Environmental Science: Atmospheres Blog

We are delighted to announce that the Environmental Science: Atmospheres and Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts themed issue on Indoor Air Quality is now online.

Although we spend much of our time indoors, most research and public attention to date has focused on ambient air, as has policy action to reduce exposure to, and the health impacts of, air pollution. This has started to change.

This collection focuses on chemistry relating to indoor air quality, including:

• Studies advancing the field of environmental sciences in surface chemistry, microbial activity, photochemistry, and exposure science.
• Studies using both theoretical and experimental methods.
• Various approaches including instrument development, measurements, modelling and consideration of policy and health impacts of indoor air quality.

The collection is complemented by an editorial written by the Editors-in-Chief and the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Policy and Evidence team.

Read the full issue online

It includes:

Editorial 

Introduction to indoor air quality

Neil M. Donahue, Kristopher McNeill, Daniel S. Korbel and Hannah G. Macdonald

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023, Advance Article

Aerosol emissions and their volatility from heating different cooking oils at multiple temperatures

Sumit Sankhyan, Kayley Zabinski, Rachel E. O’Brien, Steven Coyan, Sameer Patel and Marina Vance

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022,2, 1364-1375

Partitioning of reactive oxygen species from indoor surfaces to indoor aerosolsv

Glenn C. Morrison, Azin Eftekhari, Pascale S.J. Lakey, Manabu Shiraiwa, Bryan E. Cummings, Michael S. Warning and Brent Williams

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022,24, 2310-2323

Real-time measurements of product compounds formed through the reaction of ozone with breath exhaled VOCs

Xin Xu, Hongwei Pang, Chao Liu, Kangyi Wang, Gwendal Loisel, Lei Li, Sasho Gligorovski and Xue Li

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022,24, 2237-2248

Particulate matter in a lockdown home: evaluation, calibration, results and health risk from an IoT enable low-cost sensor network for residential air monitoring

Nicole Cowell, Lee Chapman, William Bloss, Deepchandra Srivastava, Suzanne Bartington and Ajit Singh

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023,3, 65-84

Near-source hypochlorous acid emissions form indoor bleach cleaning

Annastacia D. Stubbs, Melodie Lao, Chen Wang, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, John Hoffnagle, Trevor C. VandenBoer and Tara F. Kahan

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023,25, 56-65

Emerging investigator series: an instrument to measure and speciate the total reactive nitrogen budget indoors: description and field measurement

Leigh R. Crilley, Melodie Lao, Leyla Salehpoor and Trevor C. VandenBoer

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023, Advance Article

Investigation of indoor air quality in university residences using low-cost sensors

Rowzhon Afroz, Xinyang Guo, Chu-Wen Cheng, Ariel Delorme, Ryan Duruisseau-Kuntz and Ran Zhao

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023,3, 347-362

Indoor particulate matter (PM) from cooking in UK students’ studio flats and associated intervention strategies: evaluation of cooking methods, PM concentrations and personal exposures using low-cost sensors

Ruijie Tang and Christian Pfrang

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023, Advance Article

Modeling the Fate and Involuntary Exposure to Tetrahydrocannabinol Emitted from Indoor Cannabis Smoking

Amirashkan Askair, Frank Wania and Arthur Chan

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023, Accepted Manuscript

Acetaldehyde in the indoor environment

Tunga Salthammer

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023, Advance Article

Human skin oil: a major ozone reactant indoors

Charles J Weschler and William W Nazaroff

Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2023, Accepted Manuscript

We hope that you enjoy reading this collection of articles. Please get in touch if you have any questions about this themed collection or want to contribute to the growing work on indoor air quality.

We recently spoke to Ian C Faloona, a bio-micrometeorologist at the University of California Davis, about article ‘A conceptual model of northern midlatitude tropospheric ozone’. In the following interview, you can learn more about Ian’s work and his experience publishing open access with our journal.

Tell us about yourself and your publication in Environmental Science: Atmospheres.

