Intradiurnal Variations Research Articles

First volumetric records of airborne Cladosporium and Alternaria spores in the atmosphere of Al Khor (northern Qatar): a preliminary survey

Daily monitoring of airborne fungal spores was carried out for the first time in Al Khor city, Qatar, using a Hirst type 7-day recording volumetric spore trap, from May 2017 to May 2019. During the sampling period, the annual and monthly fluctuations, as well as intradiurnal variations of airborne fungal spore concentrations, were evaluated. Cladosporium, followed by Alternaria, were the spore types most abundant in the atmosphere of the city, with a strong interannual variability in the atmospheric concentrations being observed. The Annual Spore Integrals (ASIns) were 3334 and 1172 spore * day/m3 (2017–2018), and 6796 and 1538 spore * day/m3 (2018–2019) for Cladosporium and Alternaria, respectively. Total daily spore concentrations showed significantly positive correlations with mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures but significantly negative correlations with relative humidity. However, due to the scarce rainfalls’ days, we did not find a statistically significant correlations between Cladosporium and Alternaria spore concentrations and this parameter. Despite this, the spore peaks were strongly related to precipitations that occurred during the previous month. In general, no significant correlations were found with wind speed but, regarding wind direction, the higher percentage of spores were collected when wind blows from the 4th quadrant (NW). According to the intradiurnal pattern, Cladosporium fungal spores displayed their maximum daily concentration during 8:00–10:00 h in the morning, with a second peak in the afternoon, while for Alternaria, the maximum peaks were observed between 08:00 and 14:00 h. Because no consistent previous aerobiological studies exist from Qatar, the aim of this study is to define the seasonality and intradiurnal behaviour of these two airborne fungal spore and the role that, in such arid scene, the meteorological parameters play on the spore concentrations.

Diversity, Concentration and Dynamics of Culturable Fungal Bioaerosols at Doha, Qatar.

This research was conducted to investigate the dynamics of airborne fungi using viable culture collection and in respect to different abiotic variables, including seasonal and intra-diurnal variations. A gravimetric method was used to sample airborne fungal deposition on potato dextrose agar plates on alternate days, for a year between April 2015 to March 2016. From 176 settle plate exposures, a total of 1197 mould and 283 yeast colony-forming units (CFU), 21 genera and 62 species were retrieved. The highest fungal spore count was recorded in February 2016, whereas the lowest count occurred in August 2015. The main constituents of the fungal airspora were attributed to Cladosporium (60.2%), Aspergillus (10.4%), Fusarium (9.4%), Alternaria (8.5%), and Ganoderma spp. (2.3%). Temperature was negatively correlated with total colony count (r = −0.231, p ≤ 0.05) or species richness (r = −0.267, p ≤ 0.001), while wind speed was positively correlated with total colony count (r = 0.484, p ≤ 0.001) or species richness (r = 0.257, p ≤ −0.001). The highest dispersal of fungal spores was obtained at 18:00, whereas the lowest fungal spores release was recorded at 00:00 (midnight). There were no significant differences in species composition and richness of the airborne fungal population between two study sites, the Industrial area and Qatar University Campus. The count of Alternaria spp. and Fusarium spp. were significantly higher at the Industrial area site, which corresponds to a higher CO2 level than the Qatar University site. This study lays the foundation for future work to assess the implications of such aeromycological data on public health.

Impact of Thermospheric Mass Density on the Orbit Prediction of LEO Satellites

AbstractMany thermospheric mass density (TMD) variations have been recognized in observations and physical simulations; however, their impact on the low‐Earth‐orbit satellites has not been fully evaluated. The present study investigates the quantitative impact of periodic spatiotemporal TMD variations modulated by the empirical DTM2013 model. Also considered are two small‐scale variations, that is, the equatorial mass anomaly and the midnight density maximum, which are reproduced by the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. This investigation is performed through a 1‐day orbit prediction (OP) simulation for a 400‐km circular orbit. The results show that the impact of TMD variations during solar maximum is 1 order of magnitude larger than that during solar minimum. The dominant impact has been found in the along‐track direction. Semiannual and semidiurnal variations in TMD exert the most significant impact on OP among the intra‐annual and intradiurnal variations, respectively. The zero mean periodic variations in TMD may not significantly affect the predicted orbit but increase the orbital uncertainty if their periods are shorter than the time span of OP. Additionally, the equatorial mass anomaly creates a mean orbit difference of 50 m (5 m) with a standard deviation of 30 m (3 m) in 1‐day OP during high (low) solar activity. The midnight density maximum exhibits a stronger impact in the order of 150±30 and 15±6 m during solar maximum and solar minimum, respectively. This study makes clear that careful selection of TMD variations is of great importance to balance the trade‐off between efficiency and accuracy in OP problems.

