Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Monitor pollution on shores'

La combinaison d’automates cellulaires (CA) et de systèmes distribués offre un moyen simple de modéliser les problèmes environnementaux et sociaux en divisant les zones d’intérêt en segments spatiales discrètes pour le calcul parallèle. L’évolution de l’état de chaque segment est divisée en étapes temporelles discrètes. Les divisions géographiques en tant qu’espace cellulaire irrégulier permettent de tirer parti des données ouvertes pour alimenter les systèmes de simulation. Les données sont analysées pour en déduire les règles de transition apportant des influences distribuées dans un quartier. Une étude de cas de modélisation de la propagation épidémique basée sur les divisions administratives est présentée. Étant donné l’hypothèse que l’épidémie se propage aux personnes vivant dans le quartier, un système de simulation est généré en fonction des voisins adjacents avec des conditions initiales de collecte à partir du portail de données ouvertes du gouvernement. Une approche hybride est introduite avec la coopération entre les tuiles régulières et les espaces cellulaires irréguliers dans la modélisation des activités côtières. Une simulation environnementale est nécessaire pour représenter les caractéristiques du sol et de la mer qui se propagent dans les deux espaces. Ces caractéristiques sont très différentes en raison de la capacité et de la réaction du sol, et du comportement de la mer, en particulier les courants et les marées. Le problème des marées vertes est modélisé lorsque les nutriments sont présents en concentrations élevées et piégés par les courants de marée
The combination of Cellular automata (CA) and distributed systems provide a simple way to model environmental and social issues by dividing the relevant areas into discrete spatial segments for parallel computation. The state evolution of each segment is divided into discrete time steps. Geographic divisions as irregular cell space give a chance to take advantage of Open Data in feeding the simulation systems. Data are analyzed to deduce the transition rules bringing distributed influences in a neighborhood. A case study of epidemic propagation modeling based on geographic divisions is presented. Given an assumption that the epidemic is spreading to people living in the neighborhood, a simulation system is generated based on adjacent neighbors with initial conditions collected from the government open data portal. A hybrid approach is introduced with the cooperation between regular tiles and irregular cellspaces in modeling shore activities. Environmental simulation is needed to represent ground and sea characteristics modeling spreading occurring on both spaces. These characteristics are very different due to soil capability and reaction, and sea behavior, in particular currents and tides. The problem of green tides is modeled when nutrients arepresented in high concentrations and entrapped by tidal currents

This thesis collects several ecotoxicological studies focused on the quali- quantitative analysis of several classes of chemical compounds. Our studies have been conducted on different aquatic species occupying different food chain trophic levels and characterized by differences in biology, ethology, and nutrition, but all considered excellent bioindicators. This choice allowed us to have a broad overview of the contamination of aquatic environments. Detrimental effects of several chemical compounds on the species investigated have been discussed, considering the economic and public health implications linked to the pollution of the environment and the exposure to old and emerging xenobiotics. Our studies underline the importance of a multidisciplinary and integrated approach that includes the application of the one health concept to ensure the protection of public health and respect for natural environments. Studies collected in this thesis also aim to overcome some critical limitations of the branch of ecotoxicology, such as the lack of standardization in laboratory methods. Our data also underline the importance of expanding research to a greater number of various biological matrices than those indicated by the literature as target tissues for specific pollutants. This condition enables more detailed information on the kinetics of xenobiotics in animal organisms. Our studies also allow us to expand the knowledge related to the mechanisms of synergy and antagonism of mixtures of pollutants that can simultaneously accumulate in wildlife.
