Ice core data show why air pollution is dropping more slowly in US and Western Europe despite lower sulfur emissions
The air in the United States and Western Europe is much cleaner than even a decade ago. Low-sulfur gasoline standards and regulations on power plants have successfully cut sulfate concentrations in the air, reducing the fine particulate matter that harms human health and cleaning up the environmental hazard of acid rain.
Despite these successes, sulfate levels in the atmosphere have declined more slowly than sulfur dioxide emissions, especially in wintertime. This unexpected phenomenon suggests sulfur dioxide emission reductions are less efficient than expected for cutting sulfate aerosols.
Research Article
Vitamin D and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity in the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative: A Mendelian randomization study
Guillaume Butler-Laporte , Contributed equally to this work with: Guillaume Butler-Laporte, Tomoko Nakanishi Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
Affiliations Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada Contributed equally to this work with: Guillaume Butler-Laporte, Tomoko Nakanishi Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Visualization, Writi
Ice Core Data Shows Why Air Pollution is Reducing Slower than Sulfur Emissions Reductions
Written by AZoCleantechJun 1 2021
Ice core data obtained from Greenland indicates why air pollution has been decreasing slower compared to reductions in sulfur emissions.
The researchers in the drilling operation (left) and the drilled samples (right). Image Credit: Hokkaido University
When cloud droplets turn out to be less acidic, the chemical reaction that converts sulfur dioxide into sulfate aerosol becomes more effective. These findings can enhance the models that predict climate change and air quality.
In the United States and Western Europe, the air is much cleaner compared to how it was a decade ago. Low-sulfur gasoline standards and regulations on power plants have been successful in cutting sulfate concentrations in the air, thereby decreasing the fine particulate matter that tends to impact human health and cleaning up the environmental risk of acid rain.
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Observational studies have suggested that increased vitamin D levels may protect against COVID-19. However, these studies were inconclusive and possibly subject to confounding. A study published in
PLOS Medicine by Guillaume Butler-Laporte and Tomoko Nakanishi at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, and colleagues suggests that genetic evidence does not support vitamin D as a protective measure against COVID-19.
The ability of vitamin D to protect against severe COVID-19 illness is of great interest to public health experts, but has limited supporting evidence. To assess the relationship between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, researchers conducted a Mendelian randomization study using genetic variants strongly associated with increased vitamin D levels. The authors analyzed genetic variants of 4,134 individuals with COVID-19, and 1,284,876 without COVID-19, from 11 countries to determine whether genetic predisposition for higher vitamin D leve
Scientists have shown that the population of the Yakushima sika deer has declined due to natural factors, suggesting that the population can be regulated.