I am an atmospheric scientist from the University of California Davis, who was trained originally in chemistry but fell under the spell of turbulence in graduate school and has been trying to investigate the most interesting intersections of those fields ever since. Over the last couple of years, two colleagues (DD Parrish and RG Derwent) and I had been working on a somewhat heterodox method of analysing and interpreting background tropospheric ozone in a series of papers. As a result of our continued analyses, we came to believe that the overall behavior of background ozone, at least in the midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (which is home to over 40% of the world’s population), should behave in a relatively simple manner, in stark opposition to the standard way of studying this chemical system, which involves using highly complex computer models. These models attempt to track (and parameterize) all of the known processes of the global atmospheric circulation and atmospheric chemistry, from the millisecond photochemistry of hydroxyl-radical reactions, to the turbulent thermals rising from the sunlit land, to the roiling gyres of continental-scale weather systems.

We noted that in the field of geophysical fluid dynamics it is common for researchers to rely on several models of differing complexity to study the manifold, non-linear behavior of the atmosphere’s motion. The estimable theoretician, Isaac Held, has likened such a “hierarchy” of models to those used in the biological sciences, where simpler organisms serve as useful models for understanding more complex organismal behaviors. We noticed that there appears to be a conspicuous absence of this philosophical approach in atmospheric chemistry, so we teamed up with an old friend (C Mims, the lead author), a chemical engineering professional, and developed a relatively minimalist model of tropospheric ozone in the midlatitudes in the spirit of a continuous stirred-tank reactor. In our efforts to develop such a reduced model we attempted to cleave to Einstein’s famous adage that “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler” (if, in fact, that was ever uttered by the famous physicist.)

What do you hope your article can achieve? And who will benefit from it?

We hope that our article can help convince the atmospheric chemistry community of the value of such simplified models. We argue that it can be used to build sound intuition about the seasonal, vertical and land-sea patterns of background ozone. We even give two real-world examples of how our model actually helped point to anomalous behavior in observations on a time scale that is hard to do with a full-blown global chemical transport model.

I would like to see the proliferation of this type of simplified modeling system to be used in education as well as research, and hope that it helps inoculate the next generations of Earth scientists from the over-reliance on highly complicated models that appear to behave as purely opaque boxes. Too often the overarching aim of contemporary research appears to be showing modeling results that match observations, without necessarily understanding or simulating the physics and chemistry accurately. And too often the built-in assumption is that the core of most modeling deficits lies in the perennial dearth of spatial resolution, which very likely occludes model improvement. We hope that this paper finds an audience who appreciates how fundamental scientific intuition can be cultivated using reduced-complexity models, and that this practice can support future improvements in their higher-complexity cousins.

Why did you choose to publish your work in Environmental Science: Atmospheres?

We noticed that the work that led us to this project was getting repeatedly criticized over and over again by a similar mentality of reviewers, resistant to looking at the data through the lens of a simplified model. Further, years ago I had experienced some very harsh reviews of my own efforts in proposing to develop a simplified convective-reactive model to a national funding agency. So, we thought it might be better to submit this paper to a different type of journal on a different continent, potentially where the benefits of our simplified approach might be more appreciated.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres appealed to us for several reasons. First, we felt that the potential for a transparent peer review process is vitally important for advancing the conversation and debate about scientific ideas, especially those that are divergent from the mainstream. I was also attracted to the journal’s sincere dedication to publishing cross-disciplinary research, and I have admired that spirit as embodied in the editor-in-chief, Neil Donahue, for many years.

How was your experience publishing in our journal?

It was very easy and welcoming, and we even got to make a cover image to accompany our paper.

How do you feel about open access publishing? Have you published open access before?