Comparative study of ragweed pollen seasons (2008–2017) in the air of Croatian tourist cities of Zagreb (continental area) and Zadar (Mediterranean area)

The majority of tourists visit Croatia during the summer months, which overlaps with the ragweed pollination season, and this might be the main health issue, which could affect Croatian tourism. Therefore, the aim of this research was to perform the preliminary analyses of ragweed pollen seasons in two different Croatian tourist cities—continental Zagreb and Mediterranean Zadar, and to define researched areas according to the allergenic risk assessment. The research was performed during a 10-year period (2008–2017), and aerobiological samplings, as well as qualitative and quantitative analyses, were carried out by standard methodology recommended by EAN/REA. The results showed differences between cities in the seasonal pollen integral (SPIn) and intradiurnal variations index (IDI) of ragweed pollen, and similarities in the features of the main pollen seasons (MPS). The SPIn was higher in the air of Zagreb during the whole studied period; it was on average 2899 pg/m3 in Zagreb and 579 pg/m3 in Zadar. The MPS in both cities were similar (from the first half of August until the mid-September) and relatively short, around 40 days. The IDI indicates that Ambrosia pollen in Zagreb derives from local sources, whilst in Zadar is probably a result of long-range transport. According to the allergenic risk assessment, Zagreb is placed in the intermediate-risk area and Zadar in the low-risk area. Relatively short exposure times during the summer periods enable both cities to be favourable tourist destinations even during the ragweed seasons, especially Zadar, with its low ragweed pollen concentrations.

Air\u2013sea fluxes in a climate model using hourly coupling between the atmospheric and the oceanic components

We analyse the changes in the air–sea fluxes of momentum, heat and fresh water flux caused by increasing the ocean–atmosphere coupling frequency from once per day to once per hour in the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model. We diagnose the relative influences of daily averaging and high-frequency feedbacks on the basic statistics of the air–sea fluxes at grid point level and quantify feedback modes responsible for large scale changes in fluxes over the Southern Ocean and the Equatorial Pacific. Coupling once per hour instead of once per day reduces the mean of the momentum-flux magnitude by up to 7 % in the tropics and increases it by up to 10 % in the Southern Ocean. These changes result solely from feedbacks between atmosphere and ocean occurring on time scales shorter than 1 day. The variance and extremes of all the fluxes are increased in most parts of the oceans. Exceptions are found for the momentum and fresh water fluxes in the tropics. The increases result mainly from the daily averaging, while the decreases in the tropics are caused by the high-frequency feedbacks. The variance increases are substantial, reaching up to 50 % for the momentum flux, 100 % for the fresh water flux, and a factor of 15 for the net heat flux. These diurnal and intra-diurnal variations account for up to 50–90 % of the total variances and exhibit distinct seasonality. The high-frequency coupling can influence the large-scale feedback modes that lead to large-scale changes in the magnitude of wind stress over the Southern Ocean and Equatorial Pacific. In the Southern Ocean, the dependence of the SST-wind-stress feedback on the mean state of SST, which is colder in the experiment with hourly coupling than in the experiment with daily coupling, leads to an increase of westerlies. In the Equatorial Pacific, Bjerknes feedback in the hourly coupled experiment reveals a diurnal cycle during the El Niño events, with the feedback being stronger in the nighttime than in the daytime and no clear diurnal cycle during the La Niña events. This asymmetry might lead to the decrease of wind stress in the Equatorial Pacific in the hourly coupled experiment.

First airborne pollen calendar for Mexico City and its relationship with bioclimatic factors

The worldwide human population suffering from allergies continues to increase. Pollen grains are a major source of airborne allergens and significant cause of these diseases. Therefore, continuous monitoring of pollen grains released and transported in the air locally or regionally is required to determine the prevalence of various pollen types and identify intra-day and intra-annual seasonal variations over time. In this study, we developed the first pollen calendar for Mexico City, which includes a large variety of taxa, many of which show a long Main Pollen Season which may last throughout the year. The analysis and comparison of daily, monthly and annual values showed that the occurrence and abundance of the main types of aero-allergenic pollen in the atmosphere were species of Fraxinus, Cupressaceae and Alnus, which occur during the periods from December through March, whereas airborne pollens of several species of Poaceae and Urticaceae occurred throughout the year. The variation in pollen concentration showed that the greatest intra-diurnal variations occurred during the second half of the day. Regarding the relationship of pollen with bioclimatic factors, the increase in temperature favoured the presence of pollen in the air, whereas the increase in pluvial precipitation and relative humidity was associated with a decrease in airborne pollen. Large tracts of the Valley of Mexico have atmospheric conditions that are conducive to the accumulation of airborne particles, including pollen. Anomalous winds from the southeast dominated the surface wind variability during the first months of 2010. These patterns induced extreme values in wind convergence at the lower levels of the atmosphere, which resulted in high concentrations of pollen at our sampling site. We suggest that these conditions are related to the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon (2009–2010).

