Acclima (United States)

With global warming, the hydrological cycle is intensifying with more frequent and severe droughts and floods, placing water resources and their dependent communities under increasing stress. Guidance and insights into the projection of future water conditions are, therefore, increasingly needed to inform climate change adaptation. Hydrological projections can provide such insights when suitably designed for user needs, produced from the best available climate knowledge, and leverage appropriate hydrological models. However, producing such hydrological projections is a complex process that requires skills and knowledge spanning from the often-siloed disciplines of climate, hydrology, communication, and decision-making. Accordingly, this paper bridges these silos, by providing detailed guidance on the important steps and best practices to develop hydrological projections that can effectively support decision-making. Using an extensive literature review as well as our practical experience as climate scientists, hydrologists, numerical modelers, uncertainty experts and decision-makers, here we provide: (i) an overview of climate change hydrological impacts as background knowledge; (ii) a step-by-step guide to produce hydrological projections under climate change that are targeted to water practitioners and decision-making applications, (iii) a summary of important considerations related to hydrological projection uncertainty; and (iv) insights to use hydrological projections and their associated uncertainty for impactful communication and decision-making. By providing this guide for water practitioners, our paper addresses a critical interdisciplinary knowledge gap and supports enhanced decision-making and resilience to climate change threats.

Dans le prolongement des réflexions entamées par les mouvements #MeToo et leurs dénonciations du caractère systémique des violences sexuelles, les critiques de l’hétérosexualité se sont multipliées dans les sphères médiatiques et politiques. Les relations hétérosexuelles y sont souvent décrites comme des lieux de « dysfonctionnements » ou de reproduction des rapports de domination, invitant le couple hétérosexuel à s’extraire des rapports de domination et de subordination de genre qui le car...

Abstract. The Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) flew scientific flights between 2011 and 2018 providing measurements of trace gas species and meteorological parameters over California and Nevada, USA. This paper describes the observations made by the AJAX program over 229 flights and approximately 450 hours of flying. AJAX was a multi-year, multi-objective, multi-instrument program with a variety of sampling strategies resulting in an extensive dataset of interest to a wide variety of users. Some of the more common flight objectives include satellite calibration/validation (GOSAT, OCO-2, TROPOMI) at Railroad Valley and other locations, and long-term observations of free-troposphere and boundary layer ozone allowing for studies of stratosphere-to-troposphere transport and long-range transport to the western United States. AJAX also performed topical studies such as sampling wildfire emissions, urban outflow, and atmospheric rivers. Airborne measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, formaldehyde, water vapor, temperature, pressure, and 3-D winds made by the AJAX program have been published at NASA’s Airborne Science Data Center.

Abstract We conducted a field study using multiple wearable devices on 231 federal office workers to assess the impact of the indoor environment on individual wellbeing. Past research has established that the workplace environment is closely tied to an individual’s wellbeing. Since sound is the most-reported environmental factor causing stress and discomfort, we focus on quantifying its association with physiological wellbeing. Physiological wellbeing is represented as a latent variable in an empirical Bayes model with heart rate variability measures – SDNN and normalized-HF as the observed outcomes and with exogenous factors including sound level as inputs. We find that an individual’s physiological wellbeing is optimal when sound level in the workplace is at 50 dBA. At lower (<50dBA) and higher (>50dBA) amplitude ranges, a 10 dBA increase in sound level is related to a 5.4% increase and 1.9% decrease in physiological wellbeing respectively. Age, body-mass-index, high blood pressure, anxiety, and computer use intensive work are person-level factors contributing to heterogeneity in the sound-wellbeing association.

Disparity in air pollution exposure arises from variation at multiple spatial scales: along urban-to-rural gradients, between individual cities within a metropolitan region, within individual neighborhoods, and between city blocks. Here, we improve on existing capabilities to systematically compare urban variation at several scales, from hyperlocal (<100 m) to regional (>10 km), and to assess consequences for outdoor air pollution experienced by residents of different races and ethnicities, by creating a set of uniquely extensive and high-resolution observations of spatially variable pollutants: NO, NO2, black carbon (BC), and ultrafine particles (UFP). We conducted full-coverage monitoring of a wide sample of urban and suburban neighborhoods (93 km2 and 450,000 residents) in four counties of the San Francisco Bay Area using Google Street View cars equipped with the Aclima mobile platform. Comparing scales of variation across the sampled population, greater differences arise from localized pollution gradients for BC and NO (pollutants dominated by primary sources) and from regional gradients for UFP and NO2 (pollutants dominated by secondary contributions). Median concentrations of UFP, NO, and NO2 are, for Hispanic and Black populations, 8 to 30% higher than the population average; for White populations, average exposures to these pollutants are 9 to 14% lower than the population average. Systematic racial/ethnic disparities are influenced by regional concentration gradients due to sharp contrasts in demographic composition among cities and urban districts, while within-group extremes arise from local peaks. Our results illustrate how detailed and extensive fine-scale pollution observations can add new insights about differences and disparities in air pollution exposures at the population scale.

