Climate Pollution Research Articles

Exploring acute associations between climate and air pollution exposures and hospitalizations among older adults with dementia in Alberta, Canada

Exploring acute associations between climate and air pollution exposures and hospitalizations among older adults with dementia in Alberta, Canada

What if Nature Fought Back? Multimodal Metaphor in Green Non-Profit/Social Advertising

Creating a conscious environment culture which highlights our commitment to protecting natural resources has been steadily increasing. The use of multimodal metaphor is a crucial rhetorical device for understanding the complexities of the global climate change crisis. More specifically the exploitation of multimodal metaphor in genres such as public awareness campaigns aims at triggering the audience’s attention. In light of this, this paper investigates the use of multimodal metaphor in green non-profit/social advertising to understand to what extent these advertisements may be effective when promoting and encouraging change in behaviour patterns concerning environmental protection and climate change. For this purpose, a corpus of 130 multimodal advertisements containing metaphors on environmental awareness has been investigated. The study uses an adaptation of previous procedures designed for the identification of verbal, visual and multimodal metaphor (Alousque, 2014; Hidalgo-Downing & O’Dowd, 2023; Pragglejaz, 2007; Šorm & Steen, 2018; Steen et al., 2010). Results confirm the effectiveness of metaphorically conceptualising environmental themes such as climate change, global warming, and pollution. Moreover, the findings show that the pragmatic effect of metaphor used by non-profit organisations aims at creating a conscious environment culture, while the majority of the metaphors suggest a mixed or negative evaluation of environmental issues. Further research will include the investigation of metonymy in these campaigns.

Low ethnic diversity among university applicants in marine and environmental science in the United Kingdom

The planet faces a triple crisis from climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Like any country, the UK needs to attract the best available talent to become thought leaders to overcome these global challenges. Several Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects in the UK face challenges with attracting ethnic minority students. As part of a wider project on diversity in UK environmental/marine science, we analysed university applications amongst 180 environmental and 88 marine science degrees in the UK between 2019–2021. We found them to be the least diverse degree subjects for ethnic minority students and Asian students were less likely to be accepted than white students on environmental science degrees. A survey of UK marine science course leaders highlights the belief that these issues impact the pipeline of diversity from higher education institutions to marine/environmental science careers. In this paper, we discuss the impacts of these findings and develop a roadmap to change.

A Methodological Benchmark in Determining the Urban Growth: Spatiotemporal Projections for Eskişehir, Türkiye

Urban growth changes spatial uses over time due to different dynamics. These processes cause many physical, environmental, and socioeconomic problems, such as climate change, pollution, and population-related events. Therefore, it is essential to predict future urban expansion to produce effective policies in sustainable urban planning and make long-term plans. Many models, such as dynamic, statistical, and Cellular Automata and Markov Chain (CA-MC) models, are used in geographic information system (GIS) environments to meet the high-performance requirements of land use modeling. This study estimated the growth of settled areas in Eskişehir city center using models developed using two different methods. In this context, settled areas in the city center were examined within the scope of 1990–2018, and the growth areas of settled areas in 2046 were predicted using the CA-Markov method in Model 1: Quantum GIS (QGIS) MOLUSCE plugin and Model 2: IDRISI Selva. While settled areas are continuously increasing, other urban areas are decreasing. Model 1 predicts an increase of 1195 ha in settled areas by 2046, while Model 2 predicts an increase of 45,022 ha. At the same time, it is concluded that settled areas will grow in a central location in Model 1, while they will spread in an east-west extension in Model 2. The study results show that QGIS-based modeling predicts more limited spatial growth than IDRISI Selva. The research interprets growth in terms of the staging of urban services, the population size of neighboring cities, distances, and income levels based on the internal and external dynamics of the city.

Path analysis reveals combined winter climate and pollution effects on the survival of a marine top predator.