It is absolutely the only way to proceed. It should have been the standard long ago. It makes no sense for publicly funded research to not be completely accessible by the public. Sometimes working with colleagues who are consultants or at small companies, and seeing the difficulty they have in accessing the scientific literature, is just appalling. I believe strongly in free higher education as well as free access to the fruits of all human research.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres is a gold open access journal, so Ian’s article, like all of our publications, is freely available for you to read. Discover Environmental Science: Atmospheres

Are you looking to publish your fundamental or applied atmospheric research open access? Find out how you can get started with our journal. Submit your research

We are pleased to present this research infographic explaining the importance of ice formation in the atmosphere. An article on this topic was published in Issue 3 of Environmental Science: Atmospheres, where it can be read in full: Ice nucleation imaged with X-ray spectro-microscopy.

The paper describes a new X-ray technique that can be used to probe and monitor individual ice nucleation particles, around which larger ice crystals can form. The technique allows the authors to identify distinct components within the particle, such as minerals and organic compounds and brings new understanding  and more accurate prediction of ice nucleation and cloud formation.

Peter A. Alpert, Anthony Boucly, Shuo Yang, Huanyu Yang, Kevin Kilchhofer, Zhaochu Luo, Celestino Padeste, Simone Finizio, Markus Ammann and Benjamin Watts, Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 335-351

We are pleased to share this infographic explaining the sources and methods of mitigating the effects of particulate matter in indoor domestic environments. An article on this topic was published in Issue 4 of Environmental Science: Atmospheres, where it can be read in full: Assessment of PM2.5 concentrations, transport, and mitigation in indoor environments using low-cost air quality monitors and a portable air cleaner.

Key findings showed that low-cost air quality monitors performed well when monitoring background air quality, but could sometimes overestimate particulate matter content when a source was actively emitting it. Depending on the layout of the home and whether doors were kept closed, particulate matter from cooking could travel from the kitchen to the bedroom in 0-45 mins, but was 30% lower in concentration when it arrived. Filtration methods to remove particulate matter proved more effective when placed closer to the source of emission.

Sumit Sankhyan, Julia K. Witteman, Steven Coyan, Sameer Patel and Marina E. Vance, Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 647-658

Could our collection be the ideal platform for your next atmospheric and environmental science publication on indoor air quality?

We invite you to contribute to our growing collection highlighting the key role that the chemical sciences play in the study of indoor air quality, its interactions with outdoor air, health implications and exposure. For this collection, we invite submissions which focus on all aspects relating to indoor air quality, including theoretical and experimental methods, as well as modelling and consideration of policy and health impacts of indoor air quality. For more information on this cross-journal collection, which closes for submissions on 31^st October, see open call for papers.

When you publish with Environmental Science: Atmospheres and Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts you can:

• Put your trust in both our rigorous peer review process and fast times to publication – which are less than 9 weeks after submission across all our journals.
• Expect your work to be promoted through our journal social media (@EnvSciRSC)
• Be confident of a global audience for your work. As a leading voice in the chemical sciences, there are opportunities for work published in this collection to inform our policy positions on indoor air quality. This means that dissemination of this work will likely go beyond chemists and reach a broader audience.

Which journal should I choose?

Environmental Science: Atmospheres publishes high quality research in fundamental and applied atmospheric chemistry. The journal scope spans the entirety of Earth’s atmosphere, and studies addressing the interactions of indoor air pollutants with outdoor air, or considering human health effects, are encouraged. We offer authors the option to publish the peer review history alongside their article.

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts publishes high quality articles in all areas of the environmental chemical sciences. The journal strongly prefers significant contributions whose results can be generalised to other systems, particularly those which characterise chemical processes or address contaminant environmental impacts. All authors have the option of double-anonymised peer review.

Article publication online and in issues will occur without delay to ensure the timely dissemination of the work. The articles will then be assembled on the RSC Publishing platform and promoted as a web-based thematic collection, to permit readers to consult and download individual contributions from the entire series.

If you’re interested, we invite you to submit your research today, quoting ‘XXIndAir22’ when submitting your manuscript.

We are delighted to announce that the Environmental Science: Atmospheres themed issue ‘Aerosol formation in the urban environment’ is now online.

