Towards a global EDGAR‐inventory of particulate matter with focus on elemental carbon

The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) provides technology based global anthropogenic emissions data of greenhouse gases and air pollutants by country and sector on a 0.1° x 0.1° spatial grid, on a timeline that ranges from 1970 to present days. As part of the constantly ongoing amendment and improvement of the database, a review of the available literature and emission inventory data has been conducted focusing on particulate emissions, with the aim of acquiring a comprehensive array of primary particle matter and carbonaceous particle emission factors (EF). It was found, that emission factor data from different studies show large variation for a given fuel and technology. Furthermore it is plausible that a certain literature or measurement describes emission factors better in the region where it is originating from. With this in mind, a comparison has been made between the available emission factor datasets in a number of different regions, focusing on the power generation sector. The aim of this experiment is to select the most appropriate EF dataset for a given region.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

On the CH4 and N2O emission inventory compiled by EDGAR and improved with the EPRTR data for the INGOS project

This report documents the EDGAR INGOS emission inventory for CH4 and N2O, as publicly made available on: http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ingos/index.php?SECURE=123. The EDGAR INGOS CH4 and N2O emission inventory provides bottom‐up estimates of global anthropogenic CH4 and N2O emissions for the period 2000‐2010. The EDGAR InGOS product is an update of the EDGARv4.2FT2010 inventory, taking into account emissions reported as point sources by facilities under the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (EPRTR) for (1) power plants (N2O), (2) oil refineries (CH4 and N2O), (3) coal mining (CH4), (4) production of oil and gas (CH4), (5) chemicals production (inorganic, nitro‐fertilizers and other bulk chemicals) (N2O), industrial process and product use (N2O), (6) solid waste ‐ landfills (CH4), (7) industrial wastewater treatment (CH4 and N2O). In a first step gridmaps have been improved for the European region taking into account the geospatial data of the E‐PRTR database. In addition, for the last 4 years an option is given to select inventories solely based on officially reported emission data (for the categories covered by E‐PRTR), gapfilled with EDGARv4.2FT2010 for non‐reporting countries.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

Investigating the Learning Impact of Game-based Learning when Teaching Science to Children with Special Learning Needs

International audienceIn an attempt to find solutions to the current challenges faced by children with special needs, new teaching and learning methodologies that make us of various technologies such as 3D computer based games, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality enhanced learning have been proposed to be used in the classroom. The technology can enhance the lives of children with learning disabilities and gives then options of intervening in their various educational and cognitive problems. The paper presents a research study on learner experience when a new interactive educational 3D video game called Final Frontier, was used in a secondary school from Romania by children with hearing impairment. Pre-and Post-tests results analysis has shown that the game helped the children to acquire knowledge on the Solar system. It was also noticed that an interactive game-based learning approach is more suitable for children with disabilities than an interactive exploratory based digital library method

Mulsemedia in Telecommunication and Networking Education: A Novel Teaching Approach that Improves the Learning Process

The advent and increased use of new technologies, such as innovative mulsemedia and multi-modal content distribution mechanisms, have brought new challenges and diverse opportunities for technology enhanced learning (TEL). NEWTON is a Horizon 2020 European project that revolutionizes the educational process through innovative TEL methodologies and tools, integrated in a pan-European STEM-related learning network platform. This article focuses on one of these novel TEL methodologies (i.e., mulsemedia) and presents how NEWTON enables mulsemedia- enhanced teaching and learning of STEM subjects, with a particular focus on telecommunication and networking related modules. The article also discusses the very promising results of NEWTON case studies carried out with engineering students across two different universities in Spain and Ireland, respectively. The case studies focused on analyzing the impact on the learning process of the mulsemedia-enhanced teaching in the context of telecommunication and networking modules. The main conclusion of the article is that mulsemedia-enhanced education significantly increases students' learning experience and improves their knowledge gain