Marine ecosystems are experiencing growing pressure from multiple threats caused by human activities, with far-reaching consequences for marine food webs. Determining the effects of multiple stressors is complex, in part, as they can affect different aspects of biological organisation (behaviour, individual traits and demographic rates). Determining the combined effects of stressors, through different biological pathways, is key to predict the consequences for the viability of populations threatened by global change. Due to their position in the food chain, top predators such as seabirds are considered more sensitive to environmental changes. Climate change is affecting the prey resources available for seabirds, through bottom-up effects, while organic pollutants can bioaccumulate in food chains with the greatest impacts on top predators. However, knowledge of their combined effects on population dynamics is scarce. Using a path analysis, we quantify the effects of climate change and pollution on the survival of adult great black-backed gulls, both directly and through effects of individuals' body mass. Warmer ocean temperatures in gulls' winter foraging areas in the North Sea were correlated with higher survival, potentially explained by shifts in prey availability associated with global climate change. We also found support for indirect negative effects of organochlorines, highly toxic pollutants to seabirds, on survival, which acted, in part, through a negative effect on body mass. The results from this path analysis highlight how, even for such long-lived species where variance in survival tends to be limited, two stressors still have had a marked influence on adult survival and illustrate the potential of path models to improve predictions of population variability under multiple stressors.

The Effects of Oxidative Stress on RNA Editing with Insight into the Relationship Between Air Pollution and Alzheimer's Disease

Human interactions with the environment today add pressure on the world’s resources and ecosystems, which in turn harm human health. Many anthropogenic environmental changes, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, have accelerated morbidity and mortality. Research across multiple countries have found correlations between anthropogenic air pollution exposure and neurological degeneration, particularly with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). RNA editing induced by oxidative stress is one possible mechanism in which air pollution increases the risk of AD. To study this further, RNA adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) alterations were analyzed to identify a mechanism linking air pollution to neurological degeneration. These alterations occur in RNA, most prevalently in the central nervous system (CNS). Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes mediate A-to-I alterations and are essential for mammalian development and survival. ADAR mediated alterations have been associated with AD and the A-to-I occurrence frequency may increase in polluted environments that trigger increased oxidative stress. To test this possibility, wildtype (WT) and ADAR knockout (adr-2(-) Caenorhabditis elegans in their first larval (L1) developmental stage were exposed to juglone solution for 0, 15, and 60 minute experimental settings. For the two worm strains, WT and adr-2(-), the 0 minute treatment was the control, the 15 minute treatment represented acute oxidative stress exposure, and the 60 minute treatment represented chronic exposure. RNA was extracted from both groups and quantitative Real Time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression of gst-4, an Alzheimer’s associated gene (sel-12), and adr-2 normalized to the expression of gpd-3, the housekeeping gene that corrected for systemic errors. The gst-4 gene expression confirmed that oxidative stress occurred. Lack of adr-2 gene significantly decreased sel-12 expression at acute exposure, but adr-2 gene expression in WT worms did not significantly change across treatments. It remains to be determined whether oxidative stress impacts RNA editing of target mRNAs. Future studies are needed to explore the role of adr-2 in promoting sel-12 expression.

Introduction to the special section: Aquatic resources for a sustainable future and blue economy prosperity for the African Great Lakes region

Climate change, overfishing, pollution, and habitat degradation are no longer distant threats and demand our collective action. Rising to this challenge, the Aquatic Resources and Blue Economy Conference (ARBEC) held in Kisumu, Kenya served as a call to action for sustainable aquatic practices and protection of blue economy resources. The blue economy holds much promise yet as the global community faces unprecedented environmental challenges, it’s potential hinges on our ability to make informed, science-driven decisions.