Questa tesi raccoglie diversi studi ecotossicologici, che implicano una analisi quali-quantitativa relativa alla detezione di diverse classi di inquinanti su diverse specie acquatiche, che occupano differenti livelli trofici della catena alimentare, e che sono caratterizzati da differenze biologiche, etologiche e dietetiche, ma tutti considerati eccellenti bioindicatori. Questa scelta ci ha permesso di avere un'ampia panoramica della contaminazione degli ambienti acquatici. Sono stati discussi gli effetti dannosi di diversi composti chimici sulle singole specie in esame, considerando anche le implicazioni economiche e relative alla tutela della salute pubblica legate all'inquinamento dell'ambiente e all'esposizione a xenobiotici conosciuti ed emergenti. I nostri studi sottolineano l'importanza di un approccio multidisciplinare e integrato che includa l'applicazione del concetto di One Health per garantire la protezione della salute pubblica e il rispetto degli ambienti naturali. Gli studi raccolti in questa tesi mirano anche a superare alcuni importanti limiti della branca dell'ecotossicologia, come la mancanza di standardizzazione nelle metodiche laboratoristiche. I nostri dati sottolineano anche l'importanza di espandere la ricerca a un numero maggiore di matrici biologiche diverse rispetto a quelle indicate dalla letteratura come tessuti bersaglio per specifici inquinanti. Questa condizione consente di ottenere informazioni più dettagliate sulla cinetica degli xenobiotici negli organismi animali. I nostri studi permettono anche di ampliare le conoscenze relative ai meccanismi di sinergia e antagonismo delle miscele di inquinanti che possono accumularsi contemporaneamente nella fauna selvatica.

Members of the meiobenthos have been used extensively to determine the effects of anthropogenic perturbation in marine systems (Coull & Chandler, 1992). Despite this, the meiofauna has been virtually excluded from freshwater pollution monitoring. This thesis aimed to address this research caveat, by evaluating the potential of stream meiofauna for monitoring metal-contamination. Meiofaunal communities were sampled from streams in SW England representing a gradient in metal contamination. Environmental variables in these streams were also measured to identify the important forcing agents structuring the stream benthos. Multivariate techniques demonstrated Cu, either alone or in combination with other environmental variables was of most importance in correlations with the composition of meiofaunal communities. Comparison with the macrofaunal data demonstrated that both components of the benthos responded in a similar way to metal contamination, although the meiofauna also highlighted other differences in water chemistry. The combination of meiofauna, macrofauna and temporary meiofauna in a combined metazoan community analysis gave the best discrimination of sites. Detection of metal-contamination was retained in meiofaunal data aggregated to the family level. The abundances of the harpacticoid copepod Bryocamptus zschokkei were consistently important in contributing to between-site differences in community structure. The harpacticoid, therefore was selected as an ecologically-relevant freshwater toxicity test for Cu. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that Cu had toxic effects on the survival and reproduction of Bryocamptus zschokkei. Although acute toxicity tests gave more rapid results, these effects on survival occurred at a higher Cu concentration than those in the chronic tests. Sub-lethal concentrations of Cu led to a reduction in the numbers of offspring per brood Animals with pre-exposure to chronic concentrations of Cu exhibited greater tolerance to this metal. In conclusion, more information may be gained by including the meiofauna, alongside the macrofauna, when monitoring the impact of contaminants on freshwater systems. To reduce the effort of processing samples it appears family level data could be used to detect metal-contamination. The novel use of B. zschokkei in laboratory tests, where it showed lethal and sub-lethal responses to Cu, demonstrated that this species may have much potential as an ecologically-relevant freshwater bioassay organism for this metal. The advantages of using meiofaunal species such as B. zschokkei as toxicity test organisms are discussed.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc
Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are exogenous compounds/chemicals in the environment that interfere with the synthesis, secretion, distribution and function or elimination of natural hormones in the body. Environmental estrogens are a subclass of EDCs that may mimic or inhibit the effect of endogenous estrogen and can therefore influence developmental and reproductive health in humans and animals. EDCs have been reported to adversely affect the reproductive, immune, endocrine and nervous systems of wildlife and humans. The effects of EDCs include gonadal abnormalities, altered male/female sex ratios, reduced fertility and cancers of the male and female reproductive tract to mention a few. These effects are difficult to detect. Although it is essential to screen for EDCs in aqueous environmental samples, most countries have failed to implement this as part of their routine water quality monitoring programs due to various constraints such as the high cost of assays and the lack of infrastructure and skills required to do the assays. Therefore, there is a clear need for more user-friendly, more economically viable and time saving assays that can be used for routine monitoring of environmental EDCs. The aim of this study was to investigate the comparison between chemical and tissue culture methods to monitor environmental estrogens. 