Air entrainment is commonly used to improve the durability of concrete materials exposed to freezing and thawing. While the influence of air voids on freeze/thaw damage and salt scaling is frequently studied, the influence of entrained air voids on ionic transport has been studied less frequently. Since ionic transport in concrete materials relies on pore fluid as the medium of conduction, only...

Global climate models predict an increase in the mean surface air temperature, with a disproportionate increase during winter. Since temperature is a major driver of phenological events in temperate woody perennials, warming is likely to induce changes in a range of these events. We investigated the impact of slightly elevated temperatures (+0.76 °C in the air, +1.35 °C in the soil) during the ...

Exposure to vehicle exhaust can drive up to 70 % of excess lifetime cancer incidences due to air pollution in urban environments. Little is known about how exhaust-derived particles and organic pollutants, implicated in adverse health effects, are affected by freezing ambient temperatures and the presence of snow. Airborne particles and (semi)volatile organic constituents in dilute exhaust were...

Recent studies have suggested that the icenucleating ability of some types of pollen is derived from non-proteinaceous macromolecules. These macromolecules may become dispersed by the rupturing of the pollen grain during wetting and drying cycles in the atmosphere. If true, this mechanism might prove to be a significant source of ice nuclei (IN) concentrations when pollen is present. Here we te...

Seasonal changes over 2 years (2004–2006) in soil moisture content ( v) of frozen alpine frost meadow soils of the QinghaiTibet plateau permafrost region under three different levels of vegetation cover were investigated. Vegetation cover and air temperature changes had significant effects (synergistic effect) on v and its distribution in the soil profile. During periods of soil freezing or tha...

The temperature dependence of freezing-induced xylem cavitation was studied in a Chihuahuan desert population of Larrea tridentata (Zygophyllaceae). Field measurements of wood temperature and xylem embolism were combined with anatomical studies and laboratory measurements of embolism in stem and root samples frozen under controlled conditions. Our laboratory experiments corroborated the previou...

Under the trend of climate warming, high-latitude permafrost in Heilongjiang Province is becoming seriously degraded. The question how to quantitatively analyze spatial and temporal trends multi-year has become fundamental for current research. In this study, variations annual mean air temperature (MAAT), ground (MAGST) freezing/thawing index based on surface data from 34 meteorological station...

Air pollution control in the United States for five common pollutants--particulate matter, ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide--is based partly on the attainment of ambient air quality standards that represent a level of air pollution regarded as safe. Regulatory and health agencies often focus on whether standards for short periods are attained; the number...