Environmental science. Advances最新文献

{"title":"Regenerable chitosan-embedded magnetic iron oxide beads for nitrate removal from industrial wastewater†","authors":"Muntaha Nasir, Farhan Javaid, M. Talha Masood, Dr Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Yasir, Vladimir Sedlarik, Muhammad Abdel Qadir, Hazim Qiblawey, Wenjuan Zhang, Kashif Mairaj Deen, Edouard Asselin and Nasir M. Ahmad","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00351E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00351E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Industrial sites worldwide significantly contribute to water pollution. Nitrates are a common effluent pollutant from such sites. Effective means to remove nitrate ions (NO<small>₃</small><small>⁻</small>) from polluted waters are needed. Chitosan beads, which are a non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable polymer, are used for this purpose in this research. Iron-oxide nanoparticles are synthesized <em>via</em> the co-precipitation route and embedded into chitosan by chemical co-precipitation to form ion exchange chitosan beads (IECBs) for NO<small>₃</small><small>⁻</small> removal. The performance of the IECBs in a batch system was studied against NO<small>₃</small><small>⁻</small> adsorption from industrial water. Morphological, structural, and chemical characterization was performed by SEM, EDX mapping, BET, XRD, and FTIR, while the extent of NO<small>₃</small><small>⁻</small> adsorption was quantified using UV-vis spectroscopy. Different factors influencing the adsorption of NO<small>₃</small><small>⁻</small> on the IECBs were investigated, including the adsorbent dosage, pH of the solution, initial concentration, and interaction time. It is demonstrated that pseudo-second-order isothermal and kinetic models were best fits to the experimental data. It was found that the IECBs had a maximum adsorption capacity of 47.07 mg g<small>⁻¹</small> and could load up to ∼93% of the NO<small>₃</small><small>⁻</small> from the batch system. The regeneration efficiency for the IECBs over 5 cycles remained high in the range of 93% to 79%, indicating their potential for industrial water treatment use.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00351e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139771892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Challenges for reliable analysis of uranium in natural waters using laser-induced fluorimetry/LED-fluorimetry in the presence of fluoride and diverse humic substances in hot arid regions and future advances – review","authors":"D. P. S. Rathore, P. K. Tarafder and V. Balaram","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00318C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00318C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The presence of fluoride and diverse humic substances in arid regions results in changes in the content of uranium, major cations and anions if there is a time interval between sample collection and analysis, and this disrupts the reliable analysis of uranium in natural waters using laser/LED-fluorimetry, and this is discussed in this review. Complete and unequivocal preservation of samples, whether domestic waste water or natural water, is a practical impossibility. The physico-chemical and biological changes continue inevitably after sample collection due to changes in dynamic equilibrium. Thus, the use of a mobile geochemical laboratory for on the spot/quick analysis of water samples, preferably on the same day, is required. Laser-induced fluorimetry/pulsed LED-fluorimetry is a well documented, highly sensitive, and versatile technique for the determination of uranium in water samples at μg L<small>⁻¹</small> levels. This is made more challenging due to the wide variety of types of water samples, which differ in total dissolved salts found, and these include saline water, diverse humic substances and fluoride content, especially in hot arid regions as well as due to the practical impossibility of preserving natural water samples. Therefore, it is the time interval between sample collection and analysis that is the most critical factor for the reliable analysis of uranium in hot arid regions. A high level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water samples results in greater variation in the major cations and anions, and uranium content with respect to the time interval between sample collection and analysis. Moreover, there is no availability of certified reference materials for such matrices to cross-check/ensure the reliability of the results.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00318c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139656917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transboundary transport of air pollution in eastern Canada†","authors":"Robin Stevens, Charles Poterlot, Nicole Trieu, Henry Alejandro Rodriguez and Patrick L. Hayes","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00307H","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00307H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We assess the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model against observations from the Quebec Air Quality Monitoring Network (RSQAQ) for carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO<small>_<em>X</em></small>; nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO<small>₂</small>)), fine particles having a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM<small>_2.5</small>), ozone (O<small>₃</small>), sulphur dioxide (SO<small>₂</small>), and elemental carbon (EC), a component of PM<small>_2.5</small> known to have effects on both human health and climate. These pollutants have lifetimes that span from hours to weeks, allowing them to cross national borders and affect air quality far from their emission sites. We then investigate the sources of air pollution in Quebec through two complementary methods: back trajectory analysis using potential source contribution function (PSCF) and chemical transport modelling using GEOS-Chem. We perform three sensitivity studies with GEOS-Chem to determine the contributions from three source regions (Quebec, the rest of Canada, and the United States) to the concentrations of each of the investigated pollutants in Quebec. The PSCF calculations show that southern Quebec (local sources), the east coast of the United States, and southeastern Ontario are associated with days of high concentrations of several pollutants. Depending on the season, southern Quebec is associated with high concentrations of NO<small>_<em>X</em></small>, SO<small>₂</small>, and CO; the east coast of the United States with high concentrations of PM<small>_2.5</small>, NO<small>_<em>X</em></small>, O<small>₃</small>, and CO; and southeastern Ontario with high concentrations of PM<small>_2.5</small> and EC. The GEOS-Chem results reveal that anthropogenic emissions from Quebec contribute the greatest amount (53%, 58%, 30%, and 44%) to concentrations of NO<small>_<em>X</em></small>, SO<small>₂</small>, PM<small>_2.5</small>, and EC in Quebec. Anthropogenic emissions from the US were the greatest contributor to CO concentrations (11%) and summertime O<small>₃</small> concentrations (17%). We find that removing all anthropogenic emissions from Quebec would reduce the fraction of the population of Quebec living in regions that exceed the recommended annual mean WHO PM<small>_2.5</small> concentration threshold of 5.0 μg m<small>⁻³</small> from 87.7% to about 0.0%. While an absolute cessation of anthropogenic emissions is neither feasible nor desirable, our results suggest that substantial improvements in air quality in Quebec would be possible through reductions in local emissions alone despite the strong influence of transboundary transport.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00307h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139657150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A preliminary investigation of microbial communities on the Athabasca Glacier within deposited organic matter†","authors":"Milena Esser, Phillip Ankley, Caroline Aubry-Wake, Yuwei Xie, Helen Baulch, Cameron Hoggarth, Markus Hecker, Henner Hollert, John P. Giesy, John W. Pomeroy and Markus Brinkmann","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00176H","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00176H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Glacier ecosystems are shrinking at an accelerating rate due to changes in climate and also increased darkening from allochthonous and autochthonous carbon leading to subsequent changes in the absorption of light, associated heat, and microbial communities. In this study, in combination with measurement of nutrients and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), compositions of microbial communities on surfaces of the Athabasca Glacier (Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Canada) were measured and characterized by use of metabarcoding and scanning electron microscopy. Three matrices, glacier ice, cryoconite hole, and supraglacial surface sediment, were analyzed to gain a first insight into microbial communities on the Athabasca Glacier. Both, eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial biodiversity was positively correlated with PAH concentrations of Benzo[<em>a</em>]pyrene, Indeno[123-<em>cd</em>]pyrene, Chrysene, Benzo[<em>ghi</em>]perylene, and Dibenz[<em>ah</em>]anthracene. Furthermore, the combustion of petroleum was identified as a major source of PAHs found on the Athabasca Glacier. The high levels of deposition and nutrients observed in this study may lead to an increase in microbial activity and growth that could accelerate glacier melting by further reducing surface albedo. More research is needed to understand the impacts of microbial activity and biodiversity on surface albedo and its effects on glacier meltwater, in the context of global climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00176h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139647975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Weathering of agricultural polyethylene films in cold climate regions: which parameters influence fragmentation?†","authors":"Laura Rowenczyk, Heidi Jahandideh, Nicholas Lin and Nathalie Tufenkji","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00255A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00255A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Plastic agricultural mulch films are used to improve the productivity of cultivable fields; however, their weathering and fragmentation could lead to release of microplastics and nanoplastics, both of which are considered potential health and environmental hazards. In this study, we examined the changes in physical and chemical properties of various plastic mulch films as they underwent different weathering processes. For this purpose, three commercially available polyethylene mulch films (one clear and two dark films) were evaluated under the following weathering conditions: laboratory treatments to evaluate the impacts of moisture, ultraviolet irradiation, pH, and freeze–thaw, as well as natural weathering conditions of a cold climate region. The morphologies and physicochemical properties of the polyethylene films were systematically studied following exposure to controlled and natural weathering. The three films, one of which was marketed as UV-resistant, underwent significant modifications. All weathered films were found to have increased surface roughness, suggesting that this could be the origin of microplastics or nanoplastics. While the dark pigments in the UV-resistant film protected the film against UV oxidation to some degree, they did not prevent deterioration caused by other types of weathering such as moisture, freeze–thaw, or natural weathering. The results