28 environmental water samples were collected from various sites around South Africa and analyzed for EDCs using a battery of rapid in vitro tests. Samples collected for the current study were selected based on various human impacts and also to give approximately 50% high and 50% low estrogen values. The 28 environmental water samples were separated into two groups based on the estradiol ELISA. The estradiol ELISA was chosen because estradiol is the principal estrogen found in all mammalian species during their reproductive years. For this separation, an estradiol level of 5 pg/ml was used as cut-off. Of the 28 samples investigated, 15 had estradiol levels higher than 5 pg/ml and were designated as high estradiol. The remaining 13 samples contained estradiol at 5 pg/ml or less and they were designated as low estradiol. The first objective of this study was to compare different rapid ELISAs for EDC monitoring to determine if the data obtained with these assays are similar/identical. The data obtained from the estrogenic ELISAs was related/similar and showed good correlation with each other. This is because the different estrogens are very similar and also due to the fact that the same sub-group in the population (the reproductively active females) is secreting these hormones. Therefore, an estradiol rapid assay was proposed as a first screening system for estrogens in samples. Even though there was a positive correlation between the estradiol rapid assay and testosterone rapid assay, separation of samples based on estradiol levels wasn’t a good predictor of testosterone levels in the samples. A testosterone rapid assay was therefore recommended as necessary to screen for androgens in samples. The positive correlation between the estradiol rapid assay and progesterone rapid assay was expected because both estradiol and progesterone are secreted and excreted by the same population sub-group (reproductively active females). This study also demonstrated a good predictability of separating samples containing progesterone using the estradiol ELISA. Progesterone is secreted by pregnant women, a sub-group of the reproductively active females. It is advised that a progesterone rapid assay be included to screen samples for progestogens. The second objective of this study was to compare estradiol rapid ELISAs with a bioassay for anti-androgenicity using mouse testicular cell cultures. The mouse testicular cell testosterone synthesis bioassay to monitor anti-androgenicity of the samples showed no correlation between the ELISA data for estrogens. This study shows that anti-androgenic effects need to be monitored independently because the data for estrogenic compounds cannot be used as a predictor for anti-androgenic effects. This demonstrated the need for the inclusion of a mouse testicular cell testosterone synthesis bioassay to screen for androgenicity and anti-androgenicity of water samples. In summary, due to the different mechanisms of action of EDCs, this study recommended a battery of assays to monitor for EDCs. The battery of assays suggested is: ●Estradiol ELISA as a rapid assay to screen for estrogens. ●Testosterone ELISA as a rapid assay to screen for androgens. ●Progesterone ELISA as a rapid assay to screen for progestogens. ●Mouse testicular cell testosterone synthesis bioassay to screen for androgenicity and anti-androgenicity.

Tropospheric fine particulate matter (PM) poses serious health risks and has a significant impact on global climate change. The measurement of various aspects of PM is challenging due to its complex chemical nature. This dissertation addresses various aspects of PM, including composition, measurement, and visibility. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new secondary standard based on visibility in urban areas using 24-h averaged measurements of either light scatter or PM concentration. However shorter averaging times may better represent human perception of visibility. Data from two studies conducted in Lindon, UT, 2012, and Rubidoux, CA, 2003, were used to compare different techniques to estimate visibility, particularly the effect of relative humidity on visibility estimations. Particle composition was measured in Salt Lake City during January-February of 2009. One-hour averaged concentrations of several gas phase and particle phase inorganic species were measured. The results indicate ammonium nitrate averages 40% of the total PM2.5 mass in the absence of inversions and up to 69% during strong inversions. Also, the formation of ammonium nitrate is nitric acid limited, while the formation of ozone appears to be oxidant and volatile organic carbon (VOC) limited. Reduction of NOx will reduce ammonium nitrate secondary particle formation, however, a decrease in NOx may increase ozone concentration.

