Global modeling of pollutant transport and deposition from anthropogenic emission hot spots on global scale

Urban centers significantly contribute to anthropogenic air pollution, although they cover only a minor fraction of the Earth's land surface. Since the worldwide degree of urbanization is steadily increasing, the anthropogenic contribution to air pollution from urban centers is expected to become more substantial in future air quality assessments. The main objective of this thesis was to obtain a more profound insight in the dispersion and the deposition of aerosol particles from 46 individual major population centers (MPCs) as well as the regional and global influence on the atmospheric distribution of several aerosol types. For the first time, this was assessed in one model framework, for which the global model EMAC was applied with different representations of aerosol particles. First, in an approach with passive tracers and a setup in which the results depend only on the source location and the size and the solubility of the tracers, several metrics and a regional climate classification were used to quantify the major outflow pathways, both vertically and horizontally, and to compare the balance between pollution export away from and pollution build-up around the source points. Then in a more comprehensive approach, the anthropogenic emissions of key trace species were changed at the MPC locations to determine the cumulative impact of the MPC emissions on the atmospheric aerosol burdens of black carbon, particulate organic matter, sulfate, and nitrate. Ten different mono-modal passive aerosol tracers were continuously released at the same constant rate at each emission point. The results clearly showed that on average about five times more mass is advected quasi-horizontally at low levels than exported into the upper troposphere. The strength of the low-level export is mainly determined by the location of the source, while the vertical transport is mainly governed by the lifting potential and the solubility of the tracers. Similar to insoluble gas phase tracers, the low-level export of aerosol tracers is strongest at middle and high latitudes, while the regions of strongest vertical export differ between aerosol (temperate winter dry) and gas phase (tropics) tracers. The emitted mass fraction that is kept around MPCs is largest in regions where aerosol tracers have short lifetimes; this mass is also critical for assessing the impact on humans. However, the number of people who live in a strongly polluted region around urban centers depends more on the population density than on the size of the area which is affected by strong air pollution. Another major result was that fine aerosol particles (diameters smaller than 2.5 micrometer) from MPCs undergo substantial long-range transport, with about half of the emitted mass being deposited beyond 1000 km away from the source. In contrast to this diluted remote deposition, there are areas around the MPCs which experience high deposition rates, especially in regions which are frequently affected by heavy precipitation or are situated in poorly ventilated locations. Moreover, most MPC aerosol emissions are removed over land surfaces. In particular, forests experience more deposition from MPC pollutants than other land ecosystems. In addition, it was found that the generic treatment of aerosols has no substantial influence on the major conclusions drawn in this thesis. Moreover, in the more comprehensive approach, it was found that emissions of black carbon, particulate organic matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides from MPCs influence the atmospheric burden of various aerosol types very differently, with impacts generally being larger for secondary species, sulfate and nitrate, than for primary species, black carbon and particulate organic matter. While the changes in the burdens of sulfate, black carbon, and particulate organic matter show an almost linear response for changes in the emission strength, the formation of nitrate was found to be contingent upon many more factors, e.g., the abundance of sulfuric acid, than only upon the strength of the nitrogen oxide emissions. The generic tracer experiments were further extended to conduct the first risk assessment to obtain the cumulative risk of contamination from multiple nuclear reactor accidents on the global scale. For this, many factors had to be taken into account: the probability of major accidents, the cumulative deposition field of the radionuclide cesium-137, and a threshold value that defines contamination. By collecting the necessary data and after accounting for uncertainties, it was found that the risk is highest in western Europe, the eastern US, and in Japan, where on average contamination by major accidents is expected about every 50 years.

Damage tolerance analysis for Blackshape BS 115 programme, EASA CS VLA & CS-23

The thesis project has been developed in partnership with the Design Department of Blackshape Spa, a carbon – fiber ultra – light airplane company in Monopoli (Bari, Italy). The main goal is the assessment of a starting point for a damage tolerant concept during the design and certification phases of the Blackshape BS 115 airplane, with respect to EASA CS VLA & CS 23 Regulations. This approach has been carried out starting from an initial literary review as far as the way of modeling composites fractures is concerned. Further on, three finite element models have been generated and implemented in order to simulate defects occurring during manufacturing and service phases. At last, the procedures of non - destructive inspections have been taken into account, in order to establish how to investigate primary structures defects and delaminations during maintenance.

An accurate combined 3 He,Cs magnetometer with fT sensitivity for the nEDM experiment at PSI

