Analysis of Alpha Activity Levels and Dependence on Meteorological Factors over a Complex Terrain in Northern Iberian Peninsula (2014–2018)

Alpha ambient concentrations in ground-level air were measured weekly in Bilbao (northern Spain) by collecting aerosols in filters between 2014 and 2018. Over this period, the alpha activity concentrations in the aerosol’s samples range from 13.9 µBq/m3 to 246.5 µBq/m3, with a mean of 66.49 ± 39.33 µBq/m3. The inter-annual and intra-annual (seasonal and monthly) variations are analyzed, with the highest activity in autumn months and the lowest one in winter months. Special attention has been paid to alpha peak concentrations (weekly concentrations above the 90th percentile) and its relationship with regional meteorological scenarios by means of air mass trajectories and local meteorological parameters. The meteorological analysis of these high alpha concentrations has revealed two airflow patterns-one from the south with land origin and one from the north with maritime origin-mainly associated with these alpha peak concentrations. Surface winds during representative periods of both airflow patterns are also analyzed in combination with 222Rn concentrations, which demonstrated the different daily evolution associated with each airflow pattern. The present results are relevant in understanding trends and meteorological factors affecting alpha activity concentrations in this area, and hence, to control potential atmospheric environmental releases and ensure the environmental and public health

16 Years (2006–2021) of Surface Ozone Measurements in Córdoba (Southern Spain): Trends and the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown

Surface ozone concentrations (O3) during the period 2006–2021 are analysed at Córdoba city (southern Iberian Peninsula) in suburban and urban sampling sites. The aims are to present the levels and temporal variations, to explore trends and to quantity the variation in O3 concentrations in the context of the COVID-19 lockdown. The O3 means are higher in the suburban station (62 µg m−3 and 51.3 µg m−3), being the information level threshold only exceeded twice during this period. The daily evolution shows a maximum at about 17:00 UTC, whereas the minimum is reached at about 9:00 UTC, with higher levels in the suburban station. The seasonal evolution of this daily cycle also presents monthly differences in shape and intensity between stations. The trends are analysed by means of daily averages and daily 5th and 95th percentiles, and they show a similar increase in all of these parameters, with special emphasis on the daily P95 concentrations, with 0.27 µg m−3 year−1 and 0.24 µg m−3 year−1. Finally, the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown shows a decline in O3 concentrations over 10%

Analysing the performance of radiological monitoring network during nuclear accidents

JRODOS was used to simulate the dispersion of airborne radioactive material from a point source over the period 2012–2015. In total, 1331 radioactive plumes were simulated with the objective to investigate the influence of changes in meteorological conditions in the performance of the monitoring network. For this purpose, the existing set of 84 monitoring stations included in the EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP) system in an area of 200 km around the source point is taken as reference. A methodology is presented for quantitative evaluation of the variability of the number of stations affected, the time of the first detection, the maximum registered and differences between the maximum values match in the network and in the simulated plumes. The results show seasonal differences in all of these parameters according to changes in the size and shape of the affected area due to meteorological conditions. There are large differences in the number of monitoring stations affected by the plumes, from 2 to 74; in the timing and location of the first alert given by the network, from 1 to more than 5 h and faster along the west-east axis from the source; and in level of maximum gamma dose rate detected by the monitoring stations, from 0.17 nSv/h in summer to 0.22 nSv/h in autumn. These results show the need to consider this type of analysis over the years in the design of monitoring networks and in the development of nuclear emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) plans

Tourism and mobile devices: provenance of academic research through a bibliometric study

Purpose – This paper aims to outline a map of all the research that exists on mobile technology and tourism archived in the two main databases worldwide (Web of Science and Scopus). Accordingly, with the identification of all the scientific articles that deal with both mobile technology and tourism, the authors seek to ascertain the evolution of mobile technology in the tourism sector through the years, countries, universities and authors and determine the various collaborations brought about between authors, universities, institutions and/or companies in various research projects. Finally, it also allows the authors to distinguish the main topics under study within the scope of ‘mobile tourism’. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methodology has been carried out. The search focused on the principal databases of bibliographic references and citations of periodical publications, such as articles from scientific journals, books and other types of printed material. Once the results were obtained in the respective databases, it was necessary to be able to work with them. In this respect, the authors had to extract the relevant data and dump it in a bibliographic reference manager, for which they chose Mendeley. After this, the tabulation of data was performed in Excel and tables and graphs were created from all the data collected. Findings – The main results obtained and analyzed are the number of articles per year, countries and universities. In the same way, it is interesting to highlight the number of countries and universities that participate in each article under study. On the other hand, an analysis has been carried out regarding the number of articles per author, as well as the topics dealt with in the different articles. Originality/value – This analysis reveals the role that has been played by mobile phones in tourism since the first scientific article was recorded in 2002. In this regard, in recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of articles, finally resulting in moderate figures in relation to countries (40) and universities (233) that have formed part of the subject matter under study. In contrast to other areas of research in tourism, the relevance of this subject is therefore evident, as is the need for greater background knowledge to establish research models adapted to the new reality of tourism in a world of ever-increasing mobility