Due to the complexity of PM it is poorly characterized. A large fraction of PM is composed of organic compounds, but these compounds are not regularly monitored due to limitations in current sampling techniques. The GC-MS Organic Aerosol Monitor (OAM) combines a collection device with thermal desorption, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to quantitatively measure the carbonaceous components of PM on an hourly averaged basis. A compact GC and simple pre-concentrator were developed for the system to decouple separation from manual injection and enhance separation of environmentally-relevant polar organic compounds, such as levoglucosan. The GC-MS OAM is fully automated and has been successfully deployed in the field. It uses a chemically deactivated filter for collection followed by thermal desorption and GC-MS analysis. Laboratory tests show that detection limits range from 0.2 to 3 ng for many atmospherically relevant compounds. The GC-MS OAM was deployed in the field for semi-continuous measurement of the organic markers, levoglucosan, dehydroabietic acid, and several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during winter (January to March), 2015 and 2016. Results illustrate the significance of this monitoring technique to more fully characterize the organic components of PM and identify sources of pollution.

Keywords: air pollution, fine particulate matter, PM_2.5, secondary organic aerosol, organic markers, levoglucosan, PMF.

This thesis develops a scientific basis for the use of low-cost sensing technologies for quantitative assessment of air pollution and its sources. It has extensively identified the capabilities and limitations of low-cost sensors in laboratory and field environments. Essentially, it has demonstrated that low-cost sensors are capable of monitoring air quality with a high degree of accuracy in different locations (e.g., highly polluted areas) and for different purposes (e.g., citizen science projects for raising environmental awareness).

Outdoor air pollution is a major contributor to adverse health effects of citizens, in particular those living in urban environments. Air quality monitoring networks are set up to measure air quality in different environments in compliance with national and European legislation. Generally, only a few fixed monitoring sites are located within a city and thus cannot represent air pollutant concentrations in urban areas accurately enough to allow for a detailed human exposure assessment. Other approaches to derive detailed urban air pollutant concentration estimates exist, such as dispersion models and land-use regression (LUR) models. Low-cost portable air quality monitors are also emerging, which have the potential to add value to existing monitoring networks by providing measurements at greater spatial resolution and also to provide individual-level exposure assessment. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how measurements and modelling in combination allow detailed investigations of the variability of air pollutants in space and time in urban area, and in turn improve on the current exposure assessment methods. Three types of low-cost portable monitors measuring NO2, O3 (Aeroqual monitors) and PM2.5 (microPEM monitor) were evaluated against their respective reference instruments. The Aeroqual O3 monitor showed very good correlation (r2 > 0.9) with the respective reference instruments, but biases in the slope and intercept coefficients indicated that calibration of Aeroqual O3 monitor was needed. The Aeroqual NO2 monitor was subject to cross-sensitivity from O3, which, as demonstrated, can be effectively corrected by making O3 and NO2 measurements in tandem. Correlation between the microPEM monitor and its reference instrument was poor (r2 < 0.1) when PM2.5 concentrations were low (< 10 μg m-3), but significantly improved (r2 > 0.69) during periods with elevated PM2.5 concentrations. Relative humidity was not found to affect the raw results of PM2.5 measurements in a consistent manner. All three types of monitors cannot be used as equivalent or indicative methods instead of reference methods in studies that require quantification of absolute pollutant concentrations. However, the generally good correlations with reference instruments reassure their application in studies of relative trends of air pollution. Concentrations of PM2.5, ultrafine particles (UFP) and black carbon (BC) were quantified using portable monitors through a combination of mobile and static measurements in the city of Edinburgh, UK. The spatial variability of UFP and BC was large, of similar magnitude and about 3 times higher than the spatial variability of PM2.5. Elevated concentrations of UFP and BC were observed along streets with high traffic volumes whereas PM2.5 showed less variation between streets