Duff burning from wildfires in a moist region: different impacts on PM_2.5 and ozone

Wildfires can significantly impact air quality and human health. However, little is known about how different fuel bed components contribute to these impacts. This study investigates the air quality impacts of duff and peat consumption during wildfires in the southeastern United States, with a focus on the differing contributions of fine particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in size (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) to air quality episodes associated with the four largest wildfire events in the region during this century. The emissions of duff burning were estimated based on a field measurement of a 2016 southern Appalachian fire. The emissions from the burning of other fuels were obtained from the Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN). The air quality impacts were simulated using a three-dimensional regional air quality model. The results show the duff burning emitted PM2.5 comparable to the burning of the above-ground fuels. The simulated surface PM2.5 concentrations due to duff burning increased by 61.3 % locally over a region approximately 300 km within the fire site and by 21.3 % and 29.7 % in remote metro Atlanta and Charlotte during the 2016 southern Appalachian fires and by 131.9 % locally and by 17.7 % and 24.8 % in remote metro Orlando and Miami during the 2007 Okefenokee Fire. However, the simulated ozone impacts from the duff burning were negligible due to the small duff emission factors of ozone precursors such as NOx. This study suggests the need to improve the modeling of PM2.5 and the air quality, human health, and climate impacts of wildfires in moist ecosystems by including duff burning in global fire emission inventories.

Evaluation of SO₂, SO₄²⁻ and an updated SO₂ dry deposition parameterization in the United Kingdom Earth System Model

In this study we evaluate simulated surface SO2 and sulfate (SO42-) concentrations from the United Kingdom Earth System Model (UKESM1) against observations from ground-based measurement networks in the USA and Europe for the period 1987–2014. We find that UKESM1 captures the historical trend for decreasing concentrations of atmospheric SO2 and SO42- in both Europe and the USA over the period 1987–2014. However, in the polluted regions of the eastern USA and Europe, UKESM1 over-predicts surface SO2 concentrations by a factor of 3 while under-predicting surface SO42- concentrations by 25 %–35 %. In the cleaner western USA, the model over-predicts both surface SO2 and SO42- concentrations by factors of 12 and 1.5 respectively. We find that UKESM1’s bias in surface SO2 and SO42- concentrations is variable according to region and season. We also evaluate UKESM1 against total column SO2 from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) using an updated data product. This comparison provides information about the model's global performance, finding that UKESM1 over-predicts total column SO2 over much of the globe, including the large source regions of India, China, the USA, and Europe as well as over outflow regions. Finally, we assess the impact of a more realistic treatment of the model's SO2 dry deposition parameterization. This change increases SO2 dry deposition to the land and ocean surfaces, thus reducing the atmospheric loading of SO2 and SO42-. In comparison with the ground-based and satellite observations, we find that the modified parameterization reduces the model's over-prediction of surface SO2 concentrations and total column SO2. Relative to the ground-based observations, the simulated surface SO42- concentrations are also reduced, while the simulated SO2 dry deposition fluxes increase.

Microbial-Induced Carbonate Precipitation Improves Physical and Structural Properties of Nanjing Ancient City Walls

The preservation and restoration of heritage sites have always been of key focus in the field of cultural relics. Current restoration methods mainly involve physical or chemical techniques, which are in many cases intrusive, destructive, and irreversible. Hereby, we introduce a novel biological strategy (microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP)) to repair natural and simulated surface cracks on six hundred years’ old wall bricks (part of the Nanjing City Min Dynasty ancient wall, China). X-ray micro computed tomography (X-ray micro-CT) was employed to non-destructively visualize the internal structure of the MICP-treated brick cubes. The results showed that MICP can effectively repair both natural and simulated cracks present on the brick’s surface. The compressive strength of the MICP-treated brick cubes was significantly higher than that of the untreated control cubes (33.56 ± 9.07 vs. 19.00 ± 1.98 kN, respectively). MICP significantly increased the softening coefficient and decreased the water absorption rate (p < 0.05), indicating that the water resistance of the wall bricks can be improved after treatment. The 3D images from X-ray micro-CT, a method that could non-destructively assess the internals of such cultural structures, showed that MICP can effectively repair ancient relics, promoting durability and limiting degradation without affecting the structure. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that MICP generates the same calcite form as that of original bricks, indicating that MICP filler is compatible with the ancient city wall brick. These findings are in line with the concept of contemporary heritage preservation.

Description and evaluation of the tropospheric aerosol scheme in the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS-AER, cycle 47R1) of ECMWF

This article describes the IFS-AER aerosol scheme used operationally in the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) cycle 47R1, operated by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in the framework of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Services (CAMS). It represents an update of the Rémy et al. (2019) article which focused on cycle 45R1 of IFS-AER. The parameterizations of sources and sinks that have been updated since cycle 45R1 are described, as well as changes in the configuration used operationally within CAMS. As compared to cycle 45R1, a greater integration of aerosol and chemistry has been achieved. Primary aerosol sources have been updated, with the implementation of new dust and seasalt aerosol emission schemes. New dry and wet deposition parameterizations have also been implemented. Sulfate production rates are now provided by the global chemistry component of the IFS. This paper aims to describe most of the updates that have been implemented since cycle 45R1 and not only the ones that are used operationally in cycle 47R1; components that are not used operationally will be clearly flagged. Cycle 47R1 of IFS-AER has been evaluated against a wide range surface and total column observations. The final simulated products such as Particulate Matter (PM) and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) generally show a significant increase in skill as compared to results obtained with cycle 45R1. Similarly, the simulated surface concentration of sulphate, organic matter and sea-salt aerosol is improved by cycle 47R1 as compared to cycle 45R1. Some imbalances persist, such as a too high surface concentration of nitrate and organic matter. The new wet and dry deposition schemes that have been implemented into cycle 47R1 have a mostly positive impact on simulated AOD, PM and speciated aerosol surface concentration.