of this study provide insights to understanding the fragmentation of polyethylene films into microplastics in winter and cold climate conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00255a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139582390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL)-based magnetic adsorbents: the way forward to remediate water pollution","authors":"Divya Yadav, Karmjeet Nain, Divya Dhillayan, Rishi Mittal, Shafila Bansal and Santosh Bhukal","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00269A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00269A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In this investigation, bare and hydrophobic IL-modified FeO nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized using microwave irradiation. Multiple characterization techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, and FESEM, were utilized to analyze the properties of the synthesized NPs. The primary objective was to examine the efficacy of NPs as adsorbents for removing dyes and heavy metals from aqueous solutions. To evaluate the factors affecting the adsorption efficiency of the NPs, various variables including dye concentration, pH of the reaction medium, nanoparticle dosage, and reaction time were studied using the batch experiment method. The study demonstrated that the IL-modified NPs were more effective in removing CV and Cr(<small>VI</small>) dyes than unmodified NPs. Various adsorption isotherm intra-particle diffusion models, including Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin, were elaborated to obtain insight into the adsorption behavior of the NPs. This study effectively synthesized bare and IL-modified NPs using a microwave irradiation method. The modified NPs showed promising potential as adsorbents for efficiently removing CV dye and Cr(<small>VI</small>) from aqueous solutions.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00269a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139555841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of extracellular polymeric substances in selenite and tellurite reduction by waste activated and anaerobic sludge†","authors":"Sudeshna Saikia, Kannan Pakshirajan and Piet N. L. Lens","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00298E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00298E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This study investigated the role of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) extracted from waste activated sludge (WAS) and anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) on the reduction of selenite and tellurite. The tightly bound fraction of EPS (TB-EPS) from AGS gave the highest (&gt;95%) removal efficiency of selenite and tellurite. The EPS reduced these oxyanions to their elemental forms as either selenium (Se) or tellurium (Te) nanoparticles (NPs) in mono metalloid incubations as well as conjugated (Se–Te) NPs for bi-metalloid incubations. The NPs were treated with two detergents and two enzymes to remove portions of the EPS coating of the NPs. The capping material was quantified along with the measurement of parameters such as size, surface charge and polydispersity. The smaller size (24.7–123 nm) and higher negative zeta-potential (−33.5 mV) of Se–Te NPs in conjugated form indicates more structural integrity compared to the Se and Te NPs in their individual form. The intermolecular interactions of proteins and extracellular DNA (eDNA) provided enhanced colloidal stability. This work revealed the previously unexplored roles of EPS in selenite and tellurite reduction and the features of the respective NPs in individual and conjugated form.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00298e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139517520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Controlling crystallisation and dissolution of biogenic CaCO3via dissolved magnesium cations†","authors":"Toby Morton-Collings, Minjun Yang and Richard G. Compton","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00362K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00362K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The surface of our oceans is teeming with single-cellular ‘plant’ organisms that biomineralise CaCO<small>₃</small> (coccoliths). Globally, an estimate of over 10<small>¹⁵</small> g of atmospheric CO<small>₂</small> per annum is sequestered in the top layers of our ocean. Information of this process is crucial to modelling climate change and achieving net carbon neutrality not least because this rate of CO<small>₂</small> sequestration is comparable to the rate of anthropogenic release of CO<small>₂</small>. While the dissolution kinetics of pure calcite (Icelandic Spar, Carrea marble and synthetically grown) have been well-studied in the past decades it remains unclear if biogenic CaCO<small>₃</small> behaves differently, or not, to pure calcite in the marine environment. In this work, we utilise a light microscopy setup to study and compare the precipitation and dissolution of biogenic CaCO<small>₃</small> in both the absence and presence of Mg<small>²⁺</small>, a known inhibitor, at concentrations similar to seawater. Notably, the time required for a micron-sized calcite particle to dissolve is doubled by approximately doubling the concentration of Mg<small>²⁺</small> from 54.6 mM to 100 mM. The work produces two new, key insights. First, there is negligible difference between the rate of mass loss of biogenic and pure, laboratory grown CaCO<small>₃</small> particles when placed in solutions supersaturated and undersaturated with respect to calcite. Second, the mass of the <em>individual</em> micron-sized biogenic coccoliths, ranging from 100–600 picograms, was inferred <em>via</em> image analysis of data from the complete dissolution of coccoliths in aqueous solutions containing seawater levels of Mg<small>²⁺</small>. This relatively simple light-based approach, allowing the mass of biogenic CaCO<small>₃</small> platelets to be estimated at the single-entity level, shows promise for the development of a proof-of-concept sensor allowing CaCO<small>₃</small> sequestration to be monitored real-time in our oceans.