Understanding the variability of 7Be surface concentrations in Europe: the role of teleconnection patterns

The temporal and spatial variability of atmospheric compounds and pollutants is largely driven by a combination of local, mesoscale and synoptic meteorological conditions influencing atmospheric processes, such as horizontal and vertical dispersion, deposition, chemical reactions rates and velocity. At the same time, different anthropogenic and natural radionuclides have long been used as tracers to understand and describe surface and atmospheric processes and their influence on transport and deposition. Among these substances, 7Be, a cosmogenic radionuclide produced by spallation reactions in the stratosphere and upper troposphere, is frequently used as tracer of different atmospheric processes. Many studies have reported how the variability of 7Be surface concentration is driven by the movement of air masses, atmospheric deposition processes, tropospheric vertical mixing, and the vertical exchange between the stratosphere and the troposphere. With an aim to elucidate the influence of teleconnection and tropospheric circulation dynamics, several studies have investigated the influence of the main modes of large scale and regional climate variability in Europe, such as North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Arctic Oscillation (AO), East Atlantic (EA), East Atlantic/Western Russia (EA/WR), Scandinavian pattern (SCAND), and Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO) on the surface 7Be activity concentrations. This paper, in particular, presents a summary of recent results achieved by our team working on this topic, focusing firstly at the European scale and then to northern Europe. Analysing 7Be surface concentrations measured at 15 European sampling stations over 2005–2014 and combining the calculation of air mass trajectories and cluster analysis with time series of teleconnection indices, we found that extremely high values of the 7Be surface concentrations are largely connected with the negative phase of NAO and We-MO, and with the positive EA phase. These results showed a latitudinal division between the northern and southern sites, with a similar influence of teleconnection patterns, while the sites located in the central part of Europe present a larger variability in the impact of teleconnection patterns. A detailed analysis in northern Europe revealed that extreme 7Be surface concentrations observed during winter were associated with variability of the Arctic polar vortex and linked with high values of the SCAND index. The findings provide a classification of meteorological conditions associated with high surface 7Be concentrations and thus offer a basis for forecasting these events. In a general view, the findings also help in understanding the seasonal and inter-annual atmospheric variability at different scales and its impact on airborne concentrations of radionuclides and pollutants.Abstract

Atmospheric Pathways and Distance Range Analysis of Castanea Pollen Transport in Southern Spain

The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is the only native species of this genus in Europe, where it faces various threats that are causing a severe decrease in populations, with the resulting loss of genetic diversity. In the Iberian Peninsula, it is of high economic and ecological importance, being well represented, especially in northern areas, whilst it is limited to isolated populations in medium-range mountains in southern Spain (Andalusia region). Taking advantage of this fragmented distribution, this study analyzes the dynamics of atmospheric transport of Castanea pollen through Andalusia region in order to obtain a better understanding of the pollination pathways as a key aspect of the floral biology of this partially anemophilous species. The aerobiological characteristics of this species are also of special interest since its pollen has been recognized as allergenic. Pollen transport pathways were studied by applying back-trajectories analysis together with aerobiological, phenological, land cover, and meteorological data. The results reveal that airborne Castanea pollen concentrations recorded in the city of Cordoba, in the center of Andalusia region, reach medium- and even long-range distances. The backward-trajectory analysis indicates that most of the pollen data detected outside the Castanea flowering season were related to westerly slow and easterly airflows. Furthermore, some of the case studies analyzed indicate the presence of southerly airflow patterns, which could influence medium- and long-range transport events from chestnut populations further south, even from those located in north African mountains. The integrated analysis of the results offers us better knowledge of the cross-pollination pathways of this endangered species, which help us to understand its genetic flows, as a basis for designing conservation strategies for this highly fragmented species in southern Spain