Environmental JusticeVol. 14, No. 3 Calls for PapersFree AccessCall for Papers: 30th Anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership SummitDeadline for Manuscript Submission: December 31, 2021Guest Editors: Peggy M. Shepard and Crystal Romeo UppermanGuest Editors: Peggy M. ShepardWE ACT for Environmental Justice, New York, New York, USASearch for more papers by this author and Crystal Romeo UppermanAclima, Inc., San Francisco, California, USASearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:16 Jun 2021https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2021.29007.cfpAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail The 21st century environmental justice movement will look very different from its 20th century progenitor. Much has changed in the way our world communicates, mobilizes, and governs. This special issue of Environmental Justice will capture the history of environmental justice across the United States, showcasing how the movement has evolved. Moreover, the issue will chart a wireframe of the future of environmental justice in its domestic home of the United States and its international propagation globally.The First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, in 1991, where the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice were developed and ratified, propelled the environmental justice movement beyond its antecedent focus to include issues of environmental/public health, worker safety, land use, transportation, housing, resource allocation, and community organizing, base building and enfranchisement. The convening also demonstrated the possibility of building a multiracial grassroots movement around environmental and economic justice, which led to the principles of environmental justice, regional and identity-based networks, academic careers and majors, impact on the EPA, state and city regulations, and advisory boards.This special issue will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. It will explore the following key questions: What is the history of the environmental justice movement from 1991 to 2020, and how has the movement evolved across the regions of the United States?What is the shared vision of environmental justice that can help create action toward curbing environmental externalities and climate impacts for highly burdened communities?Can the international adoption of the tenets of environmental justice advance and lessen the Global North and Global South divide in addressing climate change?What resources, tools, technologies, and new policies are essential to catalyze the environmental justice movement of the 21st century with the rapid adoption of renewable energy as a replacement for fossil fuels?What is the role of funders (foundations and government) and researchers within and adjacent to the environmental justice movement?All manuscripts should be submitted online by December 31, 2021. All submissions will be subject to a rigorous peer review. We are interested in original research, articles, editorials, policy briefs, legal analyses, reviews, history essays, perspectives, tools for education, empowerment and action, and methodology papers on these topics and others from diverse stakeholders representing all sectors (environmental justice organizations, academia, government, nonprofit, community, private sector, etc.).Topics may revisit the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice, discuss their application and propose new principles; discuss how they have been used, how to better actualize them, and how they can be integrated into the manner in which agencies and organizations operationalize environmental justice work.Suggested topic areas may also include, among others:Yesterday, today, and tomorrow: keys that led to the successes of the past and ways to elevate community engagement and mobilization for the future.The role of technology and geospatial tools in bolstering government decision-making toward the attainment of environmental parity.Environmental justice to locally led action: ways in which grassroots organizations in the Global South can move the needle on systemic issues tied to the vestiges of colonization.Building an environmental justice movement that is reflective of shared principles in a global society.Meaningful and authentic environmental justice engagement for sectors that have yet to engage or are looking to reverse historical aggression toward grassroots organizations.Regenerative environmental justice movements: leadership expansion and transition for successful intergenerational organizing.Science to support environmental justice: filling the gaps necessary to make the case for causality and support bold policy actions.Gaps in the law: how jurisprudence and hearty environmental regulation can continue to embrace a connection with environmental ethics and social justice.Visit Environmental Justice at https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/environmental-justice/259 to learn more, read past issues, and view author submission guidelines (https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/environmental-justice/259/for-authors).Queries to the editor to propose a topic prior to submission are encouraged. Please contact Peggy Shepard at peggy.m.shepard@gmail.com and Dr. Crystal Romeo Upperman at crystal.romeo@gmail.com to initiate your query or for any further details.Visit the Instructions for Authors:www.liebertpub.com/envSubmit your paper for peer review online:https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/envFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 14Issue 3Jun 2021 InformationCopyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Guest Editors: Peggy M. Shepard and Crystal Romeo Upperman.Call for Papers: 30th Anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit.Environmental Justice.Jun 2021.233-234.http://doi.org/10.1089/env.2021.29007.cfpPublished in Volume: 14 Issue 3: June 16, 2021PDF download

