years of life lost (YLL) - over periods of 20 and 30 years in the Swedish population had the practices been adopted in 2010–11, when the last national adult dietary survey was conducted. The practices modelled were reducing red and processed meat (by 25, 50 and 100%), and assuming, for each stage, replacement by an equal weight of poultry/fish and vegetables +/− legumes; reducing milk intake (by 25, 50 and 100%); and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake (by 25, 50 and 100%). Using population data together with data on cause-specific mortality and relative risks for diet-disease outcomes, impacts were estimated for each scenario separately and in combination, for the outcomes ischaemic heart disease (IHD), ischaemic stroke, diabetes type 2 and colorectal cancer. Results For a “moderate” combination of scenarios (changes at the 50% level), reductions of 513,200 YLL (lower-upper uncertainty estimate 59,400-797,900) could have been achieved over 20 years and 1,148,500 YLL (135,900-1,786,600) over 30 years. The majority (over 90%) of YLLs prevented were related to IHD, and the majority were in men. The singular practice that had the most impact was reducing the intake of red and processed meat and replacing it with a mixture of vegetables and legumes. Reducing milk intake resulted in an increase in YLL, but this was compensated for by other scenarios. Conclusion If these practices were more widely adopted, they would be expected to lead to improvements in public health in Sweden. Over the long term, this would translate to many premature deaths postponed or prevented from a number of chronic diseases, to the benefit of individuals, society, the climate and the economy.

scholarly journals A model sensitivity study of the impact of clouds on satellite detection and retrieval of volcanic ash

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1935-1949 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kylling ◽  
N. Kristiansen ◽  
A. Stohl ◽  
R. Buras-Schnell ◽  
C. Emde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Spectral Band ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Mass Loading ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
Medium Range Weather Forecast ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Volcanic ash is commonly observed by infrared detectors on board Earth-orbiting satellites. In the presence of ice and/or liquid-water clouds, the detected volcanic ash signature may be altered. In this paper the sensitivity of detection and retrieval of volcanic ash to the presence of ice and liquid-water clouds was quantified by simulating synthetic equivalents to satellite infrared images with a 3-D radiative transfer model. The sensitivity study was made for the two recent eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull (2010) and Grímsvötn (2011) using realistic water and ice clouds and volcanic ash clouds. The water and ice clouds were taken from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) analysis data and the volcanic ash cloud fields from simulations by the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART. The radiative transfer simulations were made both with and without ice and liquid-water clouds for the geometry and channels of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). The synthetic SEVIRI images were used as input to standard reverse absorption ash detection and retrieval methods. Ice and liquid-water clouds were on average found to reduce the number of detected ash-affected pixels by 6–12%. However, the effect was highly variable and for individual scenes up to 40% of pixels with mass loading >0.2 g m−2 could not be detected due to the presence of water and ice clouds. For coincident pixels, i.e. pixels where ash was both present in the FLEXPART (hereafter referred to as "Flexpart") simulation and detected by the algorithm, the presence of clouds overall increased the retrieved mean mass loading for the Eyjafjallajökull (2010) eruption by about 13%, while for the Grímsvötn (2011) eruption ash-mass loadings the effect was a 4% decrease of the retrieved ash-mass loading. However, larger differences were seen between scenes (standard deviations of ±30 and ±20% for Eyjafjallajökull and Grímsvötn, respectively) and even larger ones within scenes. The impact of ice and liquid-water clouds on the detection and retrieval of volcanic ash, implies that to fully appreciate the location and amount of ash, hyperspectral and spectral band measurements by satellite instruments should be combined with ash dispersion modelling.

Up the Garden Path? Enterprise Bargaining and Decentralization in the NSW Public Sector

1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O'Donnell
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
New South ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Impact

Decentralizing industrial relations within New South Wales is a central recom mendation of the Niland Green Paper (1989). Decentralism also represents the cornerstone of the New South Wales government's industrial relations reform agenda enshrined in the New South Wales Industrial Relations Act 1991. To date there has been little analysis of the impact o f this legislative change on industrial relations in the New South Wales public sector. This paper provides a case study that examines the degree to which responsibility for bargaining has been devolved within the Parks and Gardens of the New South Wales Ministry for the Environ ment. It argues that, in contrast to the rhetoric of the New South Wales Act, the central agency presiding over the introduction of enterprise bargaining in the public sector, the Public Employment and Industrial Relations Authority; has been reluctant to delegate responsibility to parties in the workplace.

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