Harnessing greenspace for health: Mitigating the impact of climate change and pollution on infectious diseases

Harnessing greenspace for health: Mitigating the impact of climate change and pollution on infectious diseases

Identifying manning roughness coefficient using automatic calibration method and simulation of pollution incidents in the Nile River, Egypt

Study regionA reach of the Nile River located between Naga Hammadi barrage and Asyut barrage, Egypt Study focusAn accurate representation of hydrodynamics of an important water source helps cope with expected future climate changes, pollution incidents and water quality problems. Here, a comparison between HEC-RAS 1D and TELEMAC-2D model was conducted by identifying different Manning coefficients. Moreover, an automatic calibration using Dual-Annealing optimization method was applied for first time to calibrate the model with non-uniform Manning coefficients. The transport of tracer (pollution) was simulated by computing tracer residence times. Pollution transport scenarios were discussed to draw a picture of pollution incidents which will continue to happen in the future. An equation indicating the relation between flow discharge and residence time was derived to hurriedly help decision makers in water management during sudden pollution incidents. New hydrological insights for the regionA model with spatially variable Manning coefficients using TELEMAC-2D was set up and calibrated achieving good accuracyies with average errors of approximately 4 cm and 7 cm between field and simulated water levels for two different discharge scenarios. Moreover, an equation for relation between flow discharge and residence time was derived producing a strong correlation coefficient of 0.95. This study, integrating advanced hydrodynamic models and automatic calibration techniques, provides a robust framework for assessing and managing water resource challenges under varying flow conditions.

Anticonformists catalyze societal transitions and facilitate the expression of evolving preferences.

The world is grappling with emerging, urgent, large-scale problems, such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and pandemics, which demand immediate and coordinated action. Social processes like conformity and social norms can either help maintain behaviors (e.g. cooperation in groups) or drive rapid societal change (e.g. rapid rooftop solar uptake), even without comprehensive policy measures. While the role of individual heterogeneity in such processes is well studied, there is limited work on the expression of individuals' preferences and the role of anticonformists-individuals who value acting differently from others-especially in dynamic environments. We introduce anticonformists into a game-theoretical collective decision-making framework that includes a complex network of agents with heterogeneous preferences about two alternative options. We study how anticonformists' presence changes the population's ability to express evolving personal preferences. We find that anticonformists facilitate the expression of preferences, even when they diverge from prevailing norms, breaking the "spiral of silence" whereby individuals do not act on their preferences when they believe others disapprove. Centrally placed anticonformists reduce by five-fold the number of anticonformists needed for a population to express its preferences. In dynamic environments where a previously unpopular choice becomes preferred, anticonformists catalyze social tipping and reduce the "cultural lag," even beyond the role of committed minorities-that is, individuals with a commitment to a specific cause. This research highlights the role of dissenting voices in shaping collective behavior, including their potential to catalyze the adoption of new technologies as they become favorable and to enrich democracy by facilitating the expression of views.

Contaminated freshwater as a Harbinger of tropical disease spread in Europe

Human-induced environmental changes, including climate change and pollution, significantly affect host-parasite interactions, potentially altering the geographical spread and severity of various parasitic diseases. These changes may particularly influence the dynamics of diseases like schistosomiasis, posing significant public health concerns. This review explores how pollutants such as organophosphate pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals, cities’ landfills, and microplastics can affect the development and transmission dynamics of parasites, especially Schistosoma spp. Our researches highlight that pesticides promote parasitic disease development, while pharmaceuticals have mixed effects on the life cycles of these parasites. Similarly, heavy metals found in water systems disrupt host-pathogen interactions, and microplastics are linked to significant changes in snail stressor genes, a critical intermediate host for several parasites. With the rising impacts of anthropogenic activity on the environment, there is an urgent need to reassess and adjust regulatory policies to minimize these threats. By studying the implications of pollution on host-parasite interactions, we can develop better strategies for disease control and improve the preservation of our ecosystem’s health.

Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Scenarios in Metro Manila Using the Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning-Integrated Benefit Calculator (LEAP-IBC) System

Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and municipal solid wastes (MSWs) have been found to be viable sources of clean energy. This study integrates the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for methane flow rate estimation in the software Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning-Integrated Benefit Calculator (LEAP-IBC) system to estimate and project the methane emissions coming from the waste generated by Metro Manila, disposed in sanitary landfills. It aims to analyze the environmental impacts of the emissions coming from the non-energy sector using the IBC feature of LEAP and by developing two scenarios with 2010 and 2050 as the base and end years: the baseline and methane recovery scenario, where the latter represents the solid waste management undertaken to counter the emissions. Under the baseline, 97.30 million metric tonnes of methane emissions are expected to be produced and are predicted to continuously increase. In the same scenario, the cities of Quezon, Manila, and Caloocan account for the biggest methane emissions. On the other hand, in the methane recovery scenario, the methane emissions are expected to have a decline of 36% from 127.036 to 81.303 million metric tonnes by 2025, 52% from 135.358 to 64.972 million metric tonnes by 2030, and 54% from 150.554 to 69.254 million metric tonnes by 2040. For the 40-year projection of the study under the 100-year global warming potential analysis, a total of 10,249 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent is avoided in the methane recovery compared to the BAU, and a maximum of 0.019 °C temperature increase can also be avoided. Moreover, electricity costs without LFG technology increase from 2.21 trillion to 8.75 trillion, while costs with LFG technology also rise but remain consistently lower, ranging from 2.20 trillion to 8.74 trillion. This consistent reduction in electricity costs underscores the long-term value and importance of adopting LFG technology, even as its relative savings impact diminishes over time. Finally, the fixed effects and random effects panel data regression analysis reinforces and asserts that the solid waste management is really improved by means of the methane recovery technology, leading the methane emissions to decrease.

Can a relational cross-scalar approach to management improve environmental disaster responses? A case study of an unprecedented flood in New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACT Human societies face planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Conventional command-and-control approaches to manage these existential challenges have failed due to limited comprehension of relationships in social-ecological systems. To address this problem, we study the complex case of the disaster response to unprecedented floods in the Northern Rivers Region, New South Wales, Australia, in 2022. We apply a novel relational-systems model that identifies management structures, processes, functions and contents interacting at and across scales. The model helps identify the root causes in the inadequate disaster response that ensued in the Northern Rivers Region flooding. The root causes are a lack of systems-thinking competence, poor collaborative capacity, vulnerabilities in environmental management and deficient governance systems. The relational complexity concepts of self-organisation and socio-cultural organisation may further help explain variation in response to disasters in different socio-ecological contexts. Such understanding can inform individual and collective environmental action.

A Fuzzy-Based Approach for Flexible Modeling and Management of Freshwater Fish Farming

Most populated developing countries having water resources, like Egypt, are interested in aquaculture since it supplies around 30% of the cheap protein consumed by customers. Increasing the production of aquaculture, specifically fish farming, in such countries represents an essential need. One candidate water resource for freshwater fish farming in Egypt is the Nile River (1530 km long). Yet, this represents a challenging task due to the existing variations in its water quality (WQ) parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, acidity, and temperature, at different sites. Climate change and pollution negatively affect many water quality parameters. This work provides a fuzzy-based approach for modeling WQ requirements for a set of fish types and evaluates the suitability of a water site for farming them. Thus, it greatly helps managing and planning fish farming in a set of water sites. It benefits from the flexibility of fuzzy logic to model the farming requirements of each fish type. Consequently, it evaluates and clusters the water sites with respect to their degrees of suitability for farming various fish types. The illustrative case study considers 27 freshwater sites spread along the Nile River and 17 freshwater fish types. The result incorporates a set of suitable clusters and a set of unsuitable ones for farming each fish type. It greatly helps managing and planning fish farming, to maximize the overall productivity and prevent probable catastrophic damage. In addition, it shows how to enhance each unsuitable site. We believe that eliminating the causes of pollution in the polluted freshwater sites along a water source could cause a significant boom in the cultivation of multiple freshwater fish types.

20th century climate warming and human disturbance triggered high aquatic production and strong water-column mixing in maar Lake Xiaolongwan, northeastern China

