Monitoring of the non-ionizing radiation, air pollution and heat indexes in Vojvodina region

Predmet istraživanja ove disertacije je monitoring i analiza ultraljubičastog zračenja, toplotnih indeksa i zagađujućih materija u vazduhu većih naselja na teritoriji Vojvodine. Cilj istraživanja je da se prostornom i vremenskom analizom posmatranih parametara dođe do što optimalnijih saznanja o stanju kvaliteta životne sredine na području Vojvodine kao i stvaranje jedinstvene baze podataka koja će služiti za buduća istraživanja. U radu je ispitan odnos između sunčevog globalnog i UV zračenja, izvedena i verifikovana empirijska jednačina za procenu dnevnih suma UV-B zračenja u osam naselja za period 1981-2008, analizirane koncentracije pet zagađujućih materija u sedam naselja za period 2001-2008. godina i analizirani toplotni indeksi u sedam naselja u periodu od 1992. do 2008. Analiza pokazuje da rekonstruisane vrednosti dnevnih suma UV-B zračenja i srednji godišnji toplotni indeksi u svim naseljima pokazuju tendenciju rasta i da dominantan uticaj na kvalitet vazduha u naseljima Vojvodine imaju čestice. Napravljena je jedinstvena baze podataka sa vrednostima koncentracija zagađivača vazduha, toplotnih indeksa, UV i globalnog zračenja.This study analyzes UV radiation, heat indexes and air pollution in town in Vojvodina region. Objective of the thesis is to provide scientific facts about environmental quality in Vojvodina, as well as, to generate unique data base for the future research. The relationship between UV-B and global radiation has been studied and correlation equation for estimating UV-B from global radiation has been deduced. Equation was used for UV-B radiation calculation in eight towns in Vojvodina region during the period 1981-2008. This study also analyzes concentrations of five air pollutant in during the period 2001-2008, and heat index during the period 1992-2008. in seven towns in Vojvodina. The results from this study show growth UV-B radiation and heat index in all towns, and denote particulate maters as main air pollutants in Vojvodina towns

Clear-sky spectral UV radiation modelling

The parametric model NEOPLANTA was used to study the effects of various atmospheric conditions on terrestrial spectral UV irradiance. The capability of the model to correctly reproduce processes in the atmosphere is tested by changing input parameters such as ozone content, solar zenith angle, amount and type of aerosols, and altitude. The results of the model testing on input parameter change were satisfactory. As is expected, the amount of UV radiation reaching the surface is the most dependable on ozone layer thickness and solar zenith angle. Erythemal irradiance is more dependent on changes in the amount of ozone in the atmosphere than spectral UV irradiance, showing a significantly greater impact of UV-B radiation on human skin than radiation in the UV-A part of the spectrum

Monitoring of the non-ionizing radiation, air pollution and heat indexes in Vojvodina region

Predmet istraživanja ove disertacije je monitoring i analiza ultraljubičastog zračenja, toplotnih indeksa i zagađujućih materija u vazduhu većih naselja na teritoriji Vojvodine. Cilj istraživanja je da se prostornom i vremenskom analizom posmatranih parametara dođe do što optimalnijih saznanja o stanju kvaliteta životne sredine na području Vojvodine kao i stvaranje jedinstvene baze podataka koja će služiti za buduća istraživanja. U radu je ispitan odnos između sunčevog globalnog i UV zračenja, izvedena i verifikovana empirijska jednačina za procenu dnevnih suma UV-B zračenja u osam naselja za period 1981-2008, analizirane koncentracije pet zagađujućih materija u sedam naselja za period 2001-2008. godina i analizirani toplotni indeksi u sedam naselja u periodu od 1992. do 2008. Analiza pokazuje da rekonstruisane vrednosti dnevnih suma UV-B zračenja i srednji godišnji toplotni indeksi u svim naseljima pokazuju tendenciju rasta i da dominantan uticaj na kvalitet vazduha u naseljima Vojvodine imaju čestice. Napravljena je jedinstvena baze podataka sa vrednostima koncentracija zagađivača vazduha, toplotnih indeksa, UV i globalnog zračenja.This study analyzes UV radiation, heat indexes and air pollution in town in Vojvodina region. Objective of the thesis is to provide scientific facts about environmental quality in Vojvodina, as well as, to generate unique data base for the future research. The relationship between UV-B and global radiation has been studied and correlation equation for estimating UV-B from global radiation has been deduced. Equation was used for UV-B radiation calculation in eight towns in Vojvodina region during the period 1981-2008. This study also analyzes concentrations of five air pollutant in during the period 2001-2008, and heat index during the period 1992-2008. in seven towns in Vojvodina. The results from this study show growth UV-B radiation and heat index in all towns, and denote particulate maters as main air pollutants in Vojvodina towns

DEEP Learning LSTM recurrent neural network for consequence forecasting of the solar wind disturbance

This conference was held from 10 to 13 May in Petnica Science Centre, City of Valjevo

Evaluation of outdoor thermal comfort conditions: evidence from the Serbian major ski resort over the last 30 years

