Search results for "Environmental sciences"

Dietary and Household Sources of Prenatal Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in the INMA Birth Cohort (Spain)

2016

This study looked at predictors of exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) with a focus on dietary and household-level factors. Concentrations of BDE-47, -99, -153, and -209 and their sum (∑PBDEs) were measured in cord serum. Spanish women (n = 541) completed two semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. The daily mean intake (grams) of eggs, dairy products, meat, cereals and pasta, vegetables and pulses, fruits, shellfish and cephalopods, and fish, and the weekly mean intake (servings) of lean, large oily, other oily, and other fish from both questionnaires were averaged. Information on house size, curtains and carpets at …

Analysis of psychoactive substances in water by information dependent acquisition on a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer.

2016

Emerging drugs of abuse, belonging to many different chemical classes, are attracting users with promises of “legal” highs and easy access via internet. Prevalence of their consumption and abuse through wastewater-based epidemiology can only be realized if a suitable analytical screening procedure exists to detect and quantify them in water. Solid-phase extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC–QqTOF–MS/MS) was applied for rapid suspect screening as well as for the quantitative determination of 42 illicit drugs and metabolites in water. Using this platform, we were able to identify amphetamines, tryptamines, piperazines, p…

Quasi-geostrophic jet-like flow with obstructions

2021

International audience; Jet-like flows are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and oceans, and thus a thorough investigation of their behaviour in rotating systems is fundamental. Nevertheless, how they are affected by vegetation or, generally speaking, by obstructions is a crucial aspect which has been poorly investigated up to now. The aim of the present paper is to propose an analytical model developed for jet-like flows in the presence of both obstructions and the Coriolis force. In this investigation the jet-like flow is assumed homogeneous, turbulent and quasi-geostrophic, and with the same density as the surrounding fluid. Laws of momentum deficit, length scales, velocity scales and jet cen…

The MIRS computer package for modeling the rovibrational spectra of polyatomic molecules

2003

International audience; The MIRS spectroscopic software for the modeling of ro-vibrational spectra of polyatomic molecules is presented. It is designed for the global treatment of complex band systems of molecules to take full account of symmetry properties. It includes e cient algorithms based on the irreducible tensor formalism. Predictions and simultaneous data fi tting (positions and intensities) are implemented as well as advanced options related to group theory algebra. Illustrative examples on CH3D, CH4, CH3Cl and PH3 are reported and the present status of data available is given. It is written in C++ for standard PC computer operating under Windows. The full package including on-lin…

Thermodynamic correction of particle concentrations measured by underwing probes on fast flying aircraft

2016

Abstract. Particle concentration measurements with underwing probes on aircraft are impacted by air compression upstream of the instrument body as a function of flight velocity. In particular for fast-flying aircraft the necessity arises to account for compression of the air sample volume. Hence, a correction procedure is needed to invert measured particle number concentrations to ambient conditions that is commonly applicable for different instruments to gain comparable results. In the compression region where the detection of particles occurs (i.e. under factual measurement conditions), pressure and temperature of the air sample are increased compared to ambient (undisturbed) conditions i…

Computational Study of the Effect of Glyoxal–Sulfate Clustering on the Henry’s Law Coefficient of Glyoxal

2014

We have used quantum chemical methods to investigate the molecular mechanism behind the recently reported ( Kampf , C. J. ; Environ. Sci. Technol . 2013 , 47 , 4236 - 4244 ) strong dependence of the Henry's law coefficient of glyoxal (C2O2H2) on the sulfate concentration of the aqueous phase. Although the glyoxal molecule interacts only weakly with sulfate, its hydrated forms (C2O3H4 and C2O4H6) form strong complexes with sulfate, displacing water molecules from the solvation shell and increasing the uptake of glyoxal into sulfate-containing aqueous solutions, including sulfate-containing aerosol particles. This promotes the participation of glyoxal in reactions leading to secondary organic…

A trajectory-based classification of ERA-Interim ice clouds in the region of the North Atlantic storm track

2016

A two-type classification of ice clouds (cirrus) is introduced, based on the liquid and ice water content, LWC and IWC, along air parcel backward trajectories from the clouds. In situ cirrus has no LWC along the trajectory segment containing IWC; it forms via nucleation from the gas phase. In contrast, liquid-origin cirrus has both LWC and IWC along their backward trajectories; it forms via lifting from the lower troposphere and freezing of mixed-phase clouds. This classification is applied to 12 years of ERA-Interim ice clouds in the North Atlantic region. Between 400 and 500 hPa more than 50% are liquid-origin cirrus, whereas this frequency decreases strongly with altitude (<10% at 200 hP…

Surface sediment dynamics along the shore of Hammamet Gulf (Tunisia, southern Mediterranean)

2016

International audience; In the summer of 2015 the authors analysed grain size and surface sediment composition through high spatial resolution from samples taken at 53 stations along the Hammamet coast (southern Mediterranean Sea). The Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler deployed in this study showed that the surface current flows toward the north-east, parallel to the coast at a maximum speed along the main axis of about 5.9 cm s−1. Near the bottom the current flows toward the north-west at a maximum speed of 2.2 cm s−1. The tide plays a relatively small role in water circulation in Hammamet Gulf. Spatial distribution of particle size, along with speed and current direction analysis, furnish…

Volcanic gases

2018

Joint interpretation of seismic refraction tomography and electrical resistivity tomography by cluster analysis to detect buried cavities

2020

Abstract In the last few years, the geophysical methods of seismic refraction tomography (SRT) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) are among the most used geophysical techniques for the reconstruction of subsoil geometries, for the investigation of underground cavities and also for the archaeological prospecting. However, the main disadvantage of each geophysical method is the difficulty of final interpretation of the data. In order to eliminate artifacts and generally improve the reliability and accuracy of geophysical interpretation, it is useful to perform a joint approach of different geophysical methods, also introducing the a priori information. In this work, it is shown the i…