Cluster analysis of intradiurnal holm oak pollen cycles at peri-urban and rural sampling sites in southwestern Spain.

The impact of regional and local weather and of local topography on intradiurnal variations in airborne pollen levels was assessed by analysing bi-hourly holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.) pollen counts at two sampling stations located 40 km apart, in southwestern Spain (Cordoba city and El Cabril nature reserve) over the period 2010-2011. Pollen grains were captured using Hirst-type volumetric spore traps. Analysis of regional weather conditions was based on the computation of backward trajectories using the HYSPLIT model. Sampling days were selected on the basis of phenological data; rainy days were eliminated, as were days lying outside a given range of percentiles (P95-P5). Analysis of cycles for the study period, as a whole, revealed differences between sampling sites, with peak bi-hourly pollen counts at night in Cordoba and at midday in El Cabril. Differences were also noted in the influence of surface weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity and wind). Cluster analysis of diurnal holm oak pollen cycles revealed the existence of five clusters at each sampling site. Analysis of backward trajectories highlighted specific regional air-flow patterns associated with each site. Findings indicated the contribution of both nearby and distant pollen sources to diurnal cycles. The combined use of cluster analysis and meteorological analysis proved highly suitable for charting the impact of local weather conditions on airborne pollen-count patterns. This method, and the specific tools used here, could be used not only to study diurnal variations in counts for other pollen types and in other biogeographical settings, but also in a number of other research fields involving airborne particle transport modelling, e.g. radionuclide transport in emergency preparedness exercises.

Concentrations and dynamics of fungal spore populations in the air of Zarqa, Jordan, using the volumetric method

This study was initiated to investigate seasonal and intradiurnal variations in concentrations of airborne fungal spores of the Zarqa area in Jordan based on daily spore trapping. A total of 76 396 fungal spores belonging to 41 genera of fungi were identified. The maximum trapped fungus was Cladosporium (49.39%) followed by Puccinia uredospores (11.14%), Alternaria (7.70%), Ustilago (7.62%) and Drechslera (4.03%). The remainder (20.12%) was attributed to 36 genera of fungi. April was the month with the highest mean daily concentration (27.82 spores/m3), while January was the lowest. Two peaks were recorded, one in April (139.58 spores/m3) and another in June (70.42 spores/m3). Total daily spore counts showed significant positive correlations with maximum and mean temperature and a significant negative correlation with relative humidity. The monthly mean and the total annual counts of fungal spores were both significantly favoured the period 20.00–04.00. It was suggested that results of spore trapping and settle plate exposures (a previous study) can be complementary but not comparable except in the fact that Cladosporium was the most common fungi in both. Most of the recorded fungi have been reported as allergenic or pathogenic for humans, animals and plants, therefore further research on ecological, economical and medical aspects should be encouraged.

Improving the Representation of Resolved and Unresolved Topographic Effects on Surface Wind in the WRF Model

AbstractThe Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model presents a high surface wind speed bias over plains and valleys that constitutes a limitation for the increasing use of the model for several applications. This study attempts to correct for this bias by parameterizing the effects that the unresolved topographic features exert over the momentum flux. The proposed parameterization is based on the concept of a momentum sink term and makes use of the standard deviation of the subgrid-scale orography as well as the Laplacian of the topographic field. Both the drag generated by the unresolved terrain and the possibility of an increase in the speed of the flow over the mountains and hills, where it is herein shown that WRF presents a low wind speed bias, are considered in the scheme. The surface wind simulation over a complex-terrain region that is located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula is improved with the inclusion of the new parameterization. In particular, the underestimation of the wind speed spatial variability resulting from the mentioned biases is corrected. The importance of selecting appropriate grid points to compare with observations is also examined. The wind speed from the nearest grid point is not always the most appropriate one for this comparison, nearby ones being more representative. The new scheme not only improves the climatological winds but also the intradiurnal variations at the mountains, over which the default WRF shows limitations in reproducing the observed wind behavior. Some advantages of the proposed formulation for wind-resource evaluation are also discussed.

