In the period 2013–2015, PM
2.5
and PM
10
outdoor and indoor concentrations were measured on 23 days in cold half-year periods, in Kraków, Poland. Air pollution is still a serious health hazard for ...the inhabitants as Kraków is located in a concave landform and smog episodes occur often in the city during the heating periods, due to poor natural ventilation and frequent air temperature inversions. The PM
10
and PM
2.5
concentrations were studied for very good and very poor weather conditions concerning air pollution. Each subgroup was further divided into cases when the apartments’ windows were kept open or closed. Daily courses of PM
10
and PM
2.5
concentrations were very dynamic. Weather pattern, in particular wind speed and atmospheric stability, largely determined the concentrations of PM
10
in ambient air. The share of PM
2.5
in PM
10
indoor concentrations reached around 70% for both types of weather conditions. The share of indoor PM
10
and PM
2.5
mean concentrations in the outdoor values was higher during good than during poor weather conditions by about 10%.
The aim of this study was to identify typical and specific features of land surface temperature (LST) distribution in the city of Krakow and its surroundings with the use of Landsat/ETM+ data. The ...paper contains a detailed description of the study area and technical properties of the Landsat program and data, as well as a complete methodology of LST retrieval. Retrieved LST records have been standardized in order to ensure comparability between satellite images acquired during different seasons. The method also enables identification of characteristic thermal regions, i.e. areas always colder and always warmer than a zonal mean LST value for Krakow. The research includes spatial analysis of the standardized LST with regard to different land cover types. Basic zonal statistics such as mean standardized LST and percentage share of hot and cold regions within 10 land cover types were calculated. GIS was used for automated data processing and mapping. The results confirmed the most obvious dependence of the LST on different land cover types. Some more factors influencing the LST were recognized on the basis of detailed investigation of the LST pattern in the urban agglomeration of Krakow. The factors are: emission of anthropogenic heat, insolation of the surfaces depending first of all on land relief and shape of buildings, seasonal changes of vegetation and weather conditions at the time of satellite image acquisition.
Mountains are highly sensitive to the effects of climate change, including extreme short- and long-term weather phenomena. Therefore, in spite of relatively high annual precipitation totals, ...mountains might become endangered by droughts. The paper presents drought trends in the Polish Carpathians located in Central Europe. Data from the period 1991–2020 from 12 meteorological stations located in various vertical climate zones of the mountains were used to define drought conditions using the following indices: Standardized Precipitation (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration (SPEI), Relative Precipitation (RPI) and Sielianinov. Additionally, four forest drought indices were used in order to estimate the impact of drought on beech as a typical Carpathian tree species, i.e., the Ellenberg (EQ), Forestry Aridity (FAI), Mayr Tetratherm (MT) and De Martonne Aridity (AI) indices. Statistically significant but weak trends were obtained for the 6-month SPI for four stations (indicating an increase in seasonal to mid-term precipitation), for the 1-month SPEI for three stations, for the 3-month SPEI for four stations, and for MT for all stations (indicating an increase in drought intensity). The analysis of dry month frequency according to particular indices shows that at most of the stations during the last decade of the study period, the frequency of dry months was much higher than in previous decades, especially in the cold half-year. Two zones of the Polish Carpathians are the most prone to drought occurrence: the peak zone due to the shift in climatic vertical zones triggered by the air temperature increase, and the forelands and foothills, together with basins located about 200–400 m a.s.l., where the mean annual air temperature is the highest in all the vertical profile, the annual sums of precipitation are very diversified, and the conditions for beech are already unfavorable.
Winter smog episodes are a severe problem in many cities around the world. The following two mechanisms are responsible for influencing the level of pollutant concentrations: emission of pollutants ...from different sources and associated processes leading to formation of secondary aerosols in the atmosphere and meteorology, including advection, which is stimulated by horizontal wind, and convection, which depends on vertical air mass movements associated with boundary layer stability that are determined by vertical temperature and humidity gradients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based measurement system developed for investigation of urban boundary layer dynamics. The evaluation was done by comparing the results of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and particulate matter fraction with aerodynamic diameter below 10 μm (PM
) concentration vertical profiles obtained using this system with two reference meteorological stations: Jagiellonian University Campus (JUC) and radio transmission tower (RTCN), located in the urban area of Krakow city, Southern Poland. The secondary aim of the study was to optimize data processing algorithms improving the response time of UAV sensor measurements during the ascent and descent parts of the flight mission.