The study aims to present reliable information about thermal conditions and their impacts on visitors to ski travel destinations.Mountain tourism areas are specific since high altitudes affect the ambient weather conditions which can affect different types of human activities. In this paper, the thermal comfort and its changes in Kopaonik Mountain, the most popular ski resort in Serbia over the last 30 years, have been evaluated. Information about thermal comfort is presented by using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), and modified physiologically equivalent temperature (mPET) in 3-h resolution for the period 1991–2020. The results indicate prevailing cold stress all year round. Days with moderate, strong, and very strong heat stress were not recorded. Strong and extreme cold stress prevailed during winter, while slight and moderate cold stress prevailed during summer. Transitional seasons were very cold, but autumn was more comfortable than spring. The occurrence of days with neutral and slightly warm/cool conditions is concentrated in the summer months. However, summer is not used enough for tourism because the choice of tourists to stay at Kopaonik is not primarily based on favorable bioclimatic conditions, but on resources for winter tourism. With global warming, the annual number of thermally favorable days has been increasing, while the number of days with extreme and strong cold stress is decreasing. Continuing this trend can significantly influence tourism in the future, and therefore, new strategies in ski resorts will be required to adapt to the changing climate.The authors are grateful to Prof. Matzarakis for his generous provision of the RayMan program

EXTREME PRECIPITATION INDICES IN VOJVODINA REGION (SERBIA)

The evolution of daily extreme precipitation from 1966 to 2013 in Vojvodina Region (Serbia) was investigated. We calculated trends of ten precipitation indices and tested their corresponding significances using the Student’s t-test for seven locations. The obtained results suggest that the climate of the northern and central parts of Vojvodina region becomes wetter in terms of precipitation magnitude and frequency, reflecting the characteristic of the central European regime, while the southernmost part of the region is drier, reflecting the characteristic of the Mediterranean regime. In addition, the results indicate an increase in the amount of precipitation in short time intervals. Positive annual trends are strongly influenced by the significant increase of autumn frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation. According to the correlation between extreme precipitation indices and atmospheric teleconnection patterns, it was found that the NAO has the strongest influence on precipitation intensity indices in spring and winter, while during winter it also affects the frequency of dry conditions. The EAWR pattern has a strong influence on the statistically significant positive autumn trends

Editorial: Atmospheric disturbances: responses to phenomena from lithosphere to outer space

The authors acknowledge funding provided by the Institute of Physics Belgrade and the Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” SASA through the grants by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia

Estimation of photovoltaic power generation potential in Serbia based on irradiance, air temperature, and wind speed data

This study is devoted to the research of spatial-temporal variation of electricity generation from the kilowatt-peak photovoltaic system made of crystalline silicon solar cells. The research was conducted in the territory of Serbia using the model for estimation photovoltaic performances as a function of incident irradiance and module temperature. Preparation of input data and calculation of the final results was done within the geographical information system. Some of the required raster data, like solar irradiance and wind speed, were already available, while air temperature raster was created from discrete set of observed data using the regression-kriging model. Obtained results were presented in the form of raster maps that enabled further analysis and discussion about new findings. The analysis of seasonal variations reveals that during spring and summer months photovoltaic systems are producing up to 70% of total annual electricity yield. In terms of the spatial distribution, the most promising areas for electricity generation are located in the south part of Serbia and along main river valleys. In addition, discussion part addresses the issue of data imperfection caused by the accuracy of the selected model, as well as quality and availability of data series

Analysis of Daily Streamflow Complexity by Kolmogorov Measures and Lyapunov Exponent

Analysis of daily streamflow variability in space and time is important for water resources planning, development, and management. The natural variability of streamflow is being complicated by anthropogenic influences and climate change, which may introduce additional complexity into the phenomenological records. To address this question for daily discharge data recorded during the period 1989-2016 at twelve gauging stations on Brazos River in Texas (USA), we use a set of novel quantitative tools: Kolmogorov complexity (KC) with its derivative associated measures to assess complexity, and Lyapunov time (LT) to assess predictability. We find that all daily discharge series exhibit long memory with an increasing downflow tendency, while the randomness of the series at individual sites cannot be definitively concluded. All Kolmogorov complexity measures have relatively small values with the exception of the USGS (United States Geological Survey) 08088610 station at Graford, Texas, which exhibits the highest values of these complexity measures. This finding may be attributed to the elevated effect of human activities at Graford, and proportionally lesser effect at other stations. In addition, complexity tends to decrease downflow, meaning that larger catchments are generally less influenced by anthropogenic activity. The correction on randomness of Lyapunov time (quantifying predictability) is found to be inversely proportional to the Kolmogorov complexity, which strengthens our conclusion regarding the effect of anthropogenic activities, considering that KC and LT are distinct measures, based on rather different techniques

Impact of the COVID-19 restrictive measures on urban traffic-related air pollution in Serbia

This study has analyzed the traffic-related change in atmospheric pollutants levels (PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, SO2, and O3) caused by the COVID-19 restrictive measures, based on traffic ground-based stations data in urban areas in Serbia. The possible influence of several meteorological factors (temperature, wind, pressure, and humidity), and mobility on the pollutants’ levels were also considered. The obtained results showed a positive correlation of daily NO2 concentrations with mobility and its significant reduction during restrictive measures at all selected monitoring stations. The reduction of NO2 was higher than in other countries (71.1–111.5% for measured, and 49.3–92.6% for ‘deweathered’ data), indicating a high traffic impact on NO2 levels in Serbia. The PM, CO, and SO2 showed a weak correlation with mobility during the period with restrictive measures, which, besides traffic, indicates the significant influence of other sources of their concentration. The O3 concentrations were increased at all measuring stations and are negatively correlated to mobility. Comparison of pollutant concentrations during restriction with the equivalent period in preceding years showed reductions in NO2 and SO2 concentrations. However, compared to previous years, the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and CO increased in the period with restrictive measures, indicating lower sensitivity to population mobility and higher dependence on other emission sources. The findings suggest the justification for the use of traffic reduction strategies to improve air quality