Modern means of assessing the impact of emergencies on the environmental condition of the ground layer of atmosphere

The problem of emergencies will not leave humanity as long as it exists, and therefore it is necessary to at least create conditions under which it is possible to reduce the risks of injuries, diseases and deaths of people who are in the emergency zone. This can be achieved by raising awareness of the nature of the emergency, the hazardous substances that are released in connection with it. Theoretical analysis of various remote means of assessing the impact of emergencies of man-made areas on the ecological state of the atmospheric air of the surrounding areas. It has been found that the use of remote sensing equipment greatly simplifies the procedure of operational monitoring of the environment during emergencies, as well as contributes to the health of professionals. A comparison of different remote means of environmental monitoring of air quality was performed: In particular, stationary automatic stations, mobile automatic stations, probes, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were compared. It is proposed to use UAVs as remote means of operational monitoring of air quality. The functional scheme of UAV system implementation for the needs of operative ecological monitoring is offered. The legal features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as remote means of monitoring air quality during emergencies are analyzed

Modern means of assessing the impact of emergencies on the environmental condition of the ground layer of atmosphere

The problem of emergencies will not leave humanity as long as it exists, and therefore it is necessary to at least create conditions under which it is possible to reduce the risks of injuries, diseases and deaths of people who are in the emergency zone. This can be achieved by raising awareness of the nature of the emergency, the hazardous substances that are released in connection with it. Theoretical analysis of various remote means of assessing the impact of emergencies of man-made areas on the ecological state of the atmospheric air of the surrounding areas. It has been found that the use of remote sensing equipment greatly simplifies the procedure of operational monitoring of the environment during emergencies, as well as contributes to the health of professionals. A comparison of different remote means of environmental monitoring of air quality was performed: In particular, stationary automatic stations, mobile automatic stations, probes, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were compared. It is proposed to use UAVs as remote means of operational monitoring of air quality. The functional scheme of UAV system implementation for the needs of operative ecological monitoring is offered. The legal features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as remote means of monitoring air quality during emergencies are analyzed

Real-Time Urban Weather Observations for Urban Air Mobility

Cities of the future will have to overcome congestion, air pollution and increasing infrastructure cost while moving more people and goods smoothly, efficiently and in an eco-friendly manner. Urban air mobility (UAM) is expected to be an integral component of achieving this new type of city. This is a new environment for sustained aviation operations. The heterogeneity of the urban fabric and the roughness elements within it create a unique environment where flight conditions can change frequently across very short distances. UAM vehicles with their lower mass, more limited thrust and slower speeds are especially sensitive to these conditions. Since traditional aviation weather products for observations and forecasts at an airport on the outskirts of a metropolitan area do not translate well to the urban environment, weather data for low-altitude urban airspace is needed and will be particularly critical for unlocking the full potential of UAM. To help address this need, crowdsourced weather data from sources prevalent in urban areas offer the opportunity to create dense meteorological observation networks in support of UAM. This paper considers a variety of potential observational sources and proposes a cyber-physical system architecture, including an incentive-based crowdsensing application, which empowers UAM weather forecasting and operations

Urban vertical air pollution gradient and dynamics investigated with low-cost sensors and large-eddy simulations

A network of five low-cost air pollution sensor (LCS) nodes was deployed vertically on the exterior of the H. C. Ørsted Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, to investigate the transport of pollution from the road below. All LCS nodes measured PM2.5, NO2, and O3 at 1-min time resolution, and one of them also measured noise. Traffic was monitored with a webcam, where traffic type and levels were derived using a machine-learning algorithm. We investigated how well traffic-related air pollution, noise, and real-time traffic counts serve as proxies for one another. The correlations between NO2, noise, and traffic count exhibited relatively low values when considering all the data. However, these correlations significantly increased under southwesterly wind direction and low wind speed, reaching R2 = 0.40 for NO2 and noise, R2 = 0.51 for NO2 and traffic volume, and R2 = 0.70 for noise and traffic volume. These results indicate a common source, namely traffic, for all three parameters. The five LCS nodes spanning 25 m vertically had extremely low intervariability with minimum R2-values of 0.98 for PM2.5, 0.89 for NO2, and 0.97 for O3. The system could not detect a vertical gradient in pollution levels. Large-eddy simulation model runs using the PALM model system generally supported the lack of gradient observed in measured observations. Under slightly unstable stratification, concentration remained relatively constant with height for southwesterly and southerly winds. Conversely, winds from the north, west, and northwest showed an increase in concentration with height. For other wind directions, the concentration decreased with height by approximately 40 % to 50 %, which is not as strong as for neutral stratification, attributed to enhanced vertical mixing under unstable stratification. Based on the measurements and modeling, we conclude that the vertical concentration profile is very sensitive to stratification, and under these conditions, the concentration outside the window of a fifth-floor office is almost the same as for an office on the ground floor