Lake ecosystems in northeastern (NE) China are sensitive to global environmental change, and are currently under threats of eutrophication and hypolimnetic anoxia. However, the lack of long-term records of lake production and anoxia in this region makes it difficult to discriminate the impacts of recent anthropogenic activity on lake ecosystems from natural ecosystem variability. This study investigates varved sediments from remote maar Lake Xiaolongwan, NE China and reconstructs high-resolution changes in lake primary production, anoxia, nutrient cycling and catchment processes over the past 1500 years using hyperspectral imaging inferred sedimentary total chlorophyll-a and bacteriopheophytin-a (Bphe-a), combined with sedimentary iron and phosphorus fractions data. Results show that, prior to discernible human impacts in this area from ∼600 CE to 1900 CE, lake primary production was higher during warm periods and reduced during cold periods. Bphe-a records show that hypolimnetic anoxia persisted regardless of temperature variability. Cluster analysis suggests that lake algal communities and biogeochemical conditions in the twentieth-century warm period are unprecedented and significantly different from any other time over the past 1500 years. This phenomenon mostly results from global warming and stronger local catchment disturbance in the early 1900s, combined with atmospheric pollution after the 1950s. Human-driven climate warming has caused stronger seasonal mixing (due to shortened ice-cover duration) and overall better oxygenation in the lake. This study demonstrates clear anthropogenic impacts to lake ecosytems in a relatively pristine region in NE China. We anticipate that our findings will have implications for understanding the status of aquatic ecosystems in NE China under future interacting stressors of anthropogenic climate warming and pollution.

Greening Infection Prevention and Control: Multifaceted Approaches to a Sustainable Future

Abstract Infection prevention and control, or IP&C, is a critical stakeholder in advancing environmental sustainability in healthcare. IP&C activities seek to ensure safety of processes in health care from an infection perspective, but how these are performed can drive substantial waste and pollution. There are certain IP&C measures that can, without compromising safety or efficiency, be adapted to more environmentally friendly practices and have a high impact benefit to sustainability without affecting patient outcomes. Moreover, IP&C practice stands to be significantly altered by climate change and pollution. Here, we describe the complex interdependence between sustainability, climate change, and IP&C, and opportunities for IP&C to be at the leading edge of optimizing healthcare’s environmental footprint.

Characterizing localized nitrogen sensitivity of tree species and the associated influences of mediating factors

AbstractCritical loads (CLs) are frequently used to quantify terrestrial ecosystem impacts from nitrogen (N) deposition using ecological responses such as the growth and mortality of tree species. Typically, CLs are reported as a single value, with uncertainty, for an indicator across a species' entire range. Mediating factors such as climate and soil conditions can influence species' sensitivity to N, but the magnitudes of these effects are rarely calculated explicitly. Here, we quantify the spatial variability and estimation error in N CLs for the growth and survival of 10 different tree species while accounting for key environmental factors that mediate species sensitivity to N (e.g., soil characteristics). We used a bootstrapped machine learning approach to determine the level of N deposition at which a 1% decrease occurs in growth rate or survival probability at forest plot locations across the United States. We found minimal differences (<5 kg N ha−1 year−1) when comparing a single species' CLs across climatic regimes but found considerable variability in species' local N CLs (>8.5 kg N ha−1 year−1) within these regimes. We also evaluated the most important factors for predicting tree growth rates and mortality and found that climate, competition, and air pollution generally have the greatest influence on growth rates and survival probability. Lastly, we developed a new probability of exceedance metric for each species and found high likelihoods of exceedance across large portions (46%) of some species' ranges. Our analysis demonstrates that machine learning approaches provide a unique capability to: (1) quantify mediating factor influences on N sensitivity of trees, (2) estimate the error in local N CL estimates, and (3) generate localized N CLs with probabilities of exceedance for tree species.

WITHDRAWN: The main threats facing the eel (Anguilla anguilla) and the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in Galicia (NW Spain) through Partial Least Squares Path Modelling