and a footpath without road traffic. Both BC and UFP significantly correlated with traffic counts, while no significant correlation between PM2.5 and traffic counts was observed. The relationships between UFP, NO2 and inorganic components of PM2.5 were further investigated through long-term measurements at roadside, urban background and rural sites. UFP moderately correlated with NOx (NO2 + NO) and showed varying relationships with NOx depending on the particle size distribution. Principal component analysis and air-mass back trajectory analysis revealed that PM2.5 concentrations were dominated by long-range transport of secondary inorganic aerosols, whereas UFP were mainly related to varying local emissions and meteorological conditions. These findings imply the need for different policies for managing human exposure to these different particle components: control of much BC and UFP appears to be manageable at local scale by restricting traffic emissions; however, abatement of PM2.5 requires a more strategic approach, in cooperation with other regions and countries on emissions control to curb long-range transport of PM2.5 precursors. A dispersion model (ADMS-Urban) was used to simulate high resolution NO2 and O3 concentrations in Edinburgh. The effects of different emission and meteorological input datasets on the resulting modelled NO2 concentrations were investigated. The modelled NO2 and O3 concentrations using the optimal model setup were validated against reference instrument and diffusion tube measurements. Temporal variability of NO2 was predicted well at locations that were not heavily influenced by local effects, such as road junctions and bus stops. Temporal variability of O3 was predicted better than for NO2. Long-term spatial variability of NO2 was found to correlate well with diffusion tube measurements, while modelled spatial variability of O3 in ADMS-Urban compared poorly with diffusion tube measurements. However, it was found that the O3 diffusion tube measurements may be subject to some unidentified biases affecting their accuracy. Land-use regression (LUR) models are widely used to estimate exposure to air pollution in urban areas. An appropriately sized and designed monitoring network is an important component for the development of a robust LUR model. Concentrations of NO2 were simulated by ADMS-Urban at ‘virtual’ monitoring sites in 54 different network designs of varying numbers and types of site, using a 25 km2 area including much of the Edinburgh city area. Separate LUR models were developed for each network. These LUR models were then used to estimate ambient NO2 concentrations at all residential addresses, which were evaluated against the ADMS-Urban modelled concentration at these addresses. The improvement in predictive capability of the LUR models was insignificant above ~30 monitoring sites, although more sites tended to yield more precise LUR models. Monitoring networks containing sites located within highly populated areas better estimated NO2 concentrations across all residential locations. LUR models constructed from networks containing more roadside sites better characterised the high end of residential NO2 concentrations but had increased errors when considering the whole range of concentrations. No particular composition of monitoring network resulted in good estimation simultaneously across all residential NO2 concentration and of the highest NO2 levels implying a lack of spatial contrast in LUR-modelled pollution surface compared with the dispersion model. Finally, the results from the measurement and modelling studies presented in thesis are synthesised in the context of current exposure assessment studies. Low-cost air-quality monitors currently do not possess and are unlikely in the near future to provide the robustness and accuracy to replace the existing routine monitoring network. Development of the low-cost air-quality should be aiming at upgrading them as the indicative method as defined in the data quality objective in the EU directive. The monitoring sites used to build LUR models should capture well the population distribution in the study area as opposed to capturing the greatest pollution contrast. The traditional methods of evaluating LUR models are also ineffective in characterising the models’ capability at estimating pollutant concentration at residential address. Given that the dispersion models are also subject to the availability and uncertainties in the input data, future air quality model development should endeavour to incorporate both dispersion and land-use regression models, where the uncertainty in the input data can be reduced by using LUR models built on actual measurements, and the limitation in the statistical modelling can be replaced by adopting the deterministic approach used in the dispersion model.

