Industrial contribution to the air quality of one mid-sized portuguese city

Urban air pollution became one of the main factors of degradation of the quality of life in cities. This problem tends to worsen due to the unbalanced development of urban spaces and the incompatibilities of uses. In urban environment the typical anthropogenic sources are mainly the road traffic and, when existing, the industrial activity. The present work was performed to attain the following objectives: to quantify the atmospheric emissions from the major industrial sources located in the city and its vicinity and to evaluate the influence of these industrial sources to the air quality of the city. A range of numerical models were used to produce the concentration maps: the ADMS-Urban model for the pollutants dispersion; the Hills model to calculate air flow and turbulence over complex terrain and the European Pollutant Emission Register to estimate the emission factors.(undefined

CityAIR : a new air quality index for cities

Due to a generalised increase of mobility and road traffic in urban areas, the total emissions from road traffic have risen significantly, assuming the main responsibility for the disregard of air quality standards. Pollutant concentrations are evaluated through monitoring, using permanent measurement stations or mobile units, and prediction models based on emissions and meteorological conditions. In order to find an air quality index, the pollutant concentrations are combined through a classification scale anchored on the legal limits and, on the other side, on the impacts over human heath. Typically these classification models consider only the worse pollutant, i.e. the one which concentration ishigher given a certain scale. The objective of this paper is to present a new air quality index, cityAIR, developed for urban contexts. The mathematical formulation of cityAIR stands on two logics: whenever at least one of the pollutants considered overcomes the legal limitsfor the concentration, this will be the only relevant one for the index calculation, and the value will be the minimum of the scale (zero or red); when there is no limit violation,then all the pollutants are considered for the overall air quality, which is calculated through a multi-criteria combination of the concentrations, where trade-off is allowed. A case study is presented, where a cityAIR valuessurface was calculated for Viana do Castelo, a mid-sized Portuguese city, considering concentrations of CO, NO2, O3, C6H6 and PM10

Atmospheric emissions of one pulp and paper mill. Contribution to the air quality of Viana do Castelo

One of the most sensitive environmental impact of the pulp and paper mills is associated with the atmospheric pollution namely with sulphur compounds, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. The study undertaken aimed to evaluate the influence of one pulp and paper mill to the air quality of a Portuguese city located in the vicinity. A range of numerical models were used to produce the concentration maps: the ADMS- Urban model for the pollutants dispersion; the Hills model to calculate air flow and turbulence over complex terrain, including the effects of variable surface roughness and EPER data (The European Pollutant Emission Register) to estimate the emissions factors

Evaluating critical noise disturbance zones in a mid-sized city

Publicado em "Sustainable Planning and Development", ISBN 1-85312-985-2Urban growth is continuously applying pressure over resources, infrastructures and facilities, affecting negatively the standard of living in cities. In this context, evaluating and monitoring the urban environmental quality has become a main issue particularly important when considered as a decision -support tool that contributes to more livable and sustainable cities. Viana do Castelo is a mid-sized city located on the northwest Portuguese seaside, which undertook the challenge of developing an environmental program leading to the integration in a Healthy Cities European Network. Within this program, the identification of urban noise levels and people exposure was considered a priority. The scientific toolbox adopted to develop the studies includes noise simulation models and a GIS platform. Based on traffic data and site physical characteristics, acoustical maps were created and overlaid together with the land-use-based acoustic zoning and population distribution layers. This combination was the basis for the identification of critical zones, both in terms of noise levels and people exposure to this kind of pollution. This paper aims to present the approach, including the theoretical framework, and to discuss the results of a summer scenario of noise exposure in the city center

Research Paper Youth Service

An assumption that most people would probably agree on is that service to community, on a voluntary basis, builds character, self esteem, pride toward one\u27s self and his/her community, develops personal growth and respect or compassion for others. I don\u27t think many people look beyond that. Does the service need to be voluntary? Is service a responsibility that goes with being a part of a community? Why is service a positive aspect of community life? What are the characteristics of service that make it a fulfilling experience? Should youth be required to serve their community? If so, are there other options? Is service a community or school issue? Or both? There are many more questions, however; most people just know it\u27s important, as do some of the youth that were surveyed or interviewed for this paper

