1. Changes in black carbon emissions over Europe due to COVID-19 lockdownsNikolaos Evangeliou, Stephen M. Platt, Sabine Eckhardt, Cathrine Lund Myhre, Paolo Laj, L. Alados-Arboledas, John Backman, Benjamin T. Brem, Markus Fiebig, Jesús Yus-Díez, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Abstract. Following the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for COVID-19 in December 2019 in Wuhan (China)
and its spread to the rest of the world, the World Health Organization
declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Without effective treatment in the
initial pandemic phase, social distancing and mandatory quarantines were
introduced as the only available preventative measure. In contrast to the
detrimental societal impacts, air quality improved in all countries in which
strict lockdowns were applied, due to lower pollutant emissions. Here we
investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe on ambient black
carbon (BC), which affects climate and damages health, using in situ
observations from 17 European stations in a Bayesian inversion framework. BC
emissions declined by 23 kt in Europe (20 % in Italy, 40 % in Germany,
34 % in Spain, 22 % in France) during lockdowns compared to the same
period in the previous 5 years, which is partially attributed to COVID-19
measures. BC temporal variation in the countries enduring the most drastic
restrictions showed the most distinct lockdown impacts. Increased particle
light absorption in the beginning of the lockdown, confirmed by assimilated
satellite and remote sensing data, suggests residential combustion was the
dominant BC source. Accordingly, in central and Eastern Europe, which
experienced lower than average temperatures, BC was elevated compared to the
previous 5 years. Nevertheless, an average decrease of 11 % was seen
for the whole of Europe compared to the start of the lockdown period, with
the highest peaks in France (42 %), Germany (21 %), UK (13 %), Spain
(11 %) and Italy (8 %). Such a decrease was not seen in the previous
years, which also confirms the impact of COVID-19 on the European emissions
of BC.
Keywords: black carbon, covid-19, emissions, Europe
Published in RUNG: 13.05.2024; Views: 12; Downloads: 0
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2. Online chemical characterization and sources of submicron aerosol in the major mediterranean port city of Piraeus, GreeceIasonas Stavroulas, Georgios Grivas, Eleni Liakakou, Panayiotis Kalkavouras, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Maria Lianou, Kyriaki Papoutsidaki, M. Tsagkaraki, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Pavlos Zarmpas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Port cities are affected by a wide array of emissions, including those from the shipping, road transport, and residential sectors; therefore, the characterization and apportionment of such sources in a high temporal resolution is crucial. This study presents measurements of fine aerosol chemical composition in Piraeus, one of the largest European ports, during two monthly periods (winter vs. summer) in 2018–2019, using online instrumentation (Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor—ACSM, 7-λ aethalometer). PMF source apportionment was performed on the ACSM mass spectra to quantify organic aerosol (OA) components, while equivalent black carbon (BC) was decomposed to its fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning (BB) fractions. The combined traffic, shipping and, especially, residential emissions led to considerably elevated submicron aerosol levels (22.8 μg m−3) in winter, which frequently became episodic late at night under stagnant conditions. Carbonaceous compounds comprised the major portion of this submicron aerosol in winter, with mean OA and BC contributions of 61% (13.9 μg m−3) and 16% (3.7 μg m−3), respectively. The contribution of BB to BC concentrations was considerable and spatially uniform. OA related to BB emissions (fresh and processed) and hydrocarbon-like OA (from vehicular traffic and port-related fossil fuel emissions including shipping) accounted for 37% and 30% of OA, respectively. In summer, the average PM1 concentration was significantly lower (14.8 μg m−3) and less variable, especially for the components associated with secondary aerosols (such as OA and sulfate). The effect of the port sector was evident in summer and maintained BC concentrations at high levels (2.8 μg m−3), despite the absence of BB and improved atmospheric dispersion. Oxygenated components yielded over 70% of OA in summer, with the more oxidized secondary component of regional origin being dominant (41%) despite the intensity of local sources, in the Piraeus environment. In general, with respect to local sources that can be the target of mitigation policies, this work highlights the importance of port-related activities but also reveals the extensive wintertime impact of residential wood burning. While a separation of the BB source is feasible, more research is needed on how to disentangle the short-term effects of different fossil-fuel combustion sources.
Keywords: Athens, harbor, shipping emissions, PM1, chemical speciation, organic aerosol, black carbon, ACSM, aethalometer, PMF
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 58; Downloads: 0
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3. Whole-life carbon emissions benchmarks for buildings in SloveniaMarjana Šijanec-Zavrl, Henrik Gjerkeš, 2021, short scientific article Abstract: According to the European Green Deal decarbonisation of EU building stock is needed on the way to turning EU into the first climate neutral continent by 2050. Directive (2010/31/EU) EPBD led to significant reduction of operational energy in new buildings and renovation. By energy efficiency first principle and by increasing renewable energy sources it contributed to reduction of primary energy and operational CO2 emissions. But the orientation towards lifecycle thinking and circularity in the building sector revealed the need to tackle the whole-life carbon emissions, where the operational and embodied carbon contribute significantly. In the absence of benchmarks for embodied carbon emissions in this contribution the operational and embodied carbon indicators from recent studies are compared with the available corresponding data in Slovenian energy performance certificates.
Keywords: carbon emissions, life cycle assessment, buildings
Published in RUNG: 29.10.2021; Views: 1837; Downloads: 0
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