The importance of air quality in human biometeorology

The influence of circulation weather types on the exposure of the biosphere to atmospheric electric fields

We present an analysis of the impact of circulation weather types (CT) on a factor that might influence biological systems and the human condition, the electric state of the atmosphere. We present results on the influence of CT to the magnitude, the direction (positive or negative), the fluctuation magnitude, and the short-term peaks of the atmospheric electric field (potential gradient, PG), using data from a station in Greece. CTs with high vorticity centers over Greece are associated with high positive and negative excursions of the PG, higher PG variability, and rain events. CTs with thinner 850-500 hPa layer are associated with higher daily mean values of fair-weather PG. We also examine the influence of CT on the frequency and amplitude of the naturally occurring extremely low-frequency electric field fluctuations known as Schumann resonances (SR) using data from a station in Hungary. The first and second mode SR frequencies are increased during CTs associated with higher 500 hPa geopotential heights and higher 850-500 hPa layer thickness. This hints to a lower-upper atmosphere coupling. So, CTs not only influence the general temperature and humidity conditions to which the biosphere is exposed, but they also affect its exposure to atmospheric electric fields.

The R Language as a Tool for Biometeorological Research

R is an open-source programming language which gained a central place in the geosciences over the last two decades as the primary tool for research. Now, biometeorological research is driven by the diverse datasets related to the atmosphere and other biological agents (e.g., plants, animals and human beings) and the wide variety of software to handle and analyse them. The demand of the scientific community for the automation of analysis processes, data cleaning, results sharing, reproducibility and the capacity to handle big data brings a scripting language such as R in the foreground of the academic universe. This paper presents the advantages and the benefits of the R language for biometeorological and other atmospheric sciences’ research, providing an overview of its typical workflow. Moreover, we briefly present a group of useful and popular packages for biometeorological research and a road map for further scientific collaboration on the R basis. This paper could be a short introductory guide to the world of the R language for biometeorologists.

Influence of atmospheric states in semi-arid areas on hospital admission in cardio-surgical department

The influence of the changes in atmospheric state, typical for areas close to big deserts, on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was analyzed. Under test was the group of 3256 patients (77 % males, 23 % females), hospitalized in the Cardio-Surgical Department of Soroka Medical Center at Ben-Gurion University (BGU, Israel) during 2000-2008. To explore the relationship between atmospheric parameters and AMI, multivariate regression analysis has been performed. AMI was most frequent in winter to spring and least in summer. The highest number of cases was recorded in December and the lowest in September. Hospital admissions showed a higher prevalence in men than in women; the ratio is 3.3/1.0. About 60 % of males were aged between 45 and 65 years old with maximum ∼55 (21 %), whereas 60 % of women hospital admissions were aged between 65 and 80 years old with maximum ∼72 (24 %). The result suggested that the monthly mean relative humidity at daytime and its overall daily differences, wind speed, and respirable fraction of particulate concentration are associated with the admission for AMI. The results of the study confirm the importance of atmospheric state variability for cardiovascular diseases.

The influence of air-suspended particulate concentration on the incidence of suicide attempts and exacerbation of schizophrenia

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the role of the concentration of solid air-suspended particles (SSP) in the incidence of mental disorders. The study is based on 1,871 cases, registered in the Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center (BS-MHC) at Ben-Gurion University (Israel) during a 16-month period from 2001 to 2002; 1,445 persons were hospitalized due to exacerbation of schizophrenia (ICD-10: F20-F29) and 426 after committing a suicide attempt using a variety of means as coded in the ICD-10 (ICD-10: X60-X84). Pearson and Spearman test correlations were used; the statistical significance was tested at p < 0.1. A significant correlation between variations of SSP number concentration (N C ) during eastern desert wind during early morning hours and number of suicide attempts, N SU , was found (ρ > 0.3, p < 0.05), whereas correlation between N C and N SU during western air streams (sea breeze) was not observed (p > 0.2). A trend towards positive correlation (ρ > 0.2, p < 0.1) between the N C and number of persons with exacerbation of schizophrenia as manifested in psychotic attack (N PS ) in periods with dominant eastern winds (4-9 am, local time) has been observed, while in the afternoon and evening hours (1-8 pm local time) with dominant western winds, N C and N PS are not correlated (p > 0.1). Obviously, concentration of SSP is not the one and only parameter of air pollution state determining meteorological-biological impact, involving incidence of mental disorders, although its role can scarcely be overstated. However, since it is one of the simplest measured parameters, it could be widely used and helpful in the daily struggle for human life comfort in semi-arid areas as well as urban and industrial surroundings, where air pollution reaches crucial values. This study may permit determination of the limits for different external factors, which do not overcome threshold values (without provoking avalanche situations), to single out the group of people at increased risk (with according degree of statistic probability), whose reactions to the weather violations can involve the outbreak of frustration points and prevent or alleviate detrimental mental effects.

Synoptic weather patterns and modification of the association between air pollution and human mortality

To assess whether meteorological conditions modify the relationship between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and mortality, an examination of air pollution and human mortality associations (ecologic) using hybrid spatial synoptic classification procedures was conducted. Concentrations of air pollutants and human mortality from all non-accidental and cardiorespiratory causes were examined according to typical winter and summer synoptic climatologies in Toronto, Canada, between 1981 and 1999. Air masses were derived using a hybrid spatial synoptic classification procedure associating each day over the 19-year period with one of six different typical weather types, or a transition between two weather types. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to assess the risk of mortality from air pollution within specific air mass type subsets. Mortality follows a distinct seasonal pattern with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer. Average air pollution concentrations were similar in both seasons with the exception of elevated sulfur dioxide levels in winter and elevated ozone levels in summer. Subtle changes in meteorological composition can alter the strength of pollutant associations with health outcomes, especially in the summer season. Although there does not appear to be any systematic patterning of modification, variation in pollutant concentrations seems dependent on the type of synoptic category present.

On the correlation between wind speed, coarse aerosol concentration and the electrical state in the ground atmospheric layer in semi-arid areas

Our general work has been dedicated to the problems connected with the influence of short-term changes of the atmospheric state on some medically unexplained human responses. What are the meteorological stimuli eliciting the transition between health and disease? There are many reports on the impact of humidity, winds or pollution on feelings of disease or discomfort. We suppose that the main influencing climatic factor, which could excite multiform biological reactions, is atmospheric electricity, E, whose parameters depend strongly on the content of the air column and on the meteorological conditions in this volume, especially along its ground path. A clear connection between wind speed Vw and coarse aerosol concentration N(T) with electric field intensity E exists only for limited intervals of Vw, and N(T). In these ranges, the mean correlation coefficients p(E; Vw) and p(E; N(T)) are usually up to 0.45. In quiet weather, rho is significantly larger than in the equinox seasons or in transferred weather situations. Strong winds or a considerably increased pollution level lead to fast and deep fading of E and even to principal changes in the form of its diurnal distribution from what is usual for stable atmosphere conditions, while weak air streams or a clear atmosphere have almost no influence on electric state variations.