Given the ongoing increase of plastic waste, plastic debris is now considered an emerging pollutant in the marine environment. Around the world, plastics make up the largest portion of marine debris. The presence of big-sized plastic (i.e. macroplastics; >5mm) in the marine environment represents an ecological and aesthetic concern, with economic repercussions for the tourist industry and a hazard for health and numerous marine-industries. Once in the marine environment, plastic debris is washed ashore where they are prone to fragmentation due to the combined photo-oxidative processes and higher temperatures (relatively to cool temperatures of the sea). There is increasing evidence that macroplastics can break down through UV radiation and wave action into small sized plastic particles, known as microplatics (<5mm). Because of their small size, they become bioavailable to organisms throughout the food-web where they can have direct adverse effects by not being digestible, containing harsh chemicals (persistent organic pollutants), and being transported to upper trophic levels. Few and geographically restricted studies on plastic contamination have been carried in southern Europe. Importantly, the incidence and impact of plastic debris targeting large stretches of coastlines and along southern Portugal and Morocco remains largely unknown. This thesis can be subdivided into two main studies: a large scale and a mesoscale study. Both sets of experiment considered various types of material with a particular focus on plastic. The general aim of the large scale study was to describe marine debris pollution on the beach, particularly plastic debris, along the south of Portugal and Morocco Atlantic coastline. This was done by assessing (a) the debris composition and (b) the prevalence of microplastics in sediment. The overall aim of the mesoscale study was to determine plastic pollution and marine debris within Ria Formosa Natural Park and its temporal variability. This was done by comparing coastal, exposed sites with lagoon beach locations and assessing the seasonal prevalence of the debris composition. For the large scale study, plastic was the most abundant debris material and most debris had an undifferentiated source. Predominant winds and coast exposure were the factors that best explained the distribution. Filament was the most consistent and abundant type of microplastic across the study. However fragment also contributed substantially at all sites, being predominant at MA, SA, PA and SB sites. Overall, plastic contamination on the form of debris and microplastic is abundantly present throughout the study area but its distribution is not even and lacks a geographical pattern. For the mesoscale study, exposure and site had a significant effect over debris material composition and source, while seasonality did not. Abundance of debris was very distinct between exposures, with sheltered sites having larger abundance than exposed sites. Debris was most abundant in sheltered PF, and least abundant in exposed PF. Exposed sites were dominated mostly by plastic material while sheltered sites were dominated mostly by ceramic. Sheltered sites were all statistically different while one pair of exposed sites was not statistically different in material composition. Most of the debris had an undifferentiated source across all levels (exposure, site, month). Also, most debris items belonged to smaller size categories (meso or macro) across all sites. On the sheltered side of the lagoon where wave action has less strength there is a potential for higher retention of debris, which would partly explain the disparity in abundance between exposures. In addition, the sheltered sites tend to have house constructions built above the beach, made of ceramic bricks with asbestos roofs (a potentially toxic material). Both materials were present on sheltered sites. This and the similarity between sources of debris and local activities at each site suggest that contamination on the sheltered side of Ria Formosa is highly linked to the land-based activities occurring at each site. Such knowledge suggests that tailormade local strategies for debris mitigation might optimize debris removal and prevention on sheltered sites of Ria Formosa.
Com o contínuo aumento da produção de plástico, os detritos marinhos são agora considerados um contaminante emergente no ambiente marinho. Por todo o mundo, a maioria dos detrítos marinhos são compostos por plástico. A presença de plásticos grandes (macroplásticos, >5mm) no ambiente marinho representa uma preocupação ecológica e estética, com implicações económicas sérias, tanto a nível de turismo, como outras industrias dependentes do mar, como a pesca. Uma vez no ambiente marinho, os detrítos marinhos são levados até à praia onde são mais susceptiveis a fragmentar devido aos efeitos combinados de processos foto-oxidativos e temperaturas relativamente altas (comparativamente à temperatura do mar). Existe evidência que os macroplásticos (>5mm) podem ser degradados em microplásticos (<5mm) através de efeitos combinados como a radiação UV, temperatura e acção mecânica das ondas. Devido ao seu tamanho reduzido, os microplásticos estão disponíveis para organismos de toda a rede trófica, onde podem provocar efeitos adversos por não serem digeríveis (afectando