Statistical prediction of the pollution of the urban atmosphere

Intradiurnal variations of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide concentrations are analyzed. A method of the short-range prediction of the interdiurnal variations of these concentrations is developed. Two variants of the method of the prediction of the intradiurnal variations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide are created.

Comparative study of seasonal and intradiurnal variation of airborne herbaceous pollen in urban and rural areas

The content of herbaceous pollen in the atmosphere depends on the vegetal cover, climate and the weather and geographical conditions. The aim of the study reported here was to compare aerobiological data obtained from pollen monitoring stations located at sites differing with respect to their flora and microclimate – i.e. a town and a rural area. A volumetric method was used for sampling. In each microscopic preparation 12 vertical strips corresponding with 2-h intervals were analysed. A 90% method was used to determine the pollen season. The results were statistically verified using the u test and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Spearman and Wilcoxon tests. Higher values of the Seasonal Pollen Index (SPI), higher daily average concentrations and higher peak values were recorded in the rural area. An analysis of intradiurnal variations of airborne pollen showed that apart from the Poaceae the number of pollen grains in the air began to increase earlier in the day in the rural area; in the case of Rumex and Ambrosia, the maximum values also appeared a few hours earlier. For all the taxa investigated, the analysis of correlation showed a significant association between the daily average concentrations at both sites. The weakest association occurred for Plantago lanceolata; for all other taxa, the determination coefficients (R2) were high. The results of the Wilcoxon test showed that, despite the strong positive association between daily concentrations of the pollen types investigated, there were differences in mean pollen concentrations in the overlapping pollen season. Mean concentrations of Poaceae and Rumex airborne pollen were significantly higher in the rural area in both years, and those of Urtica and P. lanceolata were significantly higher only in 2002.

Variations in gaseous pollutants in the air basin of Moscow

Variations in the concentrations of gaseous pollutants in the air basin of Moscow are statistically analyzed. The basic statistical characteristics of variations in the concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, and a number of aromatic compounds are calculated. The main properties of intradiurnal, synoptic, seasonal, and interannual variations in the concentrations of gaseous pollutants are described. The power spectral densities of variations in the concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are analyzed. The contributions made by variations in the concentration of carbon monoxide on different time scales to the total variance are calculated. The effect of the atmospheric air polluted with carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides on the ecological situation in the city is estimated. The probabilities of an excess over the single maximum allowable concentrations are determined for carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. The absorption of shortwave solar radiation by nitrogen dioxide in the atmospheric boundary layer is estimated.

Intradiurnal wind variations observed in the lower thermosphere over the South Pole

Intradiurnal wind variations observed in the lower thermosphere over the South Pole

Aerobiology of Artemisia airborne pollen in Murcia (SE Spain) and its relationship with weather variables: annual and intradiurnal variations for three different species. Wind vectors as a tool in determining pollen origin.

Detailed results from a 2-year survey of airborne pollen concentrations of Artemisia in Murcia are presented. Three consecutive pollen seasons of Artemisia occurring each year, related to three different species (A. campestris, A. herba-alba and A. barrelieri), were observed. A winter blooming of Artemisia could explain the incidence of subsequent pollinosis in the Murcia area. With regard to meteorological parameters, mathematical analyses showed relationships between daily pollen concentrations of Artemisia in summer-autumn and precipitations that occurred 6-8 weeks before. The cumulative percentage of insolation from 1 March seemed to be related to blooming onsets. Once pollination has begun, meteorological factors do not seem to influence pollen concentrations significantly. Intradiurnal patterns of pollen concentrations were similar for late summer and winter species (A. campestris and A. barrelieri). During autumn blooming (A. herba-alba), the intradiurnal pattern was particularly erratic. Theoretical values of wind run were obtained for each pollen season by the graphical sum of hourly wind vectors. When theoretical wind run was mapped onto the vegetation pattern, supposed pollen source locations were obtained for each hour. By comparing supposed hourly pollen origins with the intradiurnal patterns of pollen concentrations, it can be seen that this simple model explains variations in mean pollen concentrations throughout the day.

Revisiting Time—Space Diaries: An Exploratory Case Study of Tourist Behaviour in Cornwall, England

In this paper we examine the potential contribution of time-space diaries to the analysis of tourism behaviour. We pay particular attention to how such diaries can provide insights into activities and tourism activity spaces which are not available from tourism ‘snapshot’ questionnaire surveys. These arguments are illustrated by the results of a time-space diary survey undertaken in Newquay, Cornwall, with which we explore differences in activities and activity spaces related to the types of accommodation used, occupational and family structures, diurnal and intradiurnal variations.