Analysis of 222Rn Surface Concentrations in the Basque Country (Spain): A Case Study of Heat Waves

The objective of this study was to characterize radon concentrations registered in the Radiological Surveillance Network of the Basque country in relation to local meteorological parameters, and to determine its behaviour under heatwave events. For this purpose, radon measurements and meteorological parameters from June 2012 to June 2015 were analysed at two sites, Bilbao and Vitoria (northern Spain), in a region characterized by complex orography, causing large temporal and spatial variability in meteorological conditions. Yearly, seasonal, and diurnal cycle differences and similarities were investigated at both sites. The temporal evolution of radon concentration was analysed at both sites during the two heatwave periods officially identified by the State Meteorological Agency (8–11 August 2012 and 17–23 August 2012). The analysis revealed two different patterns of radon concentrations, in terms of both time and intensity, under this synoptic pattern, making it also possible to identify regional transport channels of radon concentrations between the two sites. This set of results evidences the adequate position of both stations to represent the spatial and temporal evolution of radiological variables continuously in this region

Meteorological Factors Controlling 7Be Activity Concentrations in the Atmospheric Surface Layer in Northern Spain

This work presents the analysis of weekly 7Be activity concentrations in the air measured in Bilbao (northern Spain) by collecting aerosols in filters over a ten years period (2009–2018). 7Be level is in the 0.35–7.3 mBq/m3 range, with a mean of 3.20 ± 1.12 mBq/m3. The trend, cycle, seasonal and monthly variability are evaluated using time series analysis techniques. The results indicate the impact of sunspots (24th solar cycle) on interannual 7Be activity concentrations, and a significant seasonal and monthly variation, with maximum concentrations occurring in spring-summer and minimum in the winter. The correlation of different 7Be ranges with local meteorological parameters, such as precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and pressure, is also addressed, with precipitation having the greatest impact on 7Be activity values. The analysis of synoptic airflows, by calculating the back-trajectory clusters, and local winds at surface level reveals the important influence of the arrival of slow northwest Atlantic flows and the development of breezes on reaching high 7Be activity concentrations in this area

Five Years (2014–2018) of Beta Activity Concentration and the Impact of Synoptic and Local Meteorological Conditions in Bilbao (Northern Spain)

The aim of this paper is to statistically characterize gross beta activity concentrations in ground-level air in Bilbao (northern Spain) by analysing five years (2014–2018) worth of weekly measurements in aerosols collected in filters to analyse the impact of local meteorological parameters on concentrations. In addition, synoptic meteorological scenarios associated with anomalous beta surface activity concentrations were identified. Over this five-year period, beta activity concentrations ranged from 35.45 µBq/m3 to 1778 µBq/m3 with a mean of 520.12 ± 281.77 µBq/m3. A positive correlation was found with the alpha concentrations (0.67), with an average of 0.138 for the alpha/beta ratio, and a low correlation was found with 7Be (0.16). Statistical analysis identified a seasonal component in the time series, increasing, on average, beta activity concentrations from winter to autumn. The highest beta activity concentrations were measured under the arrival of southerly land winds with low wind speeds, while the wind analysis (surface winds and air masses) of two different seasonal periods (autumn 2015 and winter 2017) have highlighted how small variations in synoptic and local winds highly influence beta activity concentrations. These results are relevant to understand the meteorological factors affecting beta activity concentrations in this area and hence to define meteorological scenarios that are in favour to high/anomalous surface activity concentrations that are harmful to the environmental and public health

Analysis of the items in restaurants with two Michelin stars. In search of customer satisfaction

Esta investigación consiste en el análisis cualitativo de la calidad de la marca Michelin, en concreto aquellos que tienen dos estrellas. Para ello se hace un estudio de la reputación online de la marca usando los softwares Nvivo11, import.io y Excel y se identificarán aquellos ítems que resultan más valorados por los clientes en restaurantes de dos estrellas en España, procediéndose a evaluar las fortalezas o debilidades que se obtienen de este análisis.This research aims to perform a qualitative analysis of the Michelin brand, particularly Michelin restaurants awarded with two stars. In order to do so, the online reputation of the Michelin brand using Nvivo11, import.io and Excel software. The most popular items according to the patrons of Michelin restaurants with two stars will be identified and analyzed. Finally, a baseline assessment of strengths and weaknesses of each item will be performed