Impact of Cyclone Nilam on Tropical Lower Atmospheric Dynamics

A deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on 28 October 2012, and developed into a cyclonic storm. After landfall near the south coast of Chennai, cyclone Nilam moved north-northwestwards. Coordinated experiments were conducted from the Indian stations of Gadanki（13.5？N, 79.2？E） and Hyderabad（17.4？N, 78.5？E） to study the modification of gravity-wave activity and turbulence by cyclone Nilam, using GPS radiosonde and mesosphere–stratosphere–troposphere radar data. The horizontal velocities underwent large changes during the closest approach of the storm to the experimental sites. Hodograph analysis revealed that inertia gravity waves（IGWs） associated with the cyclone changed their directions from northeast（control time） to northwest following the path of the cyclone. The momentum flux of IGWs and short-period gravity waves（1–8 h） enhanced prior to, and during, the passage of the storm（±0.05 m2s-2and ±0.3 m2s-2, respectively）, compared to the flux after its passage. The corresponding body forces underwent similar changes, with values ranging between ±2–4m s-1d-1and ±12–15 m s-1d-1. The turbulence refractivity structure constant（C2n） showed large values below 10 km before the passage of the cyclone when humidity in the region was very high. Turbulence and humidity reduced during the passage of the storm when a turbulent layer at ～17 km became more intense. Turbulence in the lower troposphere and near the tropopause became weak after the passage of the cyclone.

Multichannel singular spectrum analysis of the axial atmospheric angular momentum

Earth＇s variable rotation is mainly produced by the variability of the AAM（atmospheric angular momentum）. In particular, the axial AAM component X_3, which undergoes especially strong variations,induces changes in the Earth＇s rotation rate. In this study we analysed maps of regional input into the effective axial AAM from 1948 through 2011 from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. Global zonal circulation patterns related to the LOD（length of day） were described. We applied MSSA（Multichannel Singular Spectrum Analysis） jointly to the mass and motion components of AAM, which allowed us to extract annual, semiannual, 4-mo nth, quasi-biennial, 5-year, and low-frequency oscillations. PCs（Principal components） strongly related to ENSO（El Nino southern oscillation） were released. They can be used to study ENSO-induced changes in pressure and wind fields and their coupling to LOD. The PCs describing the trends have captured slow atmospheric circulation changes possibly related to climate variability.

Kinetics of the Oxidation of Hydrogen Sulfide by Atmospheric Oxygen in an Aqueous Medium

Hydrogen sulfide is an important acid rain precursor and this led us to investigate the kinetics of its oxidation in aqueous phase by atmospheric oxygen.The kinetics was followed by measuring the depletion of oxygen in a reactor.The reaction was studied under pseudo order conditions with[H2S]in excess.The kinetics followed the rate law:-d[O_(2)]/dt=k[S][O_(2)]_(t)(A)Where[S]represents the total concentration of hydrogen sulfide,[O_(2)]_(t)is the concentration of oxygen at time t and k is the second order rate constant.The equilibria(B-C)govern the dissolution of H_(2)S;the sulfide ion in water forms different species:H_(2)S K1→←HS^(-)+H_(+)(B)HS^(-)K2→←S^(2-)+H^(+)(C)Where K_(1)and K_(2)are first and second dissociation constants of H_(2)S.Although,H_(2)S is present as undissociated H_(2)S,HS^(-)and S^(2-)ions,nature of[H^(+)]dependence of reaction rate required only HS^(-)to be reactive and dominant.The rate law(A)on including[H^(+)]dependence became Equation(D).-d[O_(2)]/dt=k_(1)K_(1)[H^(+)][S][O_(2)]_(t)/([H^(+)]^(2)+K_(1)[H^(+)]+K_(1)K_(2))(D)Our results indicate anthropogenic VOCs such as acetanilide,benzene,ethanol,aniline,toluene,benzamide,o-xylene,m-xylene,p-xylene and anisole to have no significant effect on the reaction rate and any observed small effect is within the uncertainty of the rate measurements.