Guest Edited by Professor Mikael Ehn (University of Helsinki), Professor Katrianne Lehtipalo (University of Helsinki) and Professor Paul M. Winkler (University of Vienna), this collection includes studies on new particle formation and growth mechanisms and rates, and the sources, transformations and chemical composition of aerosol precursor vapours, clusters, and particles.

Read the full issue online.
It includes:

Paper
The contribution of new particle formation and subsequent growth to haze formation
Markku Kulmala, Runlong Cai, Dominik Stolzenburg, Ying Zhou, Lubna Dada, Yishuo Guo, Chao Yan, Tuukka Petäjä, Jingkun Jiang and Veli-Matti Kerminenbc
Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 352-361. DOI: 10.1039/D1EA00096A

Paper
A computationally efficient model to represent the chemistry, thermodynamics, and microphysics of secondary organic aerosols (simpleSOM): model development and application to α-pinene SOA
Shantanu H. Jathar, Christopher D. Cappa, Yicong He, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Wayne Chuang, Kelsey R. Bilsback, John H. Seinfeld, Rahul A. Zaverie and Manish Shrivastavae
Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2021, 1, 372-394. DOI: 10.1039/D1EA00014D

Paper
Observed coupling between air mass history, secondary growth of nucleation mode particles and aerosol pollution levels in Beijing
S. Hakala, V. Vakkari, F. Bianchi, L. Dada, C. Deng, K. R. Dällenbach, Y. Fu, J. Jiang, J. Kangasluoma, J. Kujansuu, Y. Liu, T. Petäjä, L. Wang, C. Yan, M. Kulmala and P. Paasonen
Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 146-164. DOI: 10.1039/D1EA00089F

We hope you enjoy reading the articles!

We are pleased to share this infographic on the use of satellites to detect and monitor methane emissions. A review on this topic was published in Issue 1 of Environmental Science: Atmospheres and can be read in full at Methane detection and quantification in the upstream oil and gas sector: the role of satellites in emissions detection, reconciling and reporting.

Jasmin Cooper, Luke Dubey and Adam Hawkes, Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 9-23

We are pleased to share this infographic on how brown carbon interacts with light. The study, which focuses on Mexico City, was published in Issue 3 of Environmental Science: Atmospheres, and can be read in full at: Aerosol optical properties and brown carbon in Mexico City

Armando Retama, Mariana Ramos-Cerón, Olivia Rivera-Hernández, George Allen and Erik Velasco, Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 315-334

We are excited to share this infographic on the emission of nanoparticles from engines. This work was published in Issue 2 of Environmental Science: Atmospheres and can be read in full at: Particle emissions of a heavy-duty engine fueled with polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (OME)

Alexander D. Gelner, Dieter Rothe, Carsten Kykal, Martin Irwin, Alessandro Sommer, Christian Pastoetter, Martin Härtl, Malte Jaensch and Georg Wachtmeister, Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2022, 2, 291-304

In this gold open-access themed collection, Environmental Science: Atmospheres focuses on bioaerosols, which are airborne particles that are living or originate from living organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungal spores and pollen.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Sampling and detection of bioaerosols
• Bioaerosol sensors
• Source and emission of bioaerosols
• Environmental transport of bioaerosols
• Exposure and risk assessment
• Ventilation and air quality control
• Risk control and management

Bioaerosols are a natural component of both indoor and outdoor air, and some can have significant impacts on human health, agriculture and ecosystems. One example is the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via airborne virus-containing particles. Papers that deal with detection, measurement, transport, risk mitigation, and other related research of bioaerosols are within the scope of the themed collection.

Guest Editors: Cindy Morris (INRAE, Avignon), Xiaole Zhang (ETH Zurich), Malin Alsved (Lund University), Joshua Santarpia (University of Nebraska Medical Center)

Submission deadline: 31st October 2022

Submit your manuscript, quoting ‘EABioaer22’: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esatmos

APCs are waived until mid-2023.