How well do the CMIP6 models simulate dust aerosols?

Mineral dust impacts key processes in the Earth system, including the radiation budget, clouds, and nutrient cycles. We evaluate dust aerosols in 16 models participating in the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) against multiple reanalyses and satellite observations. Most models, and particularly the multi-model ensemble mean (MEM), capture the spatial patterns and seasonal cycles of global dust processes well. However, large uncertainties and inter-model diversity are found. For example, global dust emissions, primarily driven by model-simulated surface winds, vary by a factor of 5 across models, while the MEM estimate is double the amount in reanalyses. The ranges of CMIP6 model-simulated global dust emission, deposition, burden and optical depth (DOD) are larger than previous generations of models. Models present considerable disagreement in dust seasonal cycles over North China and North America. Here, DOD values are overestimated by most CMIP6 models, with the MEM estimate 1.2–1.7 times larger compared to satellite and reanalysis datasets. Such overestimates can reach up to a factor of 5 in individual models. Models also fail to reproduce some key features of the regional dust distribution, such as dust accumulation along the southern edge of the Himalayas. Overall, there are still large uncertainties in CMIP6 models’ simulated dust processes, which feature inconsistent biases throughout the dust lifecycle between models, particularly in the relationship connecting dust mass to DOD. Our results imply that modelled dust processes are becoming more uncertain as models become more sophisticated. More detailed output relating to the dust cycle in future intercomparison projects will enable better constraints of global dust cycles, and enable the potential identification of observationally-constrained links between dust cycles and optical properties.

Duff burning from wildfires in a moist region: different impacts on PM_2.5 and Ozone

Wildfires can significantly impact air quality and human health. However, little is known about how duff and peat burning contributes to these impacts. This study investigates the air quality impacts of duff consumption during the four largest wildfire events this century in southeastern United States, with a focus on the different impacts on fine particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in size (PM2.5) and ozone (O3). The emissions of duff burning were estimated based on a field measurement. The emissions from the burning of other fuels were obtained from the Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN). The air quality impacts were simulated using a 3-D regional air quality model. The results show the duff burning emitted PM2.5 comparable to the burning of the above-ground fuels. The simulated surface PM2.5 concentrations due to duff burning increased by 61.3 % locally over a region approximately 300 km within the fire site and by 21.3 % and 29.7 % in the remote metro Atlanta and Charlotte during the 2016 southern Appalachian fires, and by 131.9 % locally and by 17.7 % and 24.8 % in the remote metro Orlando and Miami during the 2007 Okefenokee fire. However, the simulated ozone impacts from the duff burning were negligible due to the small duff emission factors of ozone precursors such as NOx. This study suggests the need to improve the modeling of PM2.5 and the air quality, human health, and climate impacts of wildfires in moist ecosystems by including duff burning in global fire emission inventories.

Modeling and Simulation of Vacuum Low Pressure Carburizing Process in Gear Steel

A combination of simulation and experimental approaches to optimize the vacuum carburizing process is necessary to replace the costly experimental trial-and-error method in time and resources. In order to accurately predict the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the vacuum carburizing process, a multi-field multi-scale coupled model considering the interaction of temperature, diffusion, phase transformation, and stress was established. Meanwhile, the improved model is combined with the heat treatment software COSMAP to realize the simulation of the low-pressure vacuum carburizing process. The low-pressure vacuum carburizing process of 20CrMo gear steel was simulated by COSMAP and compared with the experimental results to verify the model. The results indicated that the model could quantitatively obtain the carbon concentration distribution, Fe-C phase fraction, and hardness distribution. It can be found that the carbon content gradually decreased from the surface to the center. The surface carbon concentration is relatively high only after the carburizing stage. With the increase in diffusion time, the surface carbon concentration decreases, and the carburized layer depth increases. The simulated surface carbon concentration results and experimental results are in good agreement. However, there is an error between calculations and observations for the depth of the carburized layer. The error between simulation and experiment of the depth of carburized layer is less than 6%. The simulated surface hardness is 34 HV lower than the experimental surface hardness. The error of surface hardness is less than 5%, which indicates that the simulation results are reliable. Furthermore, vacuum carburizing processes with different diffusion times were simulated to achieve the carburizing target under specific requirements. The results demonstrated that the optimum process parameters are a carburizing time of 42 min and a diffusion time of 105 min. This provides reference and guidance for the development and optimization of the vacuum carburizing process.

Cutting State Estimation via Chatter Mark on End Milled Surface and Analysis of Its Formation Mechanism Using Voxel Model Simulation

When chatter vibrations occur during cutting, a characteristic pattern called chatter mark appears on the machined surface. In our previous studies, it was estimated that this chatter mark is formed by the tool (or workpiece) vibration in the normal direction with respect to the machined surface. We thus proposed a method to inversely analyze the chatter vibration information during cutting through the chatter mark using two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform. Previous studies confirmed that the analysis results of this method are in good agreement with those of the information obtained via conventional sensing. However, the correctness of the pattern formation mechanism is yet to be directly verified, as it is difficult to measure the cutting phenomenon directly. In this study, the chatter vibration during cutting was measured by the displacement of the tool-shank. Then, based on the results obtained in the static stiffness test, the movement of the tool edge was estimated. A cutting simulation using a voxel model was executed based on this tool-edge movement. When the simulation using the chatter vibration in the normal direction was performed, a chatter mark appeared on the simulated surface. It could thus be confirmed more directly that the analytical model is correct compared with the previous methods.