OPS 49: Air pollution exposure methods, Room 412, Floor 4, August 27, 2019, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM The health risks of ultrafine particle (UFP, Dp<100 nm) exposure are an important subject of current investigation in air pollution epidemiology. With routine monitoring of UFP still uncommon, studies often use other co-emitted pollutants as proxy for UFP, with NOx considered a good choice. We use long term fixed site measurements along with extensive mobile monitoring data to evaluate the spatiotemporal correlation of UFP and NOx. We incorporate 3–6 years of hourly particle number (PN) concentration data from multiple fixed sites across the San Francisco Bay Area that include near freeway, urban, suburban and rural sites. In addition, we incorporate observations from a 32-month mobile monitoring campaign comprising >3,000 h of coverage of a range of road types and land uses. Overall annual-average PN at the fixed sites span a range of 3 × 103 #/cm3 at rural site to 30 × 103 #/cm3 at near-freeway site. Across all sites, PN measurements on nearly all summer days show consistent, prominent mid-day peaks, lasting 5–7 h. This diurnal concentration pattern—characteristic of new particle formation (NPF)—is not observed for other co-emitted pollutants (NOx, BC, CO). While we found moderate correlation in diurnal patterns of NOx and UFP at sites with high traffic, the correlation dropped significantly for low traffic areas—especially during high insolation periods (e.g., summer daytime). Mobile monitoring data yielded similar results: NOx was observed to be a weaker proxy of UFP for non-freeway roads during high insolation periods. UFP in urban atmosphere is known to result primarily from vehicular traffic and photonucleation events, however, UFP exposure may be underestimated—especially in high insolation areas—if we use proxies for UFP that represent only emissions and not NPF. Our findings are especially important for ongoing and upcoming epidemiology studies that use other co-emitted pollutants as proxy of UFP.

Human exposures to air pollution can vary sharply in space and time. Carefully designed mobile sampling campaigns are now able to reveal patterns of long-term ambient air pollution concentrations at fine scales (&amp;lt;&amp;lt; 100 m). Here, we report on a campaign where two specially equipped Google Street View cars mapped spatial patterns of air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area between May 2015 and December 2017. Cars were outfitted with reference-grade instruments to measure NO, NO2, black carbon (BC) and ultrafine particle number count at ~ 1 Hz. During a 30-month campaign, measurements occured on most weekdays during daytime hours, resulting in a large dataset: ~10M samples collected during &amp;gt; 4000 h, encompassing 100k km of driving. First, we sampled every road 20-50&amp;#215; within three neighborhoods (~30 km2) in Oakland, CA, during the first year of measurements. We found persistent fine-scale variability in pollution exists within many neighborhoods. In some neighborhoods, prominent ~50-200 m sized hotspots of elevated primary pollutants were ubiquitous, with pollutant levels varying by 5-8&amp;#215; within many city blocks. Next, during 1.5 years of follow-up measurements, we mapped pollutant concentrations in rural, suburban, and dense urban neighborhoods throughout the SF Bay Area. These measurements reveal how within-neighborhood pollution structure is overlaid on top of regional spatial gradients in air quality. Repeated measurements over the 2.5-year period demonstrate persistent spatial variability over time. Patterns of NO, NO2 and BC in Oakland had high correlation (r2 &amp;gt; 0.85) between the first and second years of measurement. Short-term measurement periods (~1-2 months) were sufficient to reproduce overall spatial patterns, albeit with &amp;#177;30% bias in mean concentrations relative to annual-average conditions. This presentation summarizes how routine mobile air pollution monitoring reveals new information about spatial variability in population exposure to air pollution.

Core Ideas TDR‐315 sensors could be calibrated using conventional TDR methodologies. Soil water content calibrations using conventional TDR and TDR‐315 were comparable. Measured travel time using TDR‐315 was insensitive to soil electrical conductivity. Signal degradation in coaxial cables and interconnects is a long‐standing problem in the practical deployment of time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) for soil water monitoring. Acclima, Inc. has recently commercialized a TDR sensor (TDR‐315) with all electronics required for waveform acquisition embedded in the probe head. We calibrated ten TDR‐315 sensors and conventional TDR for apparent permittivity ( K a ) and bulk electrical conductivity (σ a ) measurements. Also, soil water content calibrations were completed for a Pullman (fine, mixed, superactive, thermic torrertic Paleustolls) clay loam soil. Lastly, the sensitivity of K a to σ a was examined using a saturated solute displacement experiment with both probe technologies installed in a column packed with Pullman clay loam. A range of σ a (0.65–2.8 dS m −1 ) was established by equilibrating the column with 0.25 dS m −1 CaCl 2 and introducing a step pulse of 7.3 dS m −1 CaCl 2 . Permittivity calibrations of the TDR‐315 could be accomplished with conventional TDR methods and with similar sampling errors. Conventional calibrations of σ a using long time amplitudes yielded a linear response for σ a ≤ 3 dS m −1 , above which the response was nonlinear. The fitted water content calibrations of the Pullman clay loam for the TDR‐315 were nearly indistinguishable from conventional TDR calibrations with similar root mean square errors (0.017–0.020 m 3 m −3 ). Response of the two measurement technologies in a lossy soil during changing solution conductivities demonstrated that, in contrast to conventional TDR, travel time measured using acquired TDR‐315 waveforms was insensitive to σ a up to 2.8 dS m −1 .