Kraków, Poland, is a city with poor air quality, located in the large Wisła (Vistula) valley, and affected by a foehn wind from the Tatra Mountains. We analyzed 14 long episodes of the foehn from the ...periods Sep 2017 - Apr 2018 and Sep 2018 - Apr 2019. Data used included measurements of PM
10
(i.e. particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter up to 10 µm) concentrations) concentrations, air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction from ground stations and mast measurements up to 100 m a.g.l., along with model analysis results. A non-operational configuration of the AROME CMC (the Application of Research to Operations at Mesoscale canonical model configuration) 1 km x 1 km was applied. A conceptual model concerning the impact of a foehn on urban air pollution was developed. The occurrence of a particular effect of a foehn on the PM
10
spatial-temporal pattern depends on its mode of transfer through the city: a. a foehn flows above the valley where a strong cold air pool and a return flow can be found; b. a foehn enters the valley from the eastern, wider part or from the valley top and destroys the cold air pool; c. gravity waves generated by a foehn are strong enough to enter the western narrower part of the valley and cause large spatial differences in turbulence parameters within the city. The first transfer mode worsens air pollution dispersion conditions throughout the city and leads to large increases in PM
10
levels (from below 50 to 150-200 µg⋅m
−3
), the second mode improves dispersion and leads to large decreases in PM
10
levels (from 150-200 to below 50 µg⋅m
−3
) throughout the city, and the third generates large spatial differences in PM
10
levels (50-70 µg⋅m
−3
) within the city. There is no single effect of a foehn on air pollution dispersion conditions.
Prediction of spatial and temporal variability of air temperature in areas with complex topography is still a challenge for numerical weather prediction models. Simulation of atmosphere over complex ...terrain requires dense and accurate horizontal and vertical grids. In this study, verification results of three configurations of the Aire Limitée Adaptation Dynamique Développement International High-Resolution Limited Area Model (ALADIN-HIRLAM) numerical weather prediction (NWP) system, using two different horizontal and vertical resolutions and applied to the Polish Western Carpathian Mountains, are presented. One model of the ALADIN-HIRLAM NWP system is tested in two horizontal and vertical resolutions. Predicted air temperatures are compared with observations from stations located in different orographies. A comparison of model results with observations was conducted for three cold season intervals in 2017 and 2018. Statistical validation of model output demonstrates better model representativeness for stations located on hill and mountain tops compared to locations in valley bottoms. A comparison of results for two topography representations (2 × 2 km and 1 × 1 km) showed no statistically significant differences of root mean square error (RMSE) and bias between model results and observations.
Zmiany klimatu są zagadnieniem nie tylko naukowym, ale także społecznym, politycznym i gospodarczym. Rozważania na ten temat warto jednak rozpocząć od zdefi niowania kilku podstawowych pojęć, ...ponieważ funkcjonowanie systemu klimatycznego jest skomplikowane, a wiele wypowiedzi w mass mediach dotyczących zmian klimatu zawiera daleko idące uproszczenia, utrudniające zrozumienie tych kwestii. A zatem : co to jest klimat i zmiana klimatu?
The Carpathian Mountains in Europe are a biodiversity hot spot; harbor many relatively undisturbed ecosystems; and are still rich in seminatural, traditional landscapes. Since the fall of the Iron ...Curtain, the Carpathians have experienced widespread land use change, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Climate change, as an additional driver, may increase the effect of such changes in the future. Based on a workshop organized by the Science for the Carpathians network, this paper reviews the current status of global change research in the Carpathians, identifies knowledge gaps, and suggests avenues for future research.
PDF
