Atmospheric Science at IgMin Research | Biology Group

The widespread explanations of the greenhouse effect taught to millions of schoolchildren are misleading. The objective of this work is to clarify how increasing CO2 produces warming in current times. It is found that there are two contexts for the greenhouse gas effect. In one context, the fundamental greenhouse gas effect, one imagines a dry Earth starting with no water or CO2 and adding water and CO2. This leads to the familiar “thermal blanket” that strongly inhibits IR transmission from the Earth to the atmosphere. The Earth is... much warmer with H2O and CO2. In the other context, the current greenhouse gas effect, CO2 is added to the current atmosphere. The thermal blanket on IR radiation hardly changes. But the surface loses energy primarily by evaporation and thermals. Increased CO2 in the upper atmosphere carries IR radiation to higher altitudes. The Earth radiates to space at higher altitudes where it is cooler, and the Earth is less able to shed energy. The Earth warms to restore the energy balance. The “thermal blanket” is mainly irrelevant to the current greenhouse gas effect. It is concluded that almost all discussions of the greenhouse effect are based on the fundamental greenhouse gas effect, which is a hypothetical construct, while the current greenhouse gas effect is what is happening now in the real world. Adding CO2 does not add much to a “thermal blanket” but instead, drives emission from the Earth to higher, cooler altitudes.Read more

Cloud seeding is a technique used to enhance precipitation in drought-prone areas, support agricultural productivity, ensure water supply for human consumption, improve hydropower generation from dams, lessen hurricanes, cool urban heat, and disperse fog in airports. Growing global population size and climate change are the biggest impetus for weather modification and cloud seeding operations. Currently, salt powders like silver iodide, potassium iodide, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), and liquid propane are w...idely used as ice nucleating particles for cloud seeding purposes while in natural cloud formation, and precipitation particles from dust storms, mineral dust and biological aerosols (like spores, pollen, bacteria) are the dominant ice nucleators. Having this knowledge on hand and the ubiquitous nature of fungi on the other hand; it is feasible to exploit the ice nucleating ability of fungal spores and use it as potential candidates for cloud seeding and weather modification operations.Read more

This research used the calculating method of dry deposition to estimate SO2 dry deposition value and evaluate its trend in 5 recent years. The results indicate that SO2 emission at Northern sites is more changing than Southern ones in months by affecting meteorology and weather. Summer and autumn seasons have SO2 emitted concentrations higher than other seasons in 2019, 2020, and 2022 year at Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, and Ha Noi stations. The 2021 year has the highest SO2 dry deposition and the 2019 year has the lowest SO2 dry deposition in 5 recent y...ears. The Hanoi site has the highest SO2 dry deposition value from 2019 to 2022 year. Hoa Binh site has the highest SO2 dry deposition at 2.45 kg/ha/year in 2023. High SO2 dry deposition occurs normally in the summer and autumn (from April to August). Southern sites have lower SO2 dry deposition amounts with not much change than the Northern sites of Vietnam. The increasing trend of SO2 dry deposition happened from 1999 to 2023 year and it increases sharply from 1999 to 2021. Therefore, SO2 dry deposition will have a light-increasing trend in the future.Read more

Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) is an important variable for monitoring daily agricultural activity as well as meteorological drought. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the influence of different options of the physical dynamical downscaling and boundary layer schemes on the simulated PET. Using the RegCM4 regional climate model, four simulations were conducted (two for each case) in the period 1997 to 2017. In all simulations, the RegCM4 was configured with 25 km resolution and downscaled by the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset. To en...sure a reliable estimation of the PET, a calibrated version of the Hargreaves-Samani equation was adopted. A high-resolution product of the ERA5 was used as the observational dataset. Results showed that the simulated PET is insensitive either to the dynamical downscaling or the boundary layer options. Concerning the annual climatological cycle, the RegCM4’s performance varies with month and location. Quantitatively, a root mean square error lies between 1 mm and 1.6 mm day-1, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency between 0.2 and 0.6, and the coefficient of determination between 0.5 and 0.75. Additionally, the Linear Scaling (LS) method showed its added value in the evaluation/validation periods. In conclusion, the RegCM4 can be used to develop a regional PET map of Egypt using the LS either in the present climate or under different future scenarios.Read more