Validation study of urban air dispersion model of Viana do Castelo

The City of Viana do Castelo in Portugal has developed an air quality program, which includes prediction of pollutant concentration for NO2, CO, PM10, O3 and C6H6. A range of numerical models were used to produce the concentration maps: the ADMS-Urban model for the pollutants dispersion; the Hills model to calculate air flow and turbulence over complex terrain, including the effects of variable surface roughness; the CORINAIR v.5 to estimate traffic emissions. This paper presents the methodology developed to validate the modelled results. Predicted concentrations were compared against measured concentrations of a chosen pollutant: Carbon Monoxide, CO. Five comparison statistics were calculated for three test points in order to find out the quality of the modelled results. Additionally, a hourly profile of predicted versus measured concentrations was developed

Urban air dispersion model of a mid-sized city. Validation methodology

Viana do Castelo is a mid-sized city located on the northwest Portuguese seaside, which undertook the challenge of developing an environmental program leading to the integration in the Healthy Cities European Network. Within this program includes prediction of pollutant concentration for NO2, CO, PM10, O3 and C6H6. This paper presents the methodology developed to validate the modelled results. Predicted concentrations were compared against measured concentrations of a chosen pollutant: Carbon Monoxide, CO. The methodology adopted was based in BOOT statistical approach. Five comparison statistics were calculated for three test points in order to find out the quality of the modelled results. Additionally, a hourly profile of predicted versus measured concentrations was developed.(undefined

Tráfego rodoviário e ruído ambiental: o caso dum parque urbano

O ruído produzido pelo tráfego rodoviário é a primeira causa de poluição sonora em meio urbano. Em Portugal, e em consonância com as tendências dos restantes países da União Europeia, esta situação encontra-se regulamentada por intermédio da publicação de legislação específica. Tal vem obrigar à consideração do ruído urbano em fase de planeamento, nomeadamente na elaboração de planos de ordenamento do território. A determinação dos níveis de ruído é conseguida de uma forma vantajosa com recurso a modelos de previsão que, em função do conhecimento do tráfego e das características físicas do meio, permitem a avaliação de diversos cenários e a quantificação do clima acústico de modo contínuo no espaço. É apresentada a aplicação de um destes modelos a um espaço verde urbano, sendo calculadosmapas acústicos para os cenários de tráfego presente e futuro e proposta uma solução para mitigação do ruído.The noise produced by road traffic is the first cause of acoustic pollution an urban environment. In Portugal as well as in most of the European Union countries, this problem is regulated through the publication of specific legislation. These regulations require the consideration of the outdoor noise levels in the planning process, namely in the elaboration of zoning plans. The calculation of the noise levels is carried out using simulation models which, based on traffic data and site physical characteristics, allow the evaluation of scenarios and the quantification of such levels in a continuous space. In this paper a noise simulation model is applied to an urban recreation park. Acoustic maps are calculated for present and future traffic scenarios, and a mitigation solution is developed for the noise levels generated

Cytogenetic Tools to Study the Biodiversity of Neotropical Fish: From the Classic to the Advent of Cell Culture

Neotropical Ichthyofauna is considered the richest and most diverse in the world. All this biodiversity has attracted attention from researchers from different areas of study, including the cytogenetics. Many cytogenetics studies have search to understand the evolution of macro and micro karyotype structure of these different groups of fish, and classical and molecular cytogenetics techniques have contributed significantly for all knowledge of this karyotypic diversity. Recently, the use of cell cultures as an alternative to obtaining mitotic chromosomes opening up new opportunities to study groups that have not been explored or have not yet been cytogenetically investigated. In this work, we take a chronological overview of the advances of different cytogenetic techniques (“in vivo” and “in vitro” methods to obtain the chromosome, C-banding, the detection of nucleolar organizer regions (Ag-RON), fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with several repetitive probes and paint chromosome) over the decades and how these techniques helped elucidate questions of the organization and function of the fish genome