Comprehensive investigation on hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the aviation and aerospace sectors

The world energy consumption is greatly influenced by the aviation industry with a total energy consumption ranging between 2.5% and 5%. Currently, liquid fossil fuel, which releases various types of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, is the main fuel in the aviation industry. As the aviation industry grows rapidly to meet the requirements of the increased world population, the demand for environmentally friendly power technology for various applications in the aviation sector has been increased sharply in recent years. Among the various clean power sources, energy obtained from hydrogen is considered the future for energy generation in the aviation industry due to its cleanness and abundance. This paper aims to give an overview of the potential aviation applications where hydrogen and fuel cell technology can be used. Also, the major challenges that limit the wide adoption of hydrogen technology in aviation are highlighted and future research prospects are identified

Formation and mitigation of toxic emissions from blasting in mining: Experimental investigation and development of aerial sampling methods

A key aspect in optimising blasting operations in mining is reducing toxic species in post-blast fumes, notably NOx from ammonium nitrate-based mixes, which pose a direct threat to miners' health and neighbouring settlements. Reducing these pollutants can be done mainly through improving the explosive formulation and blasting practices which in turn require both A) an understanding of the physical and chemical parameters involved and B) the ability to validate any improvement through the direct field-sampling of post-blast fumes. A series of lab-based experiments on the thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate was carried out with the complete quantification of each product using FTIR, μGC and IC. The physical parameters that varied were temperature, residence time, and whether to have reagents in dry or aqueous forms. The chemical parameters changed were the presence of oxygen gas and urea. The substantial aspect developed in those experiments relates to using high-heating rates believed to be of comparable magnitude to those occurring in blast holes in mining during detonation. The thesis then reports on developing and testing custom-designed drone sampling systems for emissions from blasting operations in mining. The key features in the final aerial sampling system developed (weighing ≤ 10 kg including drone) are i) the fast spectroscopic real-time measurement of NO, NO2, CO, CO2, N2O, NH3, VOCs and PM; and ii) the collection of VOCs and PM2.5 for post-sampling analysis using analytical techniques such as GC-MS and XRD. While sampling in a mine site was not possible, all samplers have been tested with fumes from industrial and transport sources around Perth, Western Australia and a blasting chamber in New South Wales. Two smaller systems (weighing ≤ 2 kg, including drone) sampled air toxics from urban sources

The potential of unmanned aerial systems for sea turtle research and conservation: A review and future directions

This is the final version. Available on open access from Inter Research via the DOI in this recordThe use of satellite systems and manned aircraft surveys for remote data collection has been shown to be transformative for sea turtle conservation and research by enabling the collection of data on turtles and their habitats over larger areas than can be achieved by surveys on foot or by boat. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being adopted to gather data, at previously unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions in diverse geographic locations. This easily accessible, low-cost tool is improving existing research methods and enabling novel approaches in marine turtle ecology and conservation. Here we review the diverse ways in which incorporating inexpensive UAVs may reduce costs and field time while improving safety and data quality and quantity over existing methods for studies on turtle nesting, at-sea distribution and behaviour surveys, as well as expanding into new avenues such as surveillance against illegal take. Furthermore, we highlight the impact that high-quality aerial imagery captured by UAVs can have for public outreach and engagement. This technology does not come without challenges. We discuss the potential constraints of these systems within the ethical and legal frameworks which researchers must operate and the difficulties that can result with regard to storage and analysis of large amounts of imagery. We then suggest areas where technological development could further expand the utility of UAVs as data-gathering tools; for example, functioning as downloading nodes for data collected by sensors placed on turtles. Development of methods for the use of UAVs in sea turtle research will serve as case studies for use with other marine and terrestrial taxa

New horizons

The contribution of space exploration and space related research to the future of man and the accomplishments of the space program are assessed. Topics discussed include: the role of applications satellites in crop surveillance, land use surveys, weather forecasting, education, communications, and pollution monitoring; planetary studies which examine the origin and evolution of the solar system, including dynamic processes that bear directly on earth's environment; and fuel conservation and development of new energy sources