Diese Arbeit beschreibt die Entwicklung, Konstruktion und Untersuchung eines Magnetometers zur exakten und präzisen Messung schwacher Magnetfelder. Diese Art von Magnetometer eignet sich zur Anwendung in physikalischen hochpräzisions Experimenten wie zum Beispiel der Suche nach dem elektrischen Dipolmomentrndes Neutrons. Die Messmethode beruht auf der gleichzeitigen Detektion der freien Spin Präzession Kern-Spin polarisierten 3He Gases durch mehrere optisch gepumpte Cäsium Magnetometer. Es wird gezeigt, dass Cäsium Magnetometer eine zuverlässige und vielseitige Methode zur Messung der 3He Larmor Frequenz und eine komfortable Alternative zur Benutzung von SQUIDs für diesen Zweck darstellen. Ein Prototyp dieses Magnetometers wurde gebaut und seine Funktion in der magnetisch abgeschirmten Messkabine der Physikalisch Technischen Bundesanstalt untersucht. Die Sensitivität des Magnetometers in Abhängigkeitrnvon der Messdauer wurde experimentell untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, dass für kurze Messperioden (< 500s) Cramér-Rao limitierte Messungen möglich sind während die Sensitivität bei längeren Messungen durch die Stabilität des angelegten Magnetfeldes limitiert ist. Messungen eines 1 muT Magnetfeldes mit einer relative Genauigkeit von besser als 5x10^(-8) in 100s werden präsentiert. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Messgenauigkeit des Magnetometers durch die Zahl der zur Detektion der 3He Spin Präzession eingesetzten Cäsium Magnetometer skaliert werden kann. Prinzipiell ist dadurch eine Anpassung der Messgenauigkeit an jegliche experimentellen Bedürfnisse möglich. Es wird eine gradiometrische Messmethode vorgestellt, die es erlaubt den Einfluss periodischerrnmagnetischer Störungen auf dieMessung zu unterdrücken. Der Zusammenhang zwischen der Sensitivität des kombinierten Magnetometers und den Betriebsparametern der Cäsium Magnetometer die zur Spin Detektion verwendet werden wird theoretisch untersucht und anwendungsspezifische Vor- und Nachteile verschiedener Betriebsartenwerden diskutiert. Diese Zusammenhänge werden in einer Formel zusammengefasst die es erlaubt, die erwartete Sensitivität des Magnetometers zu berechnen. Diese Vorhersagen befinden sich in perfekter Übereinstimmung mit den experimentellen Daten. Die intrinsische Sensitivität des Magnetometer Prototyps wird auf Basis dieser Formel theoretisch bestimmt. Ausserdem wird die erwartete Sensitivität für die Anwendung im Rahmen des Experiments der nächsten Generation zur Bestimmung des elektrischenrnDipolmoments des Neutrons am Paul Scherrer Institut abgeschätzt. Des weiteren wird eine bequeme experimentelle Methode zur Messung des Polarisationsgrades und des Rabi Flip-Winkels der 3He Kernspin Polarisation vorgestellt. Letztere Messung ist sehr wichtig für die Anwendung in hochpräzisions Experimenten.

Air suctioning during colon biopsy forceps removal reduces bacterial air contamination in the endoscopy suite

Bacterial contamination of endoscopy suites is of concern; however studies evaluating bacterial aerosols are lacking. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of air suctioning during removal of biopsy forceps in reducing bacterial air contamination.

Xenotransplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue from patients with ovarian tumors into SCID mice--no evidence of malignant cell contamination

This study examined the possible presence of malignant cells in ovarian cortex from patients with ovarian tumors after xenografting of the ovarian tissue into severe combined immunodeficiency mice. None of the mice presented symptoms of reintroduced malignancy nor did microscopic and immunohistochemical evaluation of the grafts raise any suspicion of residual malignant disease.

Experimental contamination assessment of a novel closed ultravitrification device

To evaluate the safety of a new ultravitrification closed device.

Contamination of Alpine snow and ice at Colle Gnifetti, Swiss/Italian Alps, from nuclear weapons tests

Plutonium is present in the environment as a consequence of atmospheric nuclear tests, nuclear weapons production and industrial releases over the past 50 years. To study temporal trends, a high resolution Pu record was obtained by analyzing 52 discrete samples of an alpine firn/ice core from Colle Gnifetti (Monte Rosa, 4450 m a.s.l.), dating from 1945 to 1990. The 239Pu signal was recorded directly, without decontamination or preconcentration steps, using an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Sector Field Mass Spectrometer (ICP-SFMS) equipped with an high efficiency sample introduction system, thus requiring much less sample preparation than previously reported methods. The 239Pu profile reflects the three main periods of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing: the earliest peak lasted from 1954/55 to 1958 and was caused by the first testing period reaching a maximum in 1958. Despite a temporary halt of testing in 1959/60, the Pu concentration decreased only by half with respect to the 1958 peak due to long atmospheric residence times. In 1961/62 Pu concentrations rapidly increased reaching a maximum in 1963, which was about 40% more intense than the 1958 peak. After the signing of the "Limited Test Ban Treaty" between USA and USSR in 1964, Pu deposition decreased very sharply reaching a minimum in 1967. The third period (1967-1975) is characterized by irregular Pu concentrations with smaller peaks (about 20-30% of the 1964 peak) which might be related to the deposition of Saharan dust contaminated by the French nuclear tests of the 1960s. The data presented are in very good agreement with Pu profiles previously obtained from the Col du Dome ice core (by multi-collector ICP-MS) and Belukha ice core (by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, AMS). Although a semi-quantitative method was employed here, the results are quantitatively comparable to previously published results.

Local Resources for Learning/Teaching CS for Pre-College Students/Teachers

Presentation by Dr. Frank Ackerman. Additional information can be found on Montana Tech's Department of Computer Sciences website.