ARPA-E

About: ARPA-E is a government organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 1161 authors who have published 1267 publications receiving 30049 citations. The organization is also known as: Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy.

Chapter 6 Cyclones in the Mediterranean region: Climatology and effects on the environment

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter describes the evolution of research on cyclones in the Mediterranean region and their role on climate. The dynamics responsible for the formation and evolution of Mediterranean cyclones, the datasets available for their analysis, the methods for the cyclone identification, and the evaluation of the intensity of the cyclonic activity are also described in the chapter. The chapter discusses the climatology of cyclones, their characteristic spatial scales, seasonality, area, and genesis mechanisms; the relation between cyclonic activity and large-scale climate patterns; and the observed trends. The chapter describes the effects of cyclones on the Mediterranean environment, including their role on precipitation, winds, storm surge, ocean waves, and landslides. In the chapter, a description of the mechanism explaining the effects of cyclones on the specific phenomenon is presented and climate trends are discussed. The chapter reviews the available knowledge on cyclones and on their effects in the Mediterranean region.

Leukemia risk in children exposed to benzene and PM10 from vehicular traffic: a case–control study in an Italian population

Abstract: Benzene, a recognized occupational leukemogen in adults, has been hypothesized to also increase the risk of childhood leukemia. We carried out a population-based case-control study in a northern Italy community involving 83 cases with acute childhood leukemia diagnosed in the years 1998-2009 and 332 matched controls. We assessed residential exposure to benzene and to particulate matter ≤10 μm (PM10) from motorized traffic using geocoded residences and detailed emission and dispersion modeling. Exposure to benzene, and to a lesser extent to PM10, appeared to be independently associated with an excess leukemia risk. When we stratified the study population by age and by leukemia subtype, the relative risk associated with benzene exposure was higher among children aged less than 5 years, and despite small numbers this relation appeared to be considerably stronger for acute myeloid leukemia than for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Overall, these findings suggest that exposure to low levels of benzene released from motorized traffic may increase the risk of childhood leukemia, and suggest a possible independent effect of PM10, although unmeasured confounding due to other pollutants cannot be ruled out.

The breathability of compact cities

Abstract: Breathability in dense building arrays with packing densities similar to those of typical European cities is investigated using laboratory measurements and numerical simulations. We focus on arrays made up by regularly spaced square buildings forming a network of streets with right-angle intersections. It is shown that breathability can be evaluated using building ventilation concepts (mean flow rate and age of air) and from vertical mean and turbulent fluxes quantifiable through a bulk exchange velocity. Mean age of air reveals that varying wind angles result in different ventilation, which we explain through mean flow streamlines and exchange velocity. For low wind angles (wind direction almost parallel to the axes of half of the streets of the network), vertical transfer and mean transversal transfers are at minimum and removal of pollutants is associated with mean longitudinal fluxes. Larger wind angles result in better ventilation due to an increase of transversal fluxes and vertical exchange. The latter, for which a formulation is derived, shows a non-negligible contribution of the mean flow which increases with increasing wind angle. Ventilation conditions can be further altered by small differences in the array geometry. These observations are useful for the development of simple urban dispersion models.