Migratory fish are very important species from an ecological and socioeconomic point of view, but they suffer the effects of many threats such as climate change, pollution, or overfishing, thus contributing to the decline of these species. To study the main factors influencing these species, Partial Least Squares Path Modelling (PLS-PM) methodology has been used to analyse and quantify the main threats facing two highly relevant migratory species: the eel (Anguilla anguilla) and the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Based on this statistical approach, two models have been developed for a total of 14 rivers located in the Autonomous Community of Galicia (NW Spain), one for the eel and the other for the lamprey. For the construction of the models, the influence of environmental factors, surface water quality and anthropogenic impacts on the population of these species has been studied. Two scenarios have also been simulated to assess how the application of corrective measures to reduce the anthropogenic impact implies important improvements to the eel and lamprey populations. The results of the models developed indicate that the variables analysed predict 69% of the eel "Population", with the weight of the measured variables (MV) 'Water treatment plants' having the most substantial weight (W=0.939) followed by the significant negative influence of 'Surface area of reservoirs and rivers' (W=-0.746). Similarly, in the lamprey model, an R2 of 0.58 has been obtained, where the negative influence of the MV "Agricultural nitrate discharge points" (-0.938) stands out substantially. In relation to the scenarios developed for both species, we highlight that the application of measures aimed at reducing anthropogenic pressure manages to mitigate the impact by 4.82% in the case of eel and by 1.37% in the case of lamprey. The set of models and scenarios proposed will make it possible to design preventive and corrective measures to mitigate the impacts affecting these populations, guaranteeing the integrated management of these species, and improving future decision-making, thus strengthening environmental governance.

Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS): The European Research Infrastructure Supporting Atmospheric Science

Abstract The Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) officially became the 33rd European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) on 25 April 2023 with the support of 17 founding member and observer countries. As a pan-European legal organization, ACTRIS ERIC will coordinate the provision of data and data products on short-lived atmospheric constituents and clouds relevant to climate and air pollution over the next 15–20 years. ACTRIS was designed more than a decade ago, and its development was funded at national and European levels. It was included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap in 2016 and, subsequently, in the national infrastructure roadmaps of European countries. It became a landmark of the ESFRI roadmap in 2021. The purpose of this paper is to describe the mission of ACTRIS, its added value to the community of atmospheric scientists, providing services to academia as well as the public and private sectors, and to summarize its main achievements. The present publication serves as a reference document for ACTRIS, its users, and the scientific community as a whole. It provides the reader with relevant information and an overview on ACTRIS governance and services, as well as a summary of the main scientific achievements of the last 20 years. The paper concludes with an outlook on the upcoming challenges for ACTRIS and the strategy for its future evolution.

Global scenarios of anthropogenic mercury emissions

Abstract. Anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions to the atmosphere are a long-lived hazard to human and environmental health. The UN Minamata Convention on Mercury is seeking to lower anthropogenic mercury emissions through a mix of policies from banning certain Hg uses to reducing unintentional Hg release from different activities. In addition to independent Hg policy, strategies to mitigate greenhouse gases, particulate matter (PM) and SO2 may also lower Hg emissions as a co-benefit. This study uses the Greenhouse Gas–Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model to examine the effect of different clean air and climate policies on future global Hg emissions. The baseline scenario assumes current trends for energy use and Hg emissions as well as current legislation for clean air, mercury and climate policy. In addition, we explore the impact of the Minamata Convention, the co-benefits of climate and stringent air pollution policies, and maximum feasible reduction measures for Hg. Hg emission projections until 2050 show noticeable reductions in combustion sectors for all scenarios due to a decrease in global fossil fuel and traditional biomass use, leading to emission reductions of 33 % at baseline and up to 90 % when combining stringent climate controls and the most efficient Hg controls. Cement and non-ferrous metal emissions increase in all scenarios with current air pollution policy but could be reduced by up to 72 % and 46 %, respectively, in 2050 with stringent Hg-specific measures. Other emissions (including waste) are a significant source of uncertainty in this study, and their projections range between a 22 % increase and a 54 % decrease in 2050, depending on both climate and clean air policy. The largest absolute reduction potential for Hg abatement but also the largest uncertainties regarding absolute emissions lie in small-scale and artisanal gold production, where abatement measures could eliminate annual Hg emissions in the range of 601–1371 t (95 % confidence interval), although the uncertainties in the estimate are so high that they might eclipse reduction efforts in all other sectors. In total, 90 % of Hg emissions are covered by provisions of the Minamata Convention. Overall, the findings emphasize the necessity to implement targeted Hg control policies in addition to stringent climate, PM and SO2 policies to achieve significant reductions in Hg emissions.