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00362k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139507838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resolving the effect of roadside vegetation barriers as a near-road air pollution mitigation strategy†","authors":"Khaled Hashad, Jonathan T. Steffens, Richard W. Baldauf, David K. Heist, Parikshit Deshmukh and K. Max Zhang","doi":"10.1039/D3VA00220A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3VA00220A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Communities located in near-road environments experience elevated levels of traffic-related air pollution. Near-road air pollution is a major public health concern, and an environmental justice issue. Roadside green infrastructure such as trees, hedges, and bushes may help reduce pollution levels through enhanced deposition and mixing. Gaussian-based dispersion models are widely used by policymakers to evaluate mitigation strategies and develop regulatory actions. However, vegetation barriers are not included in those models, hindering air quality improvement at the community level. The main modeling challenge is the complexity of the deposition and mixing process within and downwind of the vegetation barrier. We propose a novel multi-regime Gaussian-based model that describes the parameters of the standard Gaussian equations in each regime to account for the physical mechanisms by which the vegetation barrier deposits and disperses pollutants. The four regimes include vegetation, a downwind wake, a transition, and a recovery zone. For each regime, we fit the relevant Gaussian plume equation parameters as a function of the vegetation properties and the local wind speed. Furthermore, the model captures particle deposition, a major factor in pollutant reduction by vegetation barriers. We parameterized the multi-regime model using data generated from a fields-validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, covering a wide range of vegetation properties and meteorological conditions. The proposed multi-regime Gaussian-based model was evaluated across 9 particle sizes and a tracer gas to assess its capability of capturing dispersion and deposition. The multi-regime model's normalized mean error (NME) ranged between 0.18 and 0.3, the fractional bias (FB) ranged between −0.12 and 0.09, and <em>R</em><small>²</small> value ranged from 0.47 to 0.75 across all particle sizes and the tracer gas for ground level concentrations, which are within acceptable ranges for air quality dispersion modeling. Even though the multi-regime model is parameterized for coniferous trees, our sensitivity study indicates that it can provide useful predictions for hedges/bushes vegetative barriers as well.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/va/d3va00220a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139497498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resolving the effect of roadside vegetation barriers as a near-road air pollution mitigation strategy.","authors":"Khaled Hashad, Jonathan T Steffens, Richard W Baldauf, David K Heist, Parikshit Deshmukh, K Max Zhang","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Communities located in near-road environments experience elevated levels of traffic-related air pollution. Near-road air pollution is a major public health concern, and an environmental justice issue. Roadside green infrastructure such as trees, hedges, and bushes may help reduce pollution levels through enhanced deposition and mixing. Gaussian-based dispersion models are widely used by policymakers to evaluate mitigation strategies and develop regulatory actions. However, vegetation barriers are not included in those models, hindering air quality improvement at the community level. The main modeling challenge is the complexity of the deposition and mixing process within and downwind of the vegetation barrier. We propose a novel multi-regime Gaussian-based model that describes the parameters of the standard Gaussian equations in each regime to account for the physical mechanisms by which the vegetation barrier deposits and disperses pollutants. The four regimes include vegetation, a downwind wake, a transition, and a recovery zone. For each regime, we fit the relevant Gaussian plume equation parameters as a function of the vegetation properties and the local wind speed. Furthermore, the model captures particle deposition, a major factor in pollutant reduction by vegetation barriers. We parameterized the multi-regime model using data generated from a fields-validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, covering a wide range of vegetation properties and meteorological conditions. The proposed multi-regime Gaussian-based model was evaluated across 9 particle sizes and a tracer gas to assess its capability of capturing dispersion and deposition. The multi-regime model's normalized mean error (NME) ranged between 0.18 and 0.3, the fractional bias (FB) ranged between -0.12 and 0.09, and <i>R</i> ² value ranged from 0.47 to 0.75 across all particle sizes and the tracer gas for ground level concentrations, which are within acceptable ranges for air quality dispersion modeling. Even though the multi-regime model is parameterized for coniferous trees, our sensitivity study indicates that it can provide useful predictions for hedges/bushes vegetative barriers as well.</p>","PeriodicalId":72941,"journal":{"name":"Environmental science. Advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11373375/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142141911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}