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of the human-made climate impact; two-thirds of this impact are caused by emissions other than CO 2 , according to a new study by researchers in Europe and the US. Schematic overview of the processes by which aviation emissions and increased cirrus cloudiness affect the climate system. Aviation accounts for 3.5% mW (mW) m ?2
New analysis has found increasing emissions of several ozone-depleting chemicals despite their production being banned for most uses under the Montreal Protocol—and a loophole in the rules is likely responsible. According to the researchers, emissions from these CFCs currently do not significantly threaten ozone recovery.
The climate change benefit is estimated for 2050 and human health and crop benefits are for 2030 and beyond. Black carbon and tropospheric ozone are harmful air pollutants that also contribute to climate change. °C (within a likely range of 0.2-0.7 Click to enlarge.
The decrease in CO 2 equivalent emissions of ODSs (ozone-depleting substances: CFCs, halons, HCFCs, and others) may be offset by the projected increase in their non-ozone depleting substitutes (HFCs) (lines designated as HFC scenarios). The contribution of HFCs to climate forcing is currently less than 1% of all greenhouse gases.
Significant climate anomalies 2008/2009. Source: Climate Change Compendium. Shifts in the hydrological cycle resulting in the disappearance of regional climates with related losses of ecosystems, species and the spread of drylands northwards and southwards away from the equator. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.). Earlier post.).
The study will appear next month in the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change Letters. Relying more on natural gas would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, but it would do little to help solve the climate problem. The study underscores the complex and sometimes conflicting ways in which fossil fuel burning affects Earth’s climate.
US EPA Region 9 8-hour ozone trends, 1979-2000. These State Implementation Plans (SIPs) are the roadmaps to meeting the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 0.08 In 1997, EPA first established the 8-hour ozone standard, which replaced the older 1-hour ozone standard (0.12 Source: EPA.
Although halogens released from long-lived anthropogenic substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are the principal cause of the recent depletion of stratospheric ozone, recent observations show that very short-lived substances (VSLS), with lifetimes generally under six months, are also an important source of stratospheric halogens.
Exposure to ozone, long associated with impaired lung function, is also connected to health changes that can cause cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke, according to a new study of Chinese adults. The findings associated ozone exposure with markers of platelet activation and increased blood pressure.
have developed a simulator able to predict tropospheric ozone concentrations across the whole of South and East Asia. Tropospheric ozone is the main cause of photochemical smog, an atmospheric pollutant harmful to human health and plant growth. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Toyota Central R&D Labs.,
Shown are the tipping elements [large-scale components of the Earth’s system] and the temperature threshold range that initiates the tipping. This would mean that the climate system is close to entering if not already within the zone of “dangerous anthropogenic interference” (DAI). From Molina et al. Earlier post.)
A recent study by an international team calculated that shipping causes a net cooling of climate across all parametrizations of the indirect aerosol effect (IAE) and scenarios throughout the period 1900?2050. Shipping-induced global temperature change in 2050 using different parameterizations of Indirect Aerosol Effect (IAE).
Both studies indicate a qualitatively similar response of a reduction in radiative forcing or an increase in total outgoing radiation for an increase in urban albedo and the values indicate an approximate range in potential emitted CO2 offset that may be expected if urban albedos were increased. —Menon et al. by 2050.
Schematic diagram of the trade-offs between the implications for regional air quality and global climate change of new policies for management of the atmosphere. The project builds upon the idea that air quality and climate change issues are linked through “one atmosphere”, an approach that demands coordination and multi-tiered approaches.
Although viewed as a potential target in the global effort to reduce climate change, atmospheric black carbon particles absorb significantly less sunlight than scientists have predicted, according to a new study by an international team of researchers, published in the journal Science. —Cappa et al. Credit: Cappa et al.
Compared to the 2010 “Business as Usual” scenario—which includes all adopted emission control measures for the South Coast—NO x levels must be reduced by 65% and by 75% to meet the 2023 and 2032 ozone standards, respectively. California’s Climate Protection Strategies do not help meet NAAQS Standards. Click to enlarge.
A new study by led by Nadine Unger at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) that analyzes the net climate impacts of emissions from economic sectors rather than by individual chemical species has found that on-road transportatation is and will be the greatest net contributor to atmospheric warming now and in the near term.
The global market for rocket launches may require more stringent regulation in order to prevent significant damage to Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer in the decades to come, according to a new study by researchers in California and Colorado. Darin Toohey.
Policies incentivizing the private sector to push to develop innovative “clean” technologies are likely to play a key role in achieving climate stabilization. Respectively, Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act and the Ozone Transport Commission/NO x Budget Program.). c personnel and organizational innovative capacity. —Taylor 2012.
The US National Science Foundation has issued a solicitation for Decadal and Regional Climate Prediction using Earth System Models (EaSM). Awards are expected to be in the range of $300,000 to $1,000,000 per year. Awards are expected to be in the range of $300,000 to $1,000,000 per year. —NSF EaSM solicitation.
From: Geoengineering the Climate (2009) Click to enlarge. million) in funding to the project SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering). The report did note, however, that there are some serious questions over adverse effects with this method, particularly depletion of stratospheric ozone. Earlier post.).
The system will graph lifecycle impact for a range of specified powertrains, for a large number of impact categories: Climate change [kg CO 2 -eq.]. Deterioration of the ozone layer [kg CFC-11-eq.]. The top sample above shows climate change impact; the subsequent chart shows human toxicity.