Environmental and Economic Impact of Forest Fires in Puerto Rico 2013-2014

This study presents an analysis of the impact of forest fires in Puerto Rico for the period from 2013-2014. The climatological factors analyzed included precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and wind. Several factors have combined to the increase of these forest fires, among others, a decrease in precipitation during this period, as well as an increase in the human involvement in these fires from approximately 40% occurs in the night period (5:00 pm to 8:00 am), where the weather conditions do not favor the appearance of these phenomena. An increase in fires of 44% occurred in 2013 compared to 2014, causing an economic loss of $13.8 million. Fire also adversely affected the flora and fauna of the island, but this was not evaluated in this paper.

National Inventory of Mercury Release into Different Environmental Sectors Estimated by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Toolkit in Costa Rica

This paper summarizes the national inventory of mercury released into all environmental sectors (air, water, land, impurity in products, general wastes and sector specific treatment/disposal) for the year 2008 in the country of Costa Rica, using the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) mercury toolkit. The data collection about the input and output of mercury for the year 2008, was carried out during the years 2014 and 2015. The data used for estimation are mainly obtained from the Costa Rican Government’s official publications. The research was developed in order to create a national inventory of mercury releases into all environmental sectors in order to aid mercury management in Costa Rica. Total input and output of mercury, distribution into different environmental sectors, major contributions by mercury sources (“steps” “categories” and “subcategories”) are discussed. The standard estimation of total mercury input is 7174.00 kg/year. The biggest mercury input are “waste treatment and recycling” (3086.00 kg Hg, 43.17%) and “general consumption of mercury in products, as metal mercury and as mercury containing substances” (3189.00 kg Hg, 44.62%). The total mercury released is 31,689.29 kg/year. The biggest emission of mercury corresponds to the source “waste treatment and recycling” (28,359.29 kg/year, 89.49%). The “air” is the main impacted environmental sector due the different mercury inputs. A total of 28,155.60 kg/year (88.55%) is released in this media. Only 1635.10 kg/year (5.16%) of the total mercury emissions is deposited in the environmental sector named “general waste”. The rest of the environmental sectors evaluated are impacted with less of 3.00% of the total mercury released.

Wind Motions around the Tropical Cirrus Using Simultaneous Radar and Lidar Observations over Gadanki (13.45°N, 79.18°E), India

The present study describes variation of peak linear depolarization ratio (LDR) with wind around the cloud altitude using simultaneous observation of winds and cirrus cloud for the first time using Indian MST radar and polarization lidar co-located over a low latitude station Gadanki (13.7°N and 79.2°E). Three different cases of passage of the cirrus at different altitudes are noticed, one during a North-East monsoon day and other two during South-West monsoon days. The zonal wind below the cloud height has shown similar variation with LDR during 02 November 2006 and the meridional wind within the cloud height during 25 July 2007 and 08 June 2006 has shown opposite variation with LDR. Even though there is a significant increase in zonal wind due to the existence of tropical easterly jet (TEJ) above cloud height during 25 July 2007 and 08 June 2006, also, the vertical wind is found to be continuously varying during 25 July 2007 and it is upward dominant in the initial stage and is mostly downward in the later stage of observation on 08 June 2006, there is a slight descent in cloud altitude only during 25 July 2007. Thus, the wind above the cloud height alone may not affect the ascent/descent of the cloud top altitude. The potential temperature gradient is high within the cloud heights when the cirrus present near the cold point tropopause indicates the maximum air-mass mixing near the tropopause.

