This paper investigates the effect of low emission zones on birth outcomes and air quality in Germany. The staggered introduction of the policy measure creates a credible natural experiment and a natural control group for births and air pollution measurements in cities that enact low emission zones. I show that the introduction of the most restrictive type of low emission zone decreases average...

Combustion of wildland fuels represents a major source of particulate matter (PM) and light-absorbing elemental carbon (EC) on a national and global scale, but the emission factors and source profiles have not been well characterized with respect to different fuels and combustion phases. These uncertainties limit the accuracy of current emission inventories, smoke forecasts, and source apportio...

In this study, the chemical composition of fine particulate matter samples collected at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Speciation Trends Network sites in San Jose, CA, from February 2000 to February 2005 were analyzed. A San Jose site was initially established at 4th Street and then subsequently moved to Jackson Street in mid-2002. These sites are approximately 1 km apart. There were no k...

In the last 10 yr, Beijing has made a great effort to improve its air quality. However, it is still suffering from regional coarse particulate matter (PM10) pollution that could be a challenge to the promise of clean air during the 2008 Olympics. To provide scientific guidance on regional air pollution control, the Mesoscale Modeling System Generation 5 (MM5) and the Models-3/Community Multisca...

Novel carbon sequestration strategies such as large-scale land application of biochar may provide sustainable pathways to increase the terrestrial storage of carbon. Biochar has a long residence time in the soil and hence comprehensive studies are urgently needed to quantify the environmental impacts of large-scale biochar application. In particular, black carbon emissions from soils amended wi...

A regional model for atmospheric photochemistry and particulate matter is used to predict the fate and transport of five trace metals: lead, manganese, total chromium, nickel, and cadmium over the continental United States during January and July 2001. Predicted concentrations of the metals are compared to observations. Lead predictions have the lowest mean differences with observations and the...

Vehicular emissions in China in 2006 and 2010 were calculated at a high spatial resolution based on the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, by taking the emission standards into consideration. China's vehicular emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia (NH3), fine particulate matters (PM2.5), inhalable particulate matter...

Fleet fuel consumption is greatly reduced through the introduction of the HSDI Diesel engine. The reduced fuel consumption is then reflected in a reduction of CO2 emissions. The drop in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions results in a rise in market acceptance, which is also the result of desirable driving performance and greatly improved NVH behavior. The continuously increasing demands on plac...

The University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) has recently set up an operational system for predicting air quality in the Florina–Ptolemais–Kozani basin in Western Macedonia, Greece. This is a mountainous basin where around 65% of the total energy production of Greece takes place in lignite power plants. The concentrations of PM10 is the main air quality concern in the region, and the high particu...

Environmental impact assessment of liquid rocket motor exhaust obtained due to mainly liquid propellant combustion have been highlighted. Exhaust product analysis has been carried out theoretically by computer software NASA CEC -71 to identify toxic emissions of rocket combustion. In the present study a high volume Air Samplers (APM-430) was deployed at predetermined locations near launch pad f...