GWP100 weighted specific climate impact (g CO 2 -eq per pkm) as a function of vehicle occupancy. Bold parts of curves indicate typical occupancy ranges. A notable exception is for the small diesel car; with two passengers ( i.e., 50% occupancy), the specific climate impact is lower than for an average train or bus trip.
The global warming potentials (GWP) of HFCs range from 140 (HFC-152a) to 11,700 (HFC-23), according to the US EPA. HFCs are chemicals are potential substitutes for ozone-depleting and climate-warming CFCs and HCFCs currently being phased out under the Montreal Protocol treaty to protect the ozone layer.
The researchers believe the measurements will substantially impact the understanding of atmospheric chemistry mechanisms—in particular, in the more rapid formation of secondary aerosols, important in the formation of local smog as well as in global climate change. Carl Percival. —Welz et al. —Marston (2012). Welz et al.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted its final Report to Congress on Black Carbon , in response to an October 2009 request from Congress to advance efforts to understand the role of black carbon (BC) in climate change. Effects of BC on climate, as compared to GHGs. Earlier post.). Earlier post.). Source: EPA.
A new study quantifying emissions from a fleet of gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines and port fuel injection (PFI) engines finds that the measured decrease in CO 2 emissions from GDIs is much greater than the potential climate forcing associated with higher black carbon emissions from GDI engines. —Saliba et al.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a policymaker’s summary of Working Group III’s (WG III) latest report showing that despite a growing number of climate change mitigation policies, annual anthropogenic GHG emissions grew on average by 1.0 WG III Summary for Policymakers. Click to enlarge.
The transport and transformation of plumes from selected European and Asian major population centers (MPCs) will now be investigated with special focus on the rate of formation of ozone and aerosols. The HALO research aircraft is a joint initiative of German environmental and climate research institutions.
The seven themes are: Taking Action on Climate Change. Jackson said that EPA must follow up the progress it made in 2009 with a range of greenhouse gas reduction initiatives with ensuring compliance with the law. Improving Air Quality. Other themes include: Assuring the Safety of Chemicals.
Aerosols impact human health, due to their ability to penetrate deep into lungs, and impact Earth’s climate through the scattering and absorption of solar radiation and through serving as the nuclei on which clouds form, noted co-author Prof. Tags: Climate models Emissions Health. John Seinfeld from Caltech. “ Science , 325, 730-733.
Sustainable Communities : The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375) directs California’s metropolitan planning organizations to develop sustainable communities strategies that meet regional greenhouse gas reduction targets through integrated land use, housing and transportation planning.
Health and other non-climate damages by life-cycle component for different combinations of fuels and light-duty automobiles in 2005 (top) and 2030 (bottom). Damages per vehicle mile traveled were remarkably similar among various combinations of fuels and technologies—the range was 1.2 Climate-related monetary damages range from 0.1
The new metamodel is capable of efficiently simulating the urban concentration, surface deposition, and net export flux of these species that are important to human health and the global climate. These pollutants include anthropogenic aerosols, which have important climate and health implications. —Cohen and Prinn.
Each spectrometer will focus on a different range of colors, and will detect the specific colors that are absorbed by carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen. This illustration color-codes instrument swaths—the area of Earth’s surface, or the surface of its atmosphere, over which data is collected—based on observed wavelength ranges.
Here, RME show advantages for primary energy and GHG, but disadvantages in terms of acidification, eutrophication and ozone depletion. Life-cycle assessments (LCA) of biofuels show a wide range of net greenhouse gas savings compared to fossil fuels. Source: “Assessing Biofuels”. Click to enlarge.
However, climate change has caused an increase in rainfall in recent years, which now raises the issue of environmental contamination. We are putting a range of possible options to the test, with the intention of identifying the most effective individual modules and the most successful sequence of steps. —Anna-Lisa Bachmann.
Many ports and related freight corridors and facilities are located in nonattainment or maintenance areas for EPA’s ozone and PM 2.5 Through this initiative, EPA is engaging a wide range of stakeholders including ports and port operators, communities, tribes, state and local governments, industry, and other technical and policy stakeholders.
As we confront the enormous challenge of climate change, we should take inspiration from even the most unlikely sources. Take, for example, the tens of thousands of fossil-fueled ships that chug across the ocean, spewing plumes of pollutants that contribute to acid rain, ozone depletion, respiratory ailments, and global warming.
While that report projected vessel activity, it did not explore the environmental impacts of increased shipping in terms of air emissions or the potential climate impacts from increases in short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon. The emissions report focuses on the low- and mid-range diversion scenarios—i.e.,
The proposal retains the proven regulatory design of previous EPA standards for light-duty vehicles, but leverages advances in clean car technology to further reduce both climate pollution and smog- and soot-forming emissions. For both light-duty and all medium-duty vehicles, EPA is proposing a particulate matter (PM) standard of 0.5
The situation is exacerbated by the physical proximity of a wide range of hazardous material sources—including an ammonia tank and fuel farms—to population centers, and by topographic and climatic conditions that aggravate air pollutant dispersion. Photo: Ilan Malester. Source: MoEP. Click to enlarge.
On their 100+ mile round trip, these trucks burn diesel fuel that damages the ozone, spews out noxious particulates that seek-out lungs and eyes along with oxides of nitrogen that help create smog, along with other nasty—and toxic—unpleasantness.
In 2004, the Centralina region (the Greater Charlotte metro area, which straddles the North CarolinaSouth Carolina border) was designated as a non-attainment area for ozone under the Clean Air Act. They will offer much greater range and will be refueled as quickly as vehicles that run on petroleum products.
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