Assessment of Road Dust Contamination in India

The road dusts (RD) are fugitive in nature causing potential health hazards to people living in highways. They are generated from different sources on the roads and being a valuable archive of environmental information. In the present work, contamination assessment of 18 heavy metals and ions in road dusts of the country are described. Techniques i.e. ion selective, ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrophotometers were used for analysis of the ions and metals. The content of F-, Cl-, , , , Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, As, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg in the road dusts was ranged from 75 - 895, 276 - 12718, 48 - 1423, 243 - 10,580, 11 - 539, 290 - 46,484, 110 - 7716, 84 - 1771, 595 - 15,955, 24 - 42, 164 - 526, 1711 - 5218, 63,850 - 144,835, 47 - 62, 81 - 720, 166 - 450, 92 - 295 and 0.05 - 0.12 mg/kg with mean value of 224 ± 43, 3734 ± 895, 592 ± 895, 2859 ± 662, 143 ± 29, 4826 ± 2049, 1565 ± 411, 837 ± 121, 8545 ± 1288, 31 ± 4, 246 ± 82, 3002 ± 851, 91,331 ± 18,587, 54 ± 4, 206 ± 145, 241 ± 64, 171 ± 42 and 0.08 ± 0.02 mg/kg, respectively (at 95% probability). The enrichment, variation, correlation and sources of the contaminants are discussed.

Ground-Based In Situ Measurements of Near-Surface Aerosol Mass Concentration over Anantapur:Heterogeneity in Source Impacts

Surface measurements of aerosol physical properties were made at Anantapur （14.62°N, 77.65°E, 331 m a.s.l）, a semiarid rural site in India, during August 2008-July 2009. Measurements included the segregated sizes of aerosolsas as well as total mass concentration and size distributions of aerosols measured at low relative humidity （RH〈75%） using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance （QCM） in the 25-0.05 um aerodynamic diameter range. The hourly average total surface aerosol mass concentration in a day varied from 15 to 70 ug m-3, with a mean value of 34.02±9.05 ug m-3 for the entire study period. A clear diurnal pattern appeared in coarse, accumulation and nucleation-mode particle concentrations, with two local maxima occurring in early morning and late evening hours. The concentration of coarse-mode particles was high during the summer season, with a maximum concentration of 11.81±0.98 ug m-3 in the month of April, whereas accumulationmode concentration was observed to be high in the winter period contributed 〉68% to the total aerosol mass concentration. Accumulation aerosol mass fraction, Af （= Ma/Mt） was highest during winter （mean value of Af -0.80） and lowest （Af - 0.64） during the monsoon season. The regression analysis shows that both Reff and Rm are dependent on coarse-mode aerosols. The relationship between the simultaneous measurements of daily mean aerosol optical depth at 500 nm （AOD500） and PM2.5 mass concentration （[PM2.5]） shows that surface-level aerosol mass concentration increases with the increase in columnar aerosol optical depth over the observation period.

Perceptions of Climate Change in Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria

This article analyzes the perceptions of Puerto Rican citizens of global climate change (GCC) before and after an extreme weather event, specifically Hurricane Maria (HM). The purpose of the current article is to evaluate Puerto Ricans’ perceptions of the impact of extreme meteorological phenomena and of GCC before and after HM. This tropical cyclone entered the island as a category IV hurricane on September 17, 2017, causing enormous destruction, loss of life, and economic damage. In this study, two data samples were collected before and after HM struck Puerto Rico (PR) (the second sample was collected approximately six months after the hurricane). Surveyed citizens with general knowledge of GCC increased from 43% to 62%, which the researchers consider a small increase, considering the severe destruction caused by HM. This study also found that Puerto Ricans trust non-profit institutions and the scientific community more than state authorities. Furthermore, 85% of citizens believe that public policies on GCC should be directed by the state (federal, state, and municipal governments);this did not change after HM. In addition, this study found that the poor response of the federal and state governments to the destruction caused by HM increased citizens’ trust in the scientific community.

Application of a Sulfur Removal Hydrometallurgical Process in a Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Plant in Costa Rica