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a lengthy report on climate change in early 2023. This report hypothesizes five potential scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions from 2015 to the end of the century (2100) and estimates the global average temperature gain in the year 2100 from the mid-1800s for each scenario. The method of calculation in the IPCC report is obscure. The results are merely stated.The present paper provides a clear method for estimating the temperature gain each year from 2015 until 2100, along with yearly ...estimates of ppm of CO2. To facilitate the calculations, a set of scenarios of future emissions was chosen that is analogous to the scenarios used by the IPCC but is more amenable to computation.The basic assumption in this paper is that most of the temperature gain from the mid-1800s to 2015 (1.15 C – as reported by the IPCC) was due to rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and a relationship is thereby derived between warming and gigatons of CO2 emitted for the period: 1800s to 2015. If it is assumed that the amount of warming per gigaton CO2 from the past persists into the 21st century, then future warming in the 21st century can be estimated for any assumed future scenario of CO2 emissions.This paper provides a simple and clear estimate of yearly CO2 ppm and temperature rise from 2015 to 2100 since the 1800s for a set of scenarios that cover the likely range of future emissions.Read more

When a Maxwellian distribution is assumed for the distribution function in the BGK-type modelled BE, it will give rise to the Euler equations if it is the first-order approximation in the Chapman-Enskog method. Then the second-order equations will yield the N-S equations. Most LBM developed to date are formulated based on the second-order equations. Consequently, the assumption of a flow Mach number M << 1 is inherent in this formulation. This approach creates an unnecessary restriction on the LBM that should be avoided if possible. An al...ternative approach is to formulate a new LBM by considering an equilibrium distribution function where the first-order approximations give rise to the N-S equations. Adopting this approach, a new LBM has been formulated. This new LBM gives reliable results when applied to simulate aeroacoustics, incompressible flows, and compressible flows with and without shocks. Good agreement with measurements and numerical data derived from DAS/DNA calculations is obtained.Read more

The objective of this research paper is to examine and assess the correlation between the economic expansion of European Union member states and the escalating rate of motorization, which subsequently leads to road accidents resulting in significant loss of life and injury. A statistical analysis of economic growth, the rate of motorization, and road incidents in EU member states from 2010 to 2020 constitutes the research methodology. The research paper employs a quantitative approach to analysis and comparison. The research paper demonstrates ...how an increase in the number of motor vehicles in EU member states contributes to road accidents and human mortality. Varying degrees of economic development are associated with disparities between the rate of motorization expansion and the decline in fatalities. Because the rate of increase in motor vehicle usage surpasses the decline in fatalities per motor vehicle at low-income levels. At increased levels of income, the opposite occurs. Practical Implications: This research paper illustrates the importance for road traffic safety authorities to be aware of safety performance indicators and to incorporate them into legislative deliberations in order to bolster the European Union’s “zero victims” objective and provide enhanced protection for motor vehicle accident victims. Originality – This paper examines the correlation between motorization rates and fatalities in various EU member states with varying degrees of economic development over the past few decades.Read more

This study evaluates the impact of precipitation on water quality in Heidelberg, Germany’s recreational lakes during sporadic rainfall events from August to September 2023. Data were collected from five stations, monitoring physicochemical properties and nutrient levels before and after rainfall. Measurements of dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, and redox potential were conducted in situ, while turbidity, nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, zinc, and copper levels were analyzed in the SRH Heidelberg water laboratory. Findings indicate pH l...evels increased due to dilution effects, while conductivity rose due to runoff, enhancing ion concentration in the lakes. Dissolved oxygen levels also increased, attributed to aeration from rainfall-induced surface turbulence. Redox potential decreased, reflecting atmospheric oxygen dissolution. Nutrient concentrations, including nitrates and phosphates, along with sulphates, declined post-rainfall, suggesting a dilution effect without significant impact from surface runoff. This outcome implies the absence of major nutrient and sulphate sources upstream. Heavy metals like zinc and copper also decreased in concentration, indicating no introduction through runoff or sediment transport. The study underscores the variability of water quality parameters across different lakes, influenced by factors such as water sources, surrounding land use, geological conditions, and lake characteristics. Overall, water quality improved post-rainfall, making the lakes suitable for recreational activities, with the study establishing a non-linear correlation among the water quality parameters and deducing the P ratio for each parameter.Read more