Arctic atmospheric mercury:Sources and changes

Global anthropogenic and legacy mercury (Hg) emissions are the main sources of Arctic Hg contamination, primarily transported there via the atmosphere. This review summarizes the state of knowledge of the global anthropogenic sources of Hg emissions, and examines recent changes and source attribution of Hg transport and deposition to the Arctic using models. Estimated global anthropogenic Hg emissions to the atmosphere for 2015 were ~2220 Mg, ~20% higher than 2010. Global anthropogenic, legacy and geogenic Hg emissions were, respectively, responsible for 32%, 64% (wildfires: 6–10%) and 4% of the annual Arctic Hg deposition. Relative contributions to Arctic deposition of anthropogenic origin was dominated by sources in East Asia (32%), Commonwealth of Independent States (12%), and Africa (12%). Model results exhibit significant spatiotemporal variations in Arctic anthropogenic Hg deposition fluxes, driven by regional differences in Hg air transport routes, surface and precipitation uptake rates, and inter-seasonal differences in atmospheric circulation and deposition pathways. Model simulations reveal that changes in meteorology are having a profound impact on contemporary atmospheric Hg in the Arctic. Reversal of North Atlantic Oscillation phase from strongly negative in 2010 to positive in 2015, associated with lower temperature and more sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, Greenland and surrounding ocean, resulted in enhanced production of bromine species and Hg(0) oxidation and lower evasion of Hg(0) from ocean waters in 2015. This led to increased Hg(II) (and its deposition) and reduced Hg(0) air concentrations in these regions in line with High Arctic observations. However, combined changes in meteorology and anthropogenic emissions led to overall elevated modeled Arctic air Hg(0) levels in 2015 compared to 2010 contrary to observed declines at most monitoring sites, likely due to uncertainties in anthropogenic emission speciation, wildfire emissions and model representations of air-surface Hg fluxes

Fossil CO2 and GHG emissions of all world countries

The Paris Agreement plans global stocktakes, to which the UNFCCC GHG emission inventories are the primary input. To complete this picture, the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research provides for all world countries emission timeseries from 1970 until 2016 for CO2 and until 2012 for the other GHGs.JRC.C.5-Air and Climat

Trend analysis from 1970 to 2008 and model evaluation of EDGARv4 global gridded anthropogenic mercury emissions

The Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) provides a time-series of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived atmospheric pollutants from 1970 to 2008. Mercury is included in EDGARv4.tox1, thereby enriching the spectrum of multi-pollutant sources in the database. With an average annual growth rate of 1.3% since 1970, EDGARv4 estimates that the global mercury emissions reached 1287 tonnes in 2008. Specifically, gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) (Hg[superscript 0]) accounted for 72% of the global total emissions, while gaseous oxidised mercury (GOM) (Hg[superscript 2 +]) and particle bound mercury (PBM) (Hg-P) accounted for only 22% and 6%, respectively. The less reactive form, i.e., Hg[superscript 0], has a long atmospheric residence time and can be transported long distances from the emission sources. The artisanal and small-scale gold production, accounted for approximately half of the global Hg[superscript 0] emissions in 2008 followed by combustion (29%), cement production (12%) and other metal industry (10%). Given the local-scale impacts of mercury, special attention was given to the spatial distribution showing the emission hot-spots on gridded 0.1° × 0.1° resolution maps using detailed proxy data. The comprehensive ex-post analysis of the mitigation of mercury emissions by end-of-pipe abatement measures in the power generation sector and technology changes in the chlor-alkali industry over four decades indicates reductions of 46% and 93%, respectively. Combined, the improved technologies and mitigation measures in these sectors accounted for 401.7 tonnes of avoided mercury emissions in 2008. A comparison shows that EDGARv4 anthropogenic emissions are nearly equivalent to the lower estimates of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s mercury emissions inventory for 2005 for most sectors. An evaluation of the EDGARv4 global mercury emission inventory, including mercury speciation, was performed using the GEOS-Chem global 3-D mercury model. The model can generally reproduce both spatial variations and long-term trends in total gaseous mercury concentrations and wet deposition fluxes.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Atmospheric Chemistry Program Grant 1053648

