Development of a low-cost system for measuring conditional time-averaged gradients of SO2 and NH3

A conditional time-averaged gradient (COTAG) system has been developed to provide direct long-term (weekly to monthly) average flux gradient measurements for a range of trace gases, between land and atmosphere. Over daily periods, atmospheric conditions can range from high stability, where the vertical gradients of ambient concentration are enhanced due to very small diffusivity, to highly unstable conditions, in which concentration gradients are small due to the intense turbulent activity of the surface layer. The large vertical gradients generated by high stability would bias the estimate of the actual flux: to avoid this, the COTAG system samples conditionally, within a carefully refined range of stability. A comparison with a continuous flux gradient system suggested that the removal of stable conditions from the sampling period does not substantially modify the evaluation of the long-term fluxes.

Inventories of fallout 210Pb and 137Cs radionuclides in moorland and woodland soils around Edinburgh urban area (UK)

Inventories of fallout (210)Pb and (137)Cs have been measured in moorland and woodland soils around the Edinburgh urban area, using a high purity germanium detector. The (210)Pb inventories in moorland soils were relatively uniform, with a mean value of 2520+/-270Bqm(-2). The mean (137)Cs inventory in moorland soils varied greatly from 1310 to 2100Bqm(-2), with a mean value of 1580+/-310Bqm(-2). The variability was ascribed mainly to the non-uniform distribution of fallout Chernobyl (137)Cs. The mean (210)Pb and (137)Cs inventories in woodland canopy soils were found to be 3630+/-380Bqm(-2) and 2510+/-510Bqm(-2), respectively. At sites for which both moorland and woodland data were available, the mean inventories provided fairly similar average enhancements of (47+/-7)% and (46+/-18)% of (210)Pb and (137)Cs under woodland canopy soils relative to open grassland soils, respectively. The enhancement factors are broadly in line with other independent findings in literature. Enhancement of both (210)Pb and (137)Cs in woodland soils relative to moorland soils is, in part, due to deposition by impaction during air turbulence, wash-off, gravitational settling and deposition during leaf senescence. Results of this study suggest that these processes affect both (210)Pb and (137)Cs carrier aerosols in a similar way.

Ammonia emission and deposition in Scotland and its potential environmental impacts

The main source of atmospheric ammonia (NH₃) in Scotland is livestock agriculture, which accounts for 85% of emissions. The local magnitude of emissions therefore depends on livestock density, type, and management, with major differences occurring in various parts of Scotland. Local differences in agricultural activities therefore result in a wide range of NH₃ emissions, ranging from less than 0.2 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in remote areas of the Scottish Highlands to over 100 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in areas with intensive poultry farming. Scotland can be divided loosely into upland and lowland areas, with NH₃ emission being less than and more than 5 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, respectively.Many semi-natural ecosystems in Scotland are vulnerable to nitrogen deposition, including bogs, moorlands, and the woodland ground flora. Because NH₃ emissions occur in the rural environment, the local deposition to sensitive ecosystems may be large, making it essential to assess the spatial distribution of NH₃ emissions and deposition. A spatial model is applied here to map NH₃ emissions and these estimates are applied in atmospheric dispersion and deposition models to estimate atmospheric concentrations of NH₃ and NH₄⁺, dry deposition of NH₃, and wet deposition of NHx. Although there is a high level of local variability, modelled NH₃ concentrations show good agreement with the National Ammonia Monitoring Network, while wet deposition is largest at high altitude sites in the south and west of Scotland. Comparison of the modelled NH_x deposition fields with estimated thresholds for environmental effects (“critical loads”) shows that thresholds are exceeded across most of lowland Scotland and the Southern Uplands. Only in the cleanest parts of the north and west is nitrogen deposition not a cause for concern. Given that the most intense effects occur within a few kilometres of sources, it is suggested that local spatial abatement policies would be a useful complement to traditional policies that mitigate environmental effects based on emission reduction technologies.

Parallelisation and application of a multi-layer atmospheric transport model to quantify dispersion and deposition of ammonia over the British Isles

An atmospheric transport model, FRAME (Fine Resolution AMmonia Exchange), has been used to model the spatial pattern of ammonia concentrations and deposition over the British Isles for the first time. The model uses a multi-layer approach with diffusion through 33 layers to describe vertical concentration profiles in the atmosphere explicitly. Together with the necessary description of atmospheric reactions with sulphur and oxidised nitrogen, this imposes a major computational requirement, with the model having a run-time of 8.5 days on a mid-range workstation. Improvement in the model run-time was sought by developing a parallel implementation coded in a data-parallel approach using High Performance Fortran. Running the code on a Cray T3E with 128 processors provided a speedup by a factor of 69. The code's portability, its validation with measurements and new maps of its application to the British Isles, are presented. Good agreement is found with measured NH3 concentrations, while wet de-position is underestimated. In addition to model uncertainties, this may be due to an underestimation of the NH3 emissions input data.

A spatial analysis of atmospheric ammonia and ammonium in the U.K

As measures are implemented internationally to reduce SO2 and NOx emissions, attention is falling on the contribution of NH3 emissions to acidification, nitrogen eutrophication, and aerosol formation. In the U.K., a monitoring network has been established to measure the spatial distribution and long-term trends in atmospheric gaseous NH3 and aerosol NH4+. At the same time, an atmospheric chemistry and transport model, FRAME, has been developed with a focus on reduced nitrogen (NHx). The monitoring data are important to evaluate the model, while the model is essential for a more detailed spatial assessment. The national network is established with over 80 sampling locations. Measurements of NH3 and NH4+ (at up to 50 sites) have been made using a new low-cost denuder-filterpack system. Additionally, improved passive sampling methods for NH3 have been applied to explore local variability. The measurements confirm the high spatial variability of NH3 (annual means 0.06 to 11 microg NH3 m(-3)), consistent with its nature as a primary pollutant emitted from ground-level sources, while NH4+, being a slowly formed secondary product, shows much less spatial variability (0.14 to 2.4 mg NH4+ m(-3)). These features are reproduced in the FRAME model, which provides estimates at a 5-km level. Analysis of the underlying NH3 emission inventory shows that sheep emissions may have been underestimated and nonagricultural sources overestimated relative to emissions from cattle. The combination of model and measurements is applied to estimate spatial patterns of dry deposition to different vegetation types. The combined approach provides the basis to assess NHx responses across the U.K. to international emission controls.

Association of parainfluenza-3 virus with bovine macrophages and blood cells: an in vitro study

Bovine blood cells and peritoneal and lung macrophages were exposed in vitro to parainfluenza-3 (PI-3) virus. Residual nonadsorbed PI-3 virus (expressed in percentage of input virus) in the supernate of the various cell fractions 1 hour after incubation at 37 C was as follows: lung macrophages, 11%; peritoneal macrophages, 59%; monocytes, 26%; RBC, 14%; lymphocytes, 28%; and polymorphonuclear cells (PMN), 63%. Lung macrophages, monocytes, lymphocytes, and PMN were monitored over a 72-hour period for hemadsorption of chicken RBC. Hemadsorption increased for lung macrophages and monocytes, whereas it decreased for lymphocytes and PMN. Infective virus could not be recovered from PMN, RBC, lymphocytes, or monocytes for more than 24 hours after PI-3 infection. Recovery of infective PI-3 virus from infected peritoneal and lung macrophages extended over 4 to 8 days, respectively.