Book of short Abstracts of the 11th International Symposium on Digital Earth

The Booklet is a collection of accepted short abstracts of the ISDE11 Symposium

The Impact of Air Pollution on Health, Economy, Environment and Agricultural Sources

This book aims to strengthen the knowledge base dealing with Air Pollution. The book consists of 21 chapters dealing with Air Pollution and its effects in the fields of Health, Environment, Economy and Agricultural Sources. It is divided into four sections. The first one deals with effect of air pollution on health and human body organs. The second section includes the Impact of air pollution on plants and agricultural sources and methods of resistance. The third section includes environmental changes, geographic and climatic conditions due to air pollution. The fourth section includes case studies concerning of the impact of air pollution in the economy and development goals, such as, indoor air pollution in México, indoor air pollution and millennium development goals in Bangladesh, epidemiologic and economic impact of natural gas on indoor air pollution in Colombia and economic growth and air pollution in Iran during development programs. In this book the authors explain the definition of air pollution, the most important pollutants and their different sources and effects on humans and various fields of life. The authors offer different solutions to the problems resulting from air pollution

Photodiodes

Photodiodes or photodetectors are in one boat with our human race. Efforts of people in related fields are contained in this book. This book would be valuable to those who want to obtain knowledge and inspiration in the related area

Modelação multiescala de qualidade do ar urbana para cidades mais saudáveis

Ambient air pollution is nowadays a serious public health problem worldwide, especially in urban areas due to high population density and intense anthropogenic activity. Among the main urban air pollution sources, the road traffic sector is one of the major concerns and the largest contributor to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations, though regional background chemical conditions must also be considered. In this context, the use of modelling tools is crucial to understand atmospheric and social dynamics in multiple scales, as well as to support in defining the best air quality improvement strategies. The main objective of this thesis is to develop and apply a multiscale modelling system able to simulate air quality and health impacts in cities. For this purpose, the modair4health multiscale air quality and health risk modelling system was developed and operationalized. It includes the online model WRF-Chem, which provides air quality and meteorological fields from regional to urban scales, and the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model VADIS, which uses the urban WRF-Chem outputs to calculate flows and dispersion of traffic emissions-related air pollutants in urban built-up areas. A health module, based on linear and non-linear World Health Organization approaches, was also integrated in modair4health to assess the health impacts resulting from air quality changes, and the overall health damage costs are calculated based on economic studies. The application and assessment of the modair4health system allowed to identify the most appropriate configurations and input data, which were used to apply the system over the case study testing air quality improvement scenarios. One of the busiest road traffic areas of the city of Coimbra (Fernão de Magalhães Avenue) in Portugal was selected as case study. The application considered a 4 domains setup: three nested domains (25, 5 and 1 km2 resolutions) for the WRF-Chem, and the 4th domain (4 m2 resolution) over the target local study area and NO2 for the VADIS. WRF-Chem was applied along the year 2015 and VADIS was simulating two particular periods: one week in winter and another one in summer. Short-term health impacts were estimated and the non-linear approach led to lower health outcomes that seem better adjusted to the local reality. Finally, to assess the modair4health capabilities for decision-making support, two traffic management scenarios were tested over the case study: replacement of 50% of the vehicle fleet below EURO 4 by electric vehicles (ELEC), and introduction of a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Air quality and health positive impacts were higher for the ELEC scenario. This study represents a scientific advance in multiscale air quality and health modelling. The modair4health system can be easily adapted and applied to other simulation domains, providing urban air pollution levels and subsequent health impacts for different case studies and supporting the assessment of air pollution control policies.A poluição atmosférica é atualmente um sério problema mundial de saúde pública, especialmente em áreas urbanas, devido à elevada densidade populacional e intensa atividade antropogénica. O setor dos transportes rodoviários é uma das principais preocupações e o que mais contribui para concentrações de dióxido de azoto (NO2) na atmosfera, embora as condições químicas de fundo regional devam também ser consideradas. Neste contexto, a utilização de ferramentas de modelação é crucial para compreender a dinâmica atmosférica e humana a diferentes escalas, e apoiar na definição das melhores estratégias para melhoria da qualidade do ar (EMQA). Esta tese tem como objetivo principal o desenvolvimento e aplicação de um sistema de modelação multiescala que permita simular qualidade do ar e impactos na saúde em cidades. Para isso, foi desenvolvido e operacionalizado o sistema modair4health - multiscale air quality and health risk modelling. Este sistema inclui o modelo online WRF-Chem, que fornece campos meteorológicos e de qualidade do ar da escala regional à urbana, e o modelo CFD VADIS, que utiliza os resultados do WRF-Chem para calcular o impacto das emissões do tráfego rodoviário no escoamento e dispersão de poluentes em áreas urbanas. Para avaliar os impactos na saúde humana, foi também integrado um módulo baseado nas abordagens linear e não-linear da Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS), e os custos são calculados com base em estudos económicos. A aplicação e avaliação do sistema modair4health permitiram identificar as configurações e dados de entrada mais apropriados, que foram posteriormente utilizados para testar EMQA sobre o caso de estudo, que corresponde a uma das áreas de maior tráfego rodoviário da cidade de Coimbra (Avenida Fernão de Magalhães). O WRF-Chem foi configurado com 3 domínios aninhados (resoluções de 25, 5 e 1 km2), simulados para o ano 2015; enquanto que para o VADIS, foi definido um quarto domínio (resolução de 4 m2) sobre o caso de estudo para simular concentrações de NO2 em dois períodos específicos: uma semana no inverno e outra no verão. Para quantificar os impactos na saúde, as duas abordagens da OMS foram aplicadas ao caso de estudo para avaliar efeitos a curto-prazo. A abordagem não-linear apresentou resultados de saúde mais baixos que aparentemente estão melhor ajustados à realidade local. Por fim, foram avaliadas as potencialidades do sistema no apoio à tomada de decisão, testando dois cenários de gestão do tráfego rodoviário: substituição de 50% da frota de veículos abaixo de EURO 4 por veículos elétricos (ELEC), e introdução de uma Zona de Emissões Reduzidas (LEZ). O cenário ELEC potencia melhorias mais significativas na qualidade do ar e saúde. Este estudo representa um avanço científico na modelação multiescala da qualidade do ar e saúde. O sistema modair4health pode ser facilmente adaptado e aplicado a outros casos de estudo para avaliar a qualidade do ar urbana e impactos na saúde, bem como para testar medidas de controlo da poluição atmosférica.Programa Doutoral em Ciências e Engenharia do Ambient