o sistema digestivo, podendo ter efeitos na sobrevivência e capacidade reprodutora de diferentes organismos) e por conterem químicos como os poluentes orgânicos persistentes (POP), afetando o individuo e podendo potencialmente ser transportado para outros níveis tróficos quando o individuo é predado. Alguns estudos locais foram feitos previamente em Portugal, e até à data nenhum em Marrocos, pelo que o conhecimento sobre a incidência de plásticos (macroplasticos e microplásticos) continua em grande parte por descobrir. Os objectivos deste estudo consistem em avaliar a prevalência e o impacto de macro e microplástico nas praias ao longo das costas do Sul de Portugal e Marrocos. Mais especificamente, o estudo foi desenvolvido numa a) escala espacial larga ao longo do sul de portugal e costa Atlântica marroquina, e b) mesoscala, dentro do sistema lagonar costeiro Ria Formosa, no sul de Portugal,. O debris marinho foi estudado através de um procedimento de amostragem “standing-stock” efectuado mensalmente na Ria Formosa (em 3 locais dentro de dois níveis de exposição na lagoa costeira) e desempenhado com uma só amostragem na costa portuguesa e marroquina. (em 8 locais). A prevalência de microplásticos no sedimento foi tambem feita para o estudo de larga escala onde se avaliou a quantidade e qualidade (categorias) dos microplásticos. No estudo de larga escala, o padrão de ventos predominantes e a exposição da praia foram os factores que melhor explicaram a variabilidade entre sítios. As categorias de microplásticos mais abundantes foram filamentos e fragmentos. O local com a maior abundância de debris marinho, tanto na análise de “standing-stock” como na análise de microplástico foi RA, com uma diferença de ordens de magnitude comparativamente aos restantes locais amostrados. Uma vez que não há estudos prévios sobre a contaminação de detrítos marinhos em Marrocos, este estudo pode funcionar como uma primeira avaliação. É de particular interesse porque recentemente o governo marroquino tomou medidas para diminuir a poluição de plástico no país ao limitar o acesso a sacos de plástico. No estudo de mesoescala, os factores que melhor explicaram a variabilidade entre locais foram a exposição e o tipo de actividades locais. Na exposição interna das ilhas do sistema lagonar costeiro, o material mais abundante foi cerâmica devido à grande presença de peças de tijolo, enquanto que na exposição exterior o material dominante foi plástico. Também presente no interior das ilhas, estavam numerosos fragmentos de amianto, um material tóxico para o ambiente e saúde humana que terá chegado à praia como debris de construção, abrasividade do mar sobre as casas construidas no local, ou como consequência das recentes demolições de construções na Ria Formosa, nomeadamente no local de amostragem Praia de Faro Interior. A diversidade de actividades a ocorrer em cada local de amostragem corresponde à diversidade de tipos de debris encontrados. As actividades que determinaram a predominância de diferentes materiais encontrados foram actividades recreativas na praia (onde plástico de pacotes e pontas de cigarro são encontrados), pesca (onde plásticos de cabos e redes de aquacultura de ostras e de armações para pesca são encontradas), residência/construção de habitação (materiais de construção e materiais utilizados no dia-a-dia tais como molas de roupa). Isto sugere que a maioria das fontes de poluição de debris na zona menos exposta da Ria Formosa são baseadas em terra. Temporalmente, alguns materiais tiveram mais flutuação de abundância que outros, não demonstrando um padrão temporal. Esta variabilidade reforça a importância de ter múltiplos pontos de amostragem num local e de analisar a sazonalidade para ter uma avaliação mais real da verdadeira condição de poluição de debris marinho numa área para evitar subestimação ou sobrestimação de certas categorias e fontes de poluição.

碩士
國立交通大學
理學院應用科技學程
108
In semiconductor industry, AMC system contains four control items, MA/MB/MC/MD, where MA/MB means acid-base substances, MC means organic substances, MD means boron and phosphorus particles. In this study, the organic pollution gas of fluorocarbons in MC is the research theme, and an automatic monitoring method is established. The field measurement verification is carried out and the leakage improvement scheme is developed accordingly. This study analyzes the current monitoring mode of a large semiconductor plant, and proposes to use the gas chromatography-electronic capture detector (GC-ECD) as the monitoring instrument. A new monitoring mode with the automated sampling system is established and tested. The best setting conditions of GC-ECD and the calibration curve of the fluorocarbon organic pollution gas are established. The results are verified with the concentration measurements of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and PICARRO G2205. Finally, the field monitoring data are used to verify the feasibility of the established monitoring method using GC-ECD. Based on the concentration distribution map, the abnormal location of the monitoring results is identified as the leakage source. Its improvement strategies are then evaluated for the control efficiency based on the monitoring results. Finally, the cost-effectiveness of the new and old monitoring modes are compared.

