Temperature inversion and mixing height: critical indicators for air pollution in hot arid climate

Natural Hazards - Boundary layer temperature inversion and mixing heights are important parameters in understanding the atmospheric dispersion of air pollution. Surface and elevated inversions were...     

Gaseous air pollution background estimation in urban,suburban, and rural environments

There is a great demand for estimating the ambient air pollutant background concentrations in order to assess the effectiveness of different emission control strategies. In this paper, the background concentrations of four pollutants, namely sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O₃) pollutants in urban, suburban, and rural environments were investigated using Kolmogorov–Zurbenko (KZ) filter technique. Air quality data from monitoring stations over a period of 4 years (2007–2010) was analyzed for three locations in Kuwait, namely urban, suburban, and rural. The spatial and temporal (daily, weekly, and monthly) variations of the four pollutants were analyzed. The results show that the levels of ambient air pollutant background concentrations were high in the urban site compared to suburban and rural area. The diurnal variation of SO₂ concentration showed an early morning peak, while the diurnal variation of NOx concentration constituted has two peaks, one was in the early morning hours (5 to 8 a.m.) and the second was in nighttime hours (8 to 11 p.m.). These two peaks were observed at all three locations. The monthly background NOx concentration reached a maximum in winter and minimum in summer. Diurnal variation of CO concentration showed a similar trend to SO₂ concentrations in all three locations. Because of the photochemical reactions that occur in the atmosphere, the background concentration of O₃ showed an inverse relation with respect to background concentration of NOx.     

Sea surface temperature trends in Kuwait Bay,Arabian Gulf

The magnitude 8.1 earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed 52 people when it hit the Solomon Islands on 2 April 2007. That number would have likely been considerably higher were it not for the appropriate reaction of the indigenous coastal populations and a helpful physical geography. Buffering coral reefs reflected some wave energy back to sea, reducing the power of the wave. Hills a short distance behind the coastal villages provided accessible havens. Despite this beneficial physiography, immigrant populations died at disproportionately high rates in comparably damaged areas because they did not recognize the signs of the impeding tsunami. The indigenous population of Tapurai, which lacks a steep barrier reef to reflect the incoming energy, experienced a much more powerful wave, and the population suffered heavy losses. Indigenous knowledge as an integral tool in basin wide tsunami warning systems has the potential to mitigate disasters in the near field. Community-based disaster management plans must be cognizant of educating diverse populations that have different understandings of their environment.