A Long Term Geospatial Investigation of Air Quality in Windsor, Ontario, Canada - Comparison to Nearby Cities and Applications of Inter-Species Ratios

Ambient air sampling campaigns were carried out in Windsor, Ontario, Canada as well as in Detroit, Michigan, USA and Sarnia, Ontario over a five year period. Sampling campaigns were for two-week periods in each of the four seasons of 2004-2006 in Windsor, fall 2005 in Sarnia and fall (2008) and spring (2009) for Windsor - Detroit. In Windsor, analyses of the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) species for 2004, 2005, and 2006 is reported in this thesis along with BTEX for Sarnia in 2005. Across the international airshed encompassing Windsor and Detroit, simultaneous sampling of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and BTEX is reported for 2008 and 2009. Temporal and spatial patterns of concentrations, ratios and correlations among pollutants, as well as the effects of sampler placement, wind patterns and transboundary pollution were studied. Windsor experienced similar concentrations compared with Sarnia and lower concentrations than Detroit. Correlation and inter-specie BTEX ratio analysis identified traffic as the common source of VOCs, BTEX, and NO 2 in Windsor and Detroit. An innovative approach was applied in Sarnia using BTEX concentrations and ratios to characterize mixtures of industrial and mobile sources in different areas of the city. Temporal and spatial variability was observed. Seasonal comparisons to annual concentrations and spatial patterns indicate that if resources are limited, fall would be preferred to conduct air quality campaigns in Windsor. The locations of hot spots in Windsor were not qualitatively associated with wind patterns during the sampling periods. Additionally there was a lack of association between air mass pathways and measured NO 2 and PM 2.5 concentrations in Windsor. Comparisons between concentrations obtained from the sampling campaigns and those from central monitoring stations indicate that these stations are adequate for representing citywide averages. For residential exposure assessment however, these could result in misclassification up to a factor of six. Risk maps demonstrate BTEX exposure risk across Windsor. Study design recommendations were made for future air quality campaigns. These include sampling frequency, density, and placement, exposure misclassification associated with central site measurements, and for identifying sources for pollutant reduction initiatives

Midterm evaluation Research 2016-2018:

The research of TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (Faculteit Bouwkunde) covers the full spectrum of design, engineering, planning, and management of the built environment. Its research portfolio comprises the research that is conducted by four departments: Architecture Architectural Engineering + Technology (AE+T) Management in the Built Environment (MBE) Urbanism The faculty’s research focusses specifically at improving the design and performance of buildings, districts, cities and regions in order to better meet the requirements and expectations of their users and communities. From that perspective, much of the research that is conducted can be understood as applied science, appealing to the curiosity and the needs of other researchers, practitioners and the broader public alike. The research is a blend of humanities, social and engineering sciences. The humanities are strongest represented in the Architecture department, social sciences in the MBE and Urbanism departments, while the engineering sciences find their strongest representation in AE+T