Anatomy of the atmospheric emissions from the transport sector in Greece: trends and challenges

Railway Urbanozems: Interrelation of Physicochemical and Integral Environmental Indicators

Urbanozems with typical pollution are formed along railways: heavy metals (HM), oil products, anthropogenic organic matter. Depending on the natural zone and intensity of the leaching regime, the accumulated pollution can have a different effect on the integral environmental indicators of soils – the toxicity and enzymatic activity. The aim of the work was to determine the influence of the railway on the physicochemical characteristics of adjacent urbanozems that are formed in the southern taiga zone and to find out the interrelation of these indicators with the toxicity and catalase activity of the soil. Samples of urbanozems were taken from the surface layer of 0-10 cm at the distance of 50 m west and east of the railway and at the distance of 100, 500, 1000 m of it (east). The pH, content of organic matter, humus, ammonium nitrogen, mobile forms of HM, mortality for Daphnia magna Straus, influence on bioluminescence of Escherichia coli Migula, and the catalase activity were determined in the samples. It was shown that the levels of toxicity and the activity of catalase are strongly related to the distance from the railway: Pearson’s coefficients (r) were -0.53 (D. magna), -0.69 (E. coli), 0.95 (catalase). However, the interrelation between the total pollution index (TPI) of metals and integral indicators is lower: r=0.50 for the pair “D. magna – TPI”, r=0.42 for “E. coli – TPI”, r=0.19 for “catalase – TPI”. Consequently, the reactions of living organisms and the activity of catalase were formed in response to a combination of pollutants, not to one group of compounds.

Estimation of Shipping Emissions in Developing Country: A Case Study of Mohammad Bin Qasim Port, Pakistan

Transportation has the highest dependence on fossil fuels of any sector and accounts for 37% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Maritime transportation is responsible for around 940 million tons of CO₂ and approximately 3% of global emissions annually. The significant increase in shipping activities around the globe has magnified the generation of toxic pollutants. In recent years, shipping emissions have received significant attention in developed countries due to global climate change, while in developing countries, researchers are making enormous efforts to tackle this catastrophic and pressing issue. This study considers Muhammad Bin Qasim Port (MBQP), Karachi, Pakistan as a case study. This study employed an activity-based or bottom-up approach with a standard procedure to estimate the various anthropogenic pollutants emissions including particular matters (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5), nitrogen oxide (NO_x), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), CO₂, methane (CH₄), non-methane volatile organic compound (NMVOC), and hydrocarbon (HC) under different operational modes, i.e., hoteling, maneuvering, and reduced speed zones. The results indicated that CO₂ was the highest contributor with a proportion of 92%, NO_x 5%, and SO₂ 1.5% for all three operational modes. Moreover, the results indicated that container ships account for 64% of overall emissions, followed by tankers for 24%. Regarding the monthly trend, the findings revealed that November and December had the highest emission rates, with over 20% of the total emissions recorded. This study's findings will assist stakeholders and policymakers to prioritize maritime emissions in developing countries.