碩士
美和科技大學
健康與生技產業研究所
100
Nowadays, Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) are increasingly widely used worldwide in many different fields, especially in fields that the objects, phenomena are observable, hence the study and manage geographical location of it is important. GIS, RS and GPS are useful tools as nothing can replace it for the State of Resources and Environment management agencies In recent years, The economic of Tra Vinh province had developed and The average are 13% - 14% /year, besides the environmental pollution caused by industrial activities, agriculture, aquaculture, transport and food process activities in urban areas in Tra Vinh province caused serious problems. The majority of enterprises, facilities are mainly small producers, scattered, interspersed in residential areas; not eligible to implement independent environmental records; and lack of waste treatment systems. Therefore, issues around isolation and control of industrial wastes released into the surrounding environment is a top priority. Current status of Tra Vinh province has baseline data: There is no consistency in the databases; data were made by different technologies; the spatial scale of each data type is not the same; showing and modeling of data in the same topic were different; criteria and indicator for each topic also varies by the local purpose of themes or individual projects. Through six months, Our research group finished 22 topology map pieces 1:25,000 of Tra Vinh from HN-72 coordinates to VN-2000 coordination system (base on 83/2000/QĐ-TTg of Prime Minister about using coordination and Vietnamese coordination). Using RS imagery (reflect topology surface state), edit and update the obsolete document of the province. New digital basic map related with graphical objects and attribute information, easy to share elsewhere, with the support of information technology. Research group took 100 samples, include: 11 urban waste water samples and 89 production waste water samples; maintain and analyze. Assessment parameters include: Cl-, DO, SS, BOD, COD, NO3-, NH3-, Fe, Mn, Cr, and Coliform; combine with inspection of Resources and Environment Department, It has been identified the whole province of Tra Vinh has 13 factories causing environmental pollution, of which 3 establishments causing serious pollution; 10 environmental polluting facilities. The cause of pollutions were determined by GPS to integrate into the GIS system and documentation management and monitor according to law. The integrated database system was established based on modern information technology techniques, included spatial and non-spatial data. The constructed database structure met the national standard database, which allows further analysis, overlay, update and information share. The data inter-relation capability within the network not only saves budget by using unique common data resources but also avoid difficulties in exchanging information among different disciplines/departments. The improved data management system with the capability to disseminate public information would contribute to improving the quality of services and agencies serving the State management on environment. As far as socio-economic development of Tra Vinh province and environmental change are considered, environmental pollution might increase in quantity and variety types of pollution, pollution levels increasing. Therefore, managing and monitoring are very important tasks, helping administrators and policy makers evidences to make good governance, strategic socio-economic development policy planning research and ensuring right orders in homeland security defense.

Atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which is mostly formed in the atmosphere from precursor gases, contributes to numerous environmental and health concerns. Quantifying the ambient concentrations of PM2.5 and precursor gases can be challenging. Hence, many scientific questions about the formation, chemical composition, and gas/particle partitioning of PM2.5 remain unanswered. Ambient Ion Monitor - Ion Chromatography (AIM-IC) was characterized and utilized to measure the water-soluble composition of PM2.5 (dominated by pNH4+, pSO42-, and pNO3-) and associated precursor gases (dominated by NH3(g), SO2(g), and HNO3(g)) during two field campaigns. The AIM-IC detection limits for hourly sampling were determined to be 3 - 45 ng m-3. The response time for “sticky” gases was significantly improved with a nylon denuder membrane. A novel inlet configuration for the AIM-IC, which minimizes sampling inlet losses and carryover in sample analyses, was implemented. Measurements from the BAQS-Met 2007 campaign were utilized to assess the accuracy of the AURAMS model and investigate gas/particle partitioning in SW Ontario. Due to high sulphate levels, NH3(g) was the limiting chemical factor in the formation and gas/particle partitioning of PM2.5. The errors in the predictions of relative humidity and free ammonia were responsible for the poor agreement iii between modelled and measured pNO3- values. The AIM-IC measurements from the CalNex 2010 study were compared to the CMAQ model and utilized to investigate the gas/particle partitioning in Bakersfield, CA. Very high NH3(g) concentrations were observed, and the formation and partitioning of PM2.5 was limited by HNO3(g) and H2SO4. Evidence of rapid removal of HNO3(g) by interactions with super-micron dust particles, and possibly with the alkaline surface was found. CMAQ exhibited significant biases in the predicted concentrations of pSO42-, NH3(g) and HNO3(g).