This study presents the implementation of a desulphurization process for lead recycling under different chemical and physical conditions using pyro-metallurgical processes. Desulphurization was done using a hydrometallurgical process using sodium carbonate as a desulphurization agent and different lead-bearing loads compositions. Waste characterization included: SO2 concentrations in the stack emissions, total lead content in the furnace ash, the total lead content in the slag, and the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). A significant reduction in SO2 emissions was achieved (~55% reduction) where mean SO2 concentrations changed from 2193 ± 135 ppm to 1006 ± 62 ppm after the implementation of the modified processes. The desulfurized lead paste (i.e. the metallic fraction lead of the battery) of the modified process exhibited an improvement in the concentration of the lead in the TCLP test, with an average value of 1.5 ppm which is below US EPA limit of 5 ppm. The traditional process TCLP mean value for the TCLP was 54.2 ppm. The total lead content in the bag house ashes shows not significant variations, when comparing the desulphurization (67.6% m/m) and non-desulphurization process (64.9% m/m). The total lead mean content in the slag was higher in the desulphurization process (2.49% m/m) than the traditional process (1.91% m/m). Overall, the implementation of a new desulphurization method would potentially increase the operation costs in 10.3%. At the light of these results, a combination of hydrometallurgical and pyro-metallurgical processes in the recycling of lead-acid batteries can be used to reduce the environmental impact of these industries but would increase the operational costs of small lead recyclers.

VOC characteristics and their source apportionment in a coastal industrial area in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs)are important precursors of secondary organic compounds and ozone,which raise major environmental concerns.To investigate the VOC emission characteristics,measurements of VOCs based on proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry during 2017 were conducted in a coastal industrial area in Ningbo,Zhejiang Province,China.Based on seasonal variation in species concentration,the positive matrix factorization(PMF)receptor model was applied to apportion the sources of VOCs in each season.The PMF results revealed that unknown acetonitrile source,paint solvent,electronics industry,biomass burning,secondary formation and biogenic emission were mainly attributed to VOC pollution.Biomass burning and secondary formation were the major sources of VOCs and contributed more than 70%of VOC emissions in spring and autumn.Industry-related sources contributed 8.65%–31.2%of the VOCs throughout the year.The unknown acetonitrile source occurred in winter and spring,and contributed 7.6%–43.73%of the VOC emissions in the two seasons.Conditional probability function(CPF)analysis illustrated that the industry sources came from local emission,while biomass burning and biogenic emission mainly came from the northwest direction.The potential source contribution function(PSCF)model showed that secondary formation-related source was mainly from Jiangsu Province,northeastern China and the surrounding ocean.The potential source areas of unknown acetonitrile source were northern Zhejiang Province,southern Jiangsu Province and the northeastern coastal marine environments.

Unexpected fast radical production emerges in cool seasons:implications for ozone pollution control

Ozone is a crucial air pollutant that damages human health and vegetation.As it is related to the photo-oxidation of the nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds,the summertime reduction of these precursors is the primary focus of current ozone mitigation strategies.During ozone pollution episodes in eastern China,an observed accumulation of daily total oxidants(O_(x)=NO_(2)+O_(3))in cool seasons(spring and autumn:60 ppb and winter 40 ppb)is comparable to that in summer(60 ppb),indicating fast photochemical production of secondary pollutants including ozone over the year.Unrecognized fast radical primary productions are found to counteract the increased termination of hydroxyl radical and unfavorable meteorological conditions to maintain the rapid total oxidant formations in cool seasons.Elucidating and regulating the primary radical sources may be critical for the secondary air pollution control in cool seasons.

NitroMAC：An instrument for the measurement of HONO and intercomparison with a long-path absorption photometer

Nitro MAC（French acronym for continuous atmospheric measurements of nitrogenous compounds） is an instrument which has been developed for the semi-continuous measurement of atmospheric nitrous acid（HONO）. This instrument relies on wet chemical sampling and detection using high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）-visible absorption at540 nm. Sampling proceeds by dissolution of gaseous HONO in a phosphate buffer solution followed by derivatization with sulfanilamide/N-（1-naphthyl）-ethylenediamine. The performance of this instrument was found to be as follows： a detection limit of around 3 ppt with measurement uncertainty of 10% over an analysis time of 10 min. Intercomparison was made between the instrument and a long-path absorption photometer（LOPAP） during two experiments in different environments. First, air was sampled in a smog chamber with concentrations up to 18 ppb of nitrous acid. Nitro MAC and LOPAP measurements showed very good agreement. Then, in a second experiment, ambient air with HONO concentrations below250 ppt was sampled. While Nitro MAC showed its capability of measuring HONO in moderate and highly polluted environments, the intercomparison results in ambient air highlighted that corrections must be made for minor interferences when low concentrations are measured.