Impact evaluation of biomass used in small combustion activities sector on air emissions: Analyses of emissions from Alpine, Adriatic-Ionian and Danube EU macro-regions by using the EDGAR emissions inventory

The emissions from small stationary combustion activities sector, in particular from the energy needs for residential buildings, have significant shares in total emissions of EU28. Therefore, measures to mitigate the emissions from this less regulated sector related to implementation checking are needed. In this study, we analysed the changes in fuel mix for this sector over 1990-2012 period, the emissions and their distribution over the areas covered by European Union Strategy for Alpine macro-region (EUSALP), European Union Strategy for Adriatic and Ionian macro-region (EUSAIR) and European Union Strategy for Danube macro-region (EUSDR). The emissions gridmaps of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC) and benzo(a)pyren (BaP) are presented for the year 2010; in specific circumstances, these pollutants are known to produce negative effects on health. For this research, we used the data and information of the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) versions v4.3.2 and v4.tox3. Accurate emissions estimates are important to evaluate the impacts of fuel combustion in small stationary combustion activities sector on air quality, human health and crops. Inventories of GHGs, air pollutants and toxic pollutants included in EDGAR are developed by using, as input, fuel consumption from IEA (2014) and emissions factors from scientific literature and official guidebooks such as EMEP/EEA (2013). Working together with emissions inventory experts from selected countries in these macro-regions, the effects of improvements of fuel consumption statistics, biomass in particular, on emissions in the latest years have been quantified by comparing EDGAR data with national data. Besides sectorial emissions estimation, the emissions distribution is also important in the inventory development process. In order to distribute emissions consistently for all countries included in Alpine, Adriatic-Ionian and Danube macro-regions, the EDGAR team upgraded the WEB-based gridding tool with a module for small stationary combustion activities. Emissions estimation and distribution are key elements in preparing a complete input for chemical transport models and further evaluate the impacts of these emissions on air quality, health and crops. This report aims to provide the policy makers and scientists insights on the representativeness and uncertainty of local emissions from the residential sector that play an important role on air quality. These datasets can be used as input for the atmospheric chemical transport models for air pollutants and can illustrate the importance of emission inventory uncertainties and discrepancies.JRC.C.5-Air and Climat

The impact of a modal shift in transport on emissions to the atmosphere: Methodology development for the best use of the available information and expertise in the Danube Region.

A modal shift in transport can represent a promising option where the economic added value is demonstrated. However, the impact of this action on the environment is important as well. In the framework of the JRC scientific support to the Danube Strategy, the EDGAR modal shift initiative focuses on the emissions evaluation for ex-post modal shift scenarios, as a contribution to the Danube Air Nexus. Given the complexity of this topic, a methodology for the best use of the available information and expertise in the Danube Region has been developed and is presented in this report. This work is the outcome of the joint efforts of the JRC/EDGAR team, country emission experts and relevant institutions in the Danube Region. It shows that, in addition to the EDGAR data and gridding tool, the participation by and contributions of experts from the Danube Region is essential in compiling emissions from the transport sector and enriching knowledge of variations in national circumstances, on inland domestic and international shipping and by bringing details of ship and truck freight transport. Considering the transboundary characteristics of the transport sector, the EDGAR team developed a Web-based emissions gridding tool (EDGAR.ms) to be used by experts, institutions and authorities in the region to distribute emissions from road transport sector in a consistent manner. Emission experts from four countries (Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Croatia) tested the EDGAR.ms tool with their national data and this user friendly application is now available to all country emission experts in the Danube Region (upon request). Regarding navigation, the contribution of Viadonau and Danube Commission is essential to evaluate ship emissions. It is appreciated that, this scientific network, which includes both EU and Non-EU countries, has the capability to explore and evaluate emissions changes from a modal shift in transport and to identify the advantages and drawbacks related to emission patterns changes but to be fully comprehensive, this undertaking requires participation/contribution from specialized institutions in the region and country emission experts from the entire Danube Region.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat