Newsroom University of Swagֱ��

MP tours University of Swagֱ��’s pioneering environmental research facilities

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 09:57:53 +0000

Swagֱ�� has hosted Afzal Khan MP on a visit to which recently completed a £2 million redevelopment.

Mr Khan, who has represented Swagֱ�� Gorton in Parliament since 2017, also toured the Swagֱ�� Air Quality Supersite – one of the largest locations in the UK dedicated to air quality research – and took part in a roundtable discussion with senior academics.

Supported by the University’s endowment fund, the Firs upgrade delivered state-of the-art greenhouse facilities that support expert research on food security and climate change. They comprise 14 climate controlled growing compartments which simulate an assortment of different growing environments around the world ranging from tropical to sub-arctic.

The Swagֱ�� Air Quality Supersite, also located on the University’s Fallowfield campus, is home to a mobile research laboratory that gathers detailed data on the contents of harmful urban air pollution. It is one of three air quality supersites across the UK established as part of a £6 million investment by the Natural Environment Research Council.

Mr Khan was welcomed by , Professor , Professor and Dr Oliver Hughes, who all joined the roundtable discussion.

Professor Coe, a Professor of Atmospheric Composition and Director of the Swagֱ�� Environmental Research Institute, said: “It was a pleasure to meet Mr Khan and lead the tour of the Swagֱ�� Air Quality Supersite which has the capability to work out where the gases and particles that pollute our air are coming from and how they form.

“We are immensely proud of the role Swagֱ�� plays in this area of academic research and the potential this work has to reduce air pollution on a global scale.”

Professor Cruickshank, a Professor in Biomedical Sciences and Public Engagement, recently published an on the Policy@Swagֱ�� website addressing how better community engagement can encourage more people to use modes of ‘active transport’ – such as walking and cycling - and reduce air pollution in high risk areas.

She said: “My colleagues and I regularly engage with policymakers. Having an opportunity to brief Mr Khan on our ongoing activities and exchange ideas was a useful part of this process.

“My article, published by Policy@Swagֱ��, highlights the way that involving and empowering communities can identify key priorities to tackle pollution in neighbourhoods to enhance their lives.

“Greater Swagֱ�� has among the worst levels of pollution in the UK, with poor air quality estimated to contribute to around 1,200 premature deaths each year in the city region.

“That is a shocking statistic which underscores how important it is to involve local communities in the drive to reduce the impacts of air pollution.”

Afzal Khan MP said: “It was a privilege to visit the Firs Environmental Research Station and the Swagֱ�� Air Quality Supersite which are shining beacons in climate change and air quality research.

“My roundtable meeting also provided a fascinating insight into the many research activities taking place on-site.

“We face huge global climate challenges, and it is heartening to see the work going on here in Swagֱ�� to formulate evidence-based solutions to help address them.

“I thank the University’s policy engagement unit, Policy@Swagֱ��, for putting such an interesting programme together.”

Climate action group launches walking route to combat air pollution

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:42:07 +0000

Campaign group Ardwick Climate Action, with the support of University of Swagֱ�� researchers, are to launch a green route on 12 March where local people can avoid the excessive pollution caused by motor vehicles.

The scheme close to Kale Street will help combat the area’s disproportionate exposure to air pollution, improve the health and wellbeing of local people and improve public safety away from major roads.

Nine signs put up along the various entry points to the attractive 15 minute walk will contain digitally interactive QR codes, which when scanned with a smartphone will direct the public to various webpages.

The pages contain information about local ecology and how plant species support Swagֱ��'s biodiversity.

They also details the history of the site and the local community groups that manage it.

Daniell Musaheb, Ardwick Climate Action said: “Green Routes represent community action directly tackling our community’s issues, with a need to address air pollution and public safety at its core.

“We are honoured at the support the project has received from our partners which has undeniably contributed to its success.

“We hope to see further tangible outcomes for our community and that this is the first step in realising a fairer balance in Swagֱ��.

“Ardwick is disproportionately affected by air pollution, and the public safety of local people is compromised due to the lack of infrastructure to support green transportation.”

To celebrate the launch, the group are organising lavender planting. Representatives from a range of groups including Clean Cities, Friends of the Earth Swagֱ��, Asthma and Lung UK, Mums for Lungs and Living Streets UK will talk about air pollution, road safety and green routes in Swagֱ��.

And a guided walk from the A6 will show participants why the Green Route is so badly needed.

Since 2022, ACA has conducted in partnership with Swagֱ�� which showed that local communities are an important way understand where local sources of pollution are and barriers to less polluting forms of travel.

One of the researchers, said: “Collaborative working between local communities and our researchers was vital to understand the barriers for active travel and the issues that most impacted residents.

“By engaging with communities we can promote awareness of the risks of pollution to health and do more meaningful research that best meets the needs of those most impacted by pollution.

She added: “This research highlighted real issues encountered by residents of high levels of pollution and dangerous roads with fast moving traffic.

“There is a lack of crossings across busy roads which makes it very hard for residents to get around safely.

“We are so excited about the green route and we really hope it makes a difference to residents for their health and wellbeing as they can avoid some of the traffic and pollution and enjoy the incredible biodiversity created by the planting done by ACA.”

Scientists measure air pollution from domestic wood burners in new study

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:51:26 +0000

Researchers have started a six-week study to measure airborne pollutant emissions from domestic wood burning stoves, using a dedicated laboratory-based test facility at Swagֱ��.

Atmospheric chemists from the , University of Swagֱ��, and University of York are working together to quantify the gases and aerosols that come from stoves in people’s homes.

Wood burners - the biggest sources of small particulate matter nationwide

The popularity of using wood burners has increased in recent years, in response to severe cold snaps and the rising cost of gas and electricity.

In the UK, wood burning in homes is the main direct source of airborne particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (known as PM2.5), and accounts for a high fraction of particles with carcinogenic potential in urban areas.

Exposure to PM2.5 particles can result in serious health impacts - especially for elderly people and people with respiratory illnesses.

Stove in a lab - a scientific test facility to capture wood burner emissions

Scientists are using a state-of-the-art test facility, in a Swagֱ��-based laboratory, to study emissions from domestic heating stoves.

By using a wood burner in a controlled environment alongside specialised pollution monitoring equipment, researchers are replicating a range of conditions and real-life scenarios.

Dr Marvin Shaw, research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the University of York, said: “Recent studies of combustion in household woodburners suggest that operational conditions, such as ignition, reloading, maloperation and use of unconventional fuels are a large and unaccounted for source of pollution in the UK. This project brings together national expertise in order to understand how the operation of these wood burners affects the emissions of gas and particulate pollutants.”

The high-resolution data they are collecting will begin to build a detailed insight into real-time emissions during stove operation in people’s homes.

, a research scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Swagֱ��, explained: “Currently emissions predictions assume that wood burners are operated correctly and the appropriate fuels are used. However, we suspect that many wood burners are not used correctly, with people likely to overstack fuel or burn unseasoned woods. Our laboratory experiments will investigate the effects of gas emissions that condense in the air and form particulate matter after they are emitted."

The air pollution research project they are working on, known as CondensabLe AeRosol from non Ideal Stove Emissions - CLARISE, brings together expertise in biomass burning experiments, emissions monitoring, atmospheric complexity analysis, and regional modelling.

Fossil fuels responsible for heart arrhythmias in mammals

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 04:20:00 +0000

One of the most common byproducts of the burning of fossil fuels, phenanthrene, causes heart arrythmias in mice, proving for the first time it is toxic to mammals.

The study, led by Professor Holly Shiels from Swagֱ�� and funded by the British Heart Foundation, is published in the influential

Thanks to earlier work by Professor Shiels in conjunction with scientists at Stanford University, University of Bristol, Moscow State University and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), phenanthrene’s toxicity to the hearts of fish and crustaceans (crayfish) has been well established.

But now the team have discovered the change also occurs in healthy mouse hearts when directly exposed to phenanthrene, mimicking what happens when we breath in pollution.

She said: “We’ve known that phenanthrene is causally linked to cardiotoxicity in fish for many years- scientists recognised this following the disastrous impact of the Exxon Valdez oil disaster in Alaska in 1989.

“But we now know this same effect occurs in mammals, and we are also able to show its causal mechanism.”

Phenanthrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that is present in crude oil and emitted into the air when fossil fuels are burnt.

“It is widely known that PAH’s in general are bad for human health, but no one really studied the impact of the lower molecular weight PAH’s” said professor Shiels.

Dr Sana Yaar, A British Heart foundation funded PhD student at Swagֱ�� who is the lead author on the study, said: “Similar effects in humans could have serious health consequences which is why we need greater regulatory attention of this ubiquitous pollutant generated from fossil-fuel combustion.”

Phenanthrene is one of the compounds produced when fossil fuel is burned; it is present in the gas phase of air pollution and also adheres to the surface of particulate matter (PM).

It can be inhaled into the lung and then translocated into the bloodstream, eventually finding its way to the heart. Epidemiological evidence has long shown a positive association between PM2.5 concentration and the incidence of arrhythmias and both PM and diesel particles have been shown to trigger arrhythmias in rodents.

“Our findings suggest phenanthrene could be involved in these pathologies” says Prof Shiels.

In the study, when phenanthrene was applied to an isolated mouse heart, it caused monophasic tachycardia, which is when the heart starts to beat too quickly.

Tachycardia is a form of arrhythmia common in people who have scarring caused by a heart attack or past heart disease.

The researchers were able isolate single heart muscle cells known as myocytes to understand how electrical dysfunction arrhythmias were achieved.

They showed that phenanthrene disrupts the contractile and electrical function of the mouse heart by blocking ion channels required for synchronous beating of the heart.

“Our study provides proof of concept that phenanthrene exposure can be proarrhythmic” says Prof Jules Hancox, co-author from the University of Bristol. “To understand the risk this poses to humans, more information is now needed on the levels phenanthrene can reach in the heart following occupational or environmental exposure.”

Co-author Ellie England and British Heart Foundation funded PhD student from Swagֱ�� said: “If the effects of phenanthrene shown here for mice extend to humans, it could be particularly dangerous to people with existing heart problems, including the elderly. Unfortunately, the authorities do not routinely measure the amount of PAHs or more specifically, phenanthrene, in the air.

“We think this is a mistake, as individuals who are vulnerable to heart disease would benefit from knowing the dangers of inhaling or ingesting phenanthrene”

She added: “If monitoring was in place there’s much doctors and public health officials could do to help vulnerable people reduce the risk of cardiotoxicity resulting from phenanthrene exposure.

“For example, at risk groups could stay indoors when there’s a spike in pollution, use air purifiers and avoid busier streets.”

Professor Shiels added: “As combustion engine technology improves, PM from car exhaust is reducing in many cities and that is beneficial to human health.

“But what many people don’t realise is that fossil fuel combustion also produces ultrafine PM, which has a greater capacity to enter the blood stream due to its small size, is rarely monitored. And even electric cars that increase tire wear particle formation to their heavy weight, also impact our health.

“That is why we should be routinely monitoring for phenanthrene and other PAHs in the air.”

The paper Global air pollutant, phenanthrene, and arrhythmic outcomes in a mouse model, is published in Environmental Health Perspectives

Engineering enzymes to help solve the planet's plastic problem

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0100

Researchers from the (MIB) have developed a new enzyme engineering platform to improve plastic degrading enzymes through directed evolution.

To illustrate the utility of their platform, they have engineered an enzyme that can successfully degrade poly(ethylene) terephthalate (PET), the plastic commonly used in plastic bottles.

In recent years, the enzymatic recycling of plastics has emerged as an attractive and environmentally friendly strategy to help alleviate the problems associated with plastic waste. Although there are a number of existing methods for recycling plastics, enzymes could potentially offer a more cost-effective and energy efficient alternative. In addition, they could be used to selectively breakdown specific components of mixed plastic waste streams that are currently difficult to recycle using existing technologies.

Although promising as a technology, there are considerable hurdles that need to be overcome for enzymatic plastic recycling to be used widely on a commercial scale. One challenge, for instance, is that natural enzymes with the ability to break down plastics typically are less effective and are unstable under the conditions needed for an industrial-scale process.

To address these limitations, in a paper released today in , researchers from Swagֱ�� have reported a new enzyme engineering platform that can quickly improve the properties of plastic degrading enzymes to help make them more suitable for plastic recycling at large scales. Their integrated and automated platform can successfully assess the plastic degradation ability of around 1000 enzyme variants per day.

Dr Elizabeth Bell, who led the experimental work at the MIB, says of the platform; “The accumulation of plastic in the environment is a major global challenge. For this reason, we were keen to use our enzyme evolution capabilities to enhance the properties of plastic degrading enzymes to help alleviate some of these problems. We are hopeful that in the future our scalable platform will allow us to quickly develop new and specific enzymes are suitable for use in large-scale plastic recycling processes.”

To test their platform, they went on to develop a new enzyme, HotPETase, through the directed evolution of IsPETase. IsPETase is a recently discovered enzyme produced by the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis, which can use PET as a carbon and energy source.

While IsPETase has the natural ability to degrade some semi-crystalline forms of PET, the enzyme is unstable at temperatures above 40°C, far below desirable process conditions. This low stability means that reactions must be run at temperatures below the glass transition temperature of PET (~65°C), which leads to low depolymerisation rates.

To address this limitation, the team developed a thermostable enzyme, HotPETase, which is active at 70°C, which is above the glass transition temperature of PET. This enzyme can depolymerise semi-crystalline PET more rapidly than previously reported enzymes and can selectively deconstruct the PET component of a laminated packaging material, highlighting the selectivity that can be achieved by enzymatic recycling.

Professor Anthony Green, Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, said: “The development of HotPETase nicely illustrates the capabilities of our enzyme engineering platform. We are now excited to work with process engineers and polymer scientists to test our enzyme in real world applications. Moving forward, we are hopeful that our platform will prove useful for developing more efficient, stable, and selective enzymes for recycling a wide range of plastic materials.”

The development of robust plastic degrading enzymes such as HotPETase, along with the availability of a versatile enzyme engineering platform, make important contributions towards the development of a biotechnological solution to the plastic waste challenge. To move this promising technology forward will now require a collaborative and multidisciplinary effort involving biotechnologists, process engineers and polymer scientists from across the academic and industrial communities. With the world facing an ever-mounting waste problem, biotechnology could provide an environmentally sustainable solution.

Biotechnology is one of the University’s research beacons – exemplars of interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that lead to pioneering discoveries and improve the lives of people around the world. manchester.ac.uk/biotechnology-research

Shipping emissions under existing targets will be double what’s needed to meet Paris Agreement goals

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 14:29:58 +0100

New research from Swagֱ�� shows that the current climate targets set for the international shipping are far too lax, and would mean the sector cannot play its fair part in meeting the Paris climate goals.

In the run-up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has strongly criticised the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for not doing enough to cut carbon emissions from the shipping sector. International shipping alone has emissions the size of Germany. But progress is very slow.

Current IMO targets see no emissions reductions for the sector before 2030, and would lead to shipping emitting more than double the emissions compatible with limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees.

The new research published in the journal, , concludes that significantly stronger short and longer-term targets need to be set for the sector to be compatible with the Paris Agreement’s goals: 34% reductions on 2008 emissions levels by 2030, and zero emissions before 2050, compared with the sector’s existing target of a 50% cut in CO2 by 2050. Crucially, strengthening the target by the IMO’s 2023 strategy revision date is imperative.

Professor Alice Larkin argues that the longer the delay in setting new targets, the steeper subsequent decarbonisation trajectories. “It has to be all hands on deck for international shipping now. Immediate action that focuses on operational change and retrofitting existing ships is needed to deliver major emissions reductions this decade, or shipping cannot deliver its fair part in meeting the Paris climate goals” she said.

“Delay beyond 2023 would mean the future transition for international shipping is too rapid to be feasible. Nations should state at COP26 that they will ensure shipping has Paris-compatible targets and policies for 2030 and 2050.”

At COP 26 this November, countries are being asked to bring more ambitious climate targets for 2030, called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to bring the world on track to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees.

The Swagֱ�� based researchers are calling on nations to push the IMO to make a clear statement during this COP26 year that shipping must have Paris compatible targets.

The results of this research state that this pressure needs to be translated into actual movement from the IMO with regard to their climate action. New targets, and policies to meet them, cannot wait.

PCC report: how to make global emissions peak and fall – and what’s stopping us

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 10:45:44 +0100

By ,

Every few years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the United Nation’s climate science body – produces a major report on the state of the climate crisis. However you slice it, the told the world what it already knew – and added even greater urgency.

Like the last two in and , the doesn’t say it directly in the text, but you can clearly infer from the numbers that to have anything like a decent chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C – the goal of 2015’s – global emissions need to peak by around 2025 and then plunge rapidly towards zero. We had 11 years to reach that peak and turn it around. Now we have four.

The report sets out five different pathways that emissions could take in the coming decades, with different “climate futures” attached to them. The pathway in which emissions fall as fast as possible gives us a bit less than a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C. In this scenario, the world has to limit total greenhouse gas emissions over time to the equivalent of around 500 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The report shows that at the moment, the world emits around 40 gigatonnes a year (and growing). That leaves about 12.5 years of emitting at current levels. So if the world reaches zero emissions by 2050, in each year until then, emissions must be no higher than 40% of 2021’s emissions on average.

To get emissions to peak and then start on a downward trend is fairly simple in theory. There are several major changes that can be made in sectors like electricity, construction and transport, where lots of emissions come from, and where there are readily available alternatives. These include:

A ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure. No new , no new operations, and no airport expansions. In essence, the world could agree a .
Existing coal plants could be rapidly replaced with sources of energy, like windfarms.
Radical improvements could be made in the .
Natural gas could be eliminated in buildings, replaced with heating and cooking which use .
could be decarbonised by a shift to electric vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, trains) and from cars to bikes, walking and public transport.

Fewer cars, more cycling.

Achieving all of this in ten years is technically possible. But there are significant obstacles which are fundamentally political.

What’s the hold-up?

Fossil fuel companies to prevent action that threatens their profitability, lobbying governments to and to . They have enough support in enough countries – think , , and – and enough countries with contradictory interests – , the , the and – to stall action in a range of forums, as in the latest . Even in countries with relatively strong climate policies, the power of the fossil fuel industry generates various contradictions, as in the for North Sea oil and gas.

Global inequalities in emissions remain an important issue to deal with too. There are in developing countries but emissions in most industrialised nations. Peaking emissions globally means curbing emissions growth in and other countries, with much more rapid declines in the US, UK and Germany than the global average. The politics of this are delicate and complicated.

Then there is the question of how to finance this rapid shift. This entails mobilising investment in renewable energy, doing huge amounts of retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency and electrification, and accelerating the construction of electric vehicle infrastructure. It also entails significant global financing of such transitions in developing countries. But how should this money be mobilised?

The neoliberal consensus of the last four decades favours private finance. But leaving this effort to the free market is likely to be inadequate. Fossil fuels are often than renewables, despite the latter’s cost-competitiveness. Reviving notions of public finance to generate sufficient investment in low-carbon sectors may be necessary. There has been some shift towards this approach in the emergence of green new deals in different countries, but a much bigger push in this direction is needed.

And of course, the world remains distracted by other crises. The most obvious of these is COVID-19, which has in most countries, delaying new policy announcements, focusing attention on both the pandemic and the economic recovery. The level of investment needed to overcome COVID-19 has presented some , but the evidence so far seems to suggest that the world economy is bouncing back towards .

Meanwhile, COVID-19 has reduced the pressure on political leaders to act on climate change. It has been much harder to organise the protest movements – the school strikes, Extinction Rebellion – that were burgeoning before lockdowns came into force globally.

The pandemic has cost the climate movement precious momentum.

The importance of COP26

The IPCC report will be used to inform the discussions of world leaders at the UN climate talks, otherwise known as , which are to be held in Glasgow in November 2021. But if there are so many things preventing putting emissions on a downward trajectory, what can the world expect from this fortnight-long meeting?

Clearly it can do some things. It is the key site for negotiating global inequalities, such as how richer countries should compensate poorer ones for having to bear the brunt of a crisis largely not of their making. Such issues have dogged the UN climate process since negotiations started in 1991. It is where national governments are supposed to make new sets of commitments, known as nationally determined contributions, to meet the overall goal of the Paris Agreement’s proposed global temperature limit.

Some of these commitments have already been published, that they are significantly strengthening global action are not good. So far, and despite in April, there is no sense that leading states are successfully persuading each other to improve their commitments, generating the kind of momentum in 2015 which led to the Paris Agreement.

To expect much from COP26 itself is to miss the key sites of action involved in causing emissions to peak and decline however. In the Paris Agreement, these are national governments. And most of the conflicts preventing action occur within countries.

It’s at this level that people must focus much of their attention, to outweigh the influence of fossil fuel companies, find novel ways to fund decarbonisation and steer the economic recovery from COVID-19 towards a low-carbon future.

, Professor of International Politics,

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

Swagֱ�� researchers team up with Callaly to discover recyclable materials for menstrual products

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:30:00 +0100

Researchers from the at Swagֱ��’s (SMI Hub) in collaboration with Callaly are working together to find alternative sustainable materials for menstrual hygiene products to help combat the growing need for natural-renewable alternatives for plastics.

New funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has enabled the collaboration which seeks to use surplus materials from shellfish industries to develop bioplastics. The novel materials will replace the stretchable films in feminine hygiene products with an ultimate aim to reduce the use of non-renewable and non-recyclable materials.

Callaly are a UK based developer and manufacturer of menstrual period care products with an international sales footprint. The new project will utilise expertise and state-of-the-art equipment from the SMI Hub to find suitable alternatives to raw polymer materials.

The majority of period care products are designed to address the practical needs for the menstrual cycles and are often made from single-use plastics. Their properties and the excess of organic contamination makes recycling a significant challenge.

By utilising surplus materials from shellfish industries, researchers hope to develop bioplastics that can replace the stretchable films in feminine hygiene products. The properties of the bi-products offer a unique opportunity in developing functional films that are optically transparent, stretchable and have antimicrobial properties.

Commenting on the project, lead researcher and Kathleen Lonsdale Research Fellow in the Department of Materials, Dr Ahu Gumrah Parry said "We’re excited to be teaming up with Callaly on this project. Our efforts will unlock the potential of biopolymers as a biomedical material. Furthermore, using materials from shell fish farming waste streams to conduct this research helps us to enable a circular economy. Where disposal is necessary, such as feminine hygiene products, we want to ensure that the environmental impact is minimized by offering routes for biodegradable and compostable products".

The funding will enable initial research into biodegradable components for Callaly’s award-winning Tampliner products.

Thang Vo-Ta, CEO & Co-Founder at Callaly said "We are delighted to receive this Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funding to test and develop exciting new materials that we can integrate into our products & bespoke manufacturing processes. As a B Corp, Callaly always holds ourselves to the highest standards and to be able to team up with the SMI Hub for greater sustainability in the period care market could make for very meaningful & positive impact".

The SMI Hub is part of the Henry Royce Institute at Swagֱ�� and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

is one of Swagֱ��’s - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

International ship exhaust emissions shown to alter clouds’ behaviour

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Emissions from ship exhausts can have a major impact on air pollution, weather and climate, however until relatively recently these have been largely unregulated, particularly in international waters.

Newly published research from Swagֱ�� shows that some ships in the open ocean were emitting large amounts of sulphates from traces of sulphur in the fuel, with a strong potential to alter clouds’ behaviour and pollute coastal areas. When results were compared with ships measured in the English Channel (where emissions are controlled through regulation), the amounts of particulates were very significantly reduced compared to the open ocean.

The main concerns are particulates, made of a mixture of soot and sulphates, which have long been known to alter the behaviour of clouds in the open ocean, creating lines of brighter clouds behind ships that can been seen from space (“ship tracks”), akin to the contrails often seen behind aeroplanes.

The brighter clouds are partly caused by exhaust plumes containing pollutants from burning fossil fuels to power the ships. Scientists and shipping organisations are now studying the impact of increased regulations on the environmental cost of global shipping.

Starting in 2020, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has placed new controls on emissions of all ships around the globe and the -funded ACRUISE (Atmospheric Composition and Radiative forcing changes due to UN International Ship Emissions regulations) project is designed to study the change this has, both on emissions and its impact on the environment.

The project is a collaboration between a number of several UK institutions, also including the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and the Universities of York, Leeds and Oxford and was designed to run in two phases, to deliver a ‘before and after’ picture.

The results just published by Swagֱ�� in the journal represent the ‘before’ measurements of the particulates from ocean-going cargo ships. While work has been published previously on ship emissions, these have tended to be in laboratory test rigs, which may not represent ‘real’ emissions, or in territorial waters or ports, where controls are already established.

The Swagֱ�� scientists used the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement (FAAM) Bae-146 large research aircraft to fly directly through the exhaust plumes of cargo ships in the busy Atlantic shipping lanes off the Portuguese coast in 2019, before the new controls were enacted.

Chenjie Yu, who authored this paper as part of his PhD studies at Swagֱ��, said: “It is a great experience to be on-board the FAAM research aircraft and performing this airborne measurement. The results from the ACRUISE project are crucial for the future policymaking and climate research.”

Dr James Allan, a Reader in the and Chenjie’s academic supervisor, said: “These results are quite remarkable. Traditionally, ship fuel has been one of the dirtiest forms of fossil fuels in use, but these results give an insight into what kind of a change the new regulations can have. It will be very interesting to see what differences we will find in the second phase of the experiment.”

The ACRUISE project is currently ongoing, and in 2021, the team will return to repeat the measurements, to assess how much of an impact the new controls have made. These will be combined with satellite data and atmospheric models to determine how much of a change this has made to air quality and climate.

Clean Air Day 2020: Reducing air pollution levels could improve children’s ability to learn

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 09:20:00 +0100

Global Action Plan, the Philips Foundation and Swagֱ�� reveal results from new modelling which suggests that maintaining lower air pollution levels by 20% could improve the development of a child’s working memory by 6.1%, the equivalent of four weeks extra learning time per year.
The findings are part of a year-long research project, the Clean Air for Schools Programme, which was launched to investigate the impact of air pollution on children’s health and learning.
The group is calling for urgent HM Government to bring together NGOs, local government, education leaders and businesses – to combine under one national effort to eliminate harmful pollutants from schools, and encourage schools to harness the free “Clean Air for Schools Framework” which was developed using the findings of the Programme

To mark Clean Air Day 2020, experts at Swagֱ�� , on behalf of the co-ordinators of Clean Air Day, Global Action Plan, and the Philips Foundation, have published new demonstrating that maintaining lower outdoor air pollution (NO₂) levels could improve a child’s ability to learn. The model finds that maintaining lower air pollution levels in and around school grounds by 20% could enhance the development of a child’s working memory by 6.1%, the equivalent of four weeks extra learning time per year.

The findings are part of the Clean Air for Schools Programme, a year-long research project which looked at how air pollution and its effects on children can be tackled in schools across the UK & Ireland. Launched in October 2019, the Programme includes additional field research undertaken in 19 schools totalling approximately 6,000 students across Greater Swagֱ��, looking into the most effective actions for reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution. In addition to improving children’s health[1], the Programme’s latest findings from the UoM modelling show that reducing air pollution will also improve children’s ability to learn, supporting teachers who are already under pressure to ensure pupils regain lost education time during lockdown.

An overview of the findings from the model, which estimates the impact of changes in outdoor air pollution (NO₂) on the development of working memory, are detailed in the below table:

Outdoor air pollution (NO₂) scenario: (Baseline: 40µg/m3 annual mean level)	Change in working memory over 12 months compared to no change in outdoor air pollution (NO₂)	Amount time working memory is delayed/ improved over 12 months (NO₂)	Change in working memory over 12 months compared to no change in outdoor air pollution (PM₂₅)	Amount time working memory is delayed/ improved over 12 months (PM₂₅)
Predictions
Decrease by 20%	+6.1%	Improved by 3-4 weeks	+5.1%	XX
Decrease by 30%	+9.1%	Improved by 4-5 weeks	+7.7%	XX
Decrease by 40%	+12.2%	Improved by 5-6 weeks	+10.2%	XX
Decrease by 50%	+15.2%	Improved by 6-7 weeks	+12.8%	XX
Increase by 20%	-6.1%	Delayed by 3-4 weeks	-5.1%	XX
Increase by 30%	-9.1%	Delayed by 4-5 weeks	-7.7%	XX
Increase by 40%	-12.2%	Delayed by 5-6 weeks	-10.2%	XX
Increase by 50%	-15.2%	Delayed by 6-7 weeks	-12.8%	XX

Air quality data by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) shows air pollution decreased by up to 40% on average across the UK in peak national lockdown during April and May 2020 compared to the same time last year. In light of this, the campaigning group urges that it is viable to maintain a 20% reduction around school grounds through actions included in the Clean Air for Schools Framework. Actions include School Streets, which when enrolled in the London Borough of Hackney, one of the leading community grassroots initiative proactively tackling air pollution, traffic reduced by an average of 68%, the number of children cycling to school increased by 51% and vehicle emissions outside schools (NOx, PM10 and PM2.5) are down by 74%.

Based on the modelling by experts at Swagֱ�� , even a 20% increase in outdoor air pollution (NO₂) could stunt the development of a child’s working memory by up to four weeks per year. Up to 2,000 schools and nurseries are close to roads with air pollution above the baseline level used in the model[i], meaning that at least 500,000 children are exposed to levels of pollution that would affect working memory. But the impact is also felt at lower levels than the 40µg/m3 baseline and so many more thousands of pupils also stand to benefit from a reduction in pollution. The exact number of pupils held back by excessive pollution is unknown because there is no national monitoring system for air quality in schools.

To encourage urgent action, campaigners including support from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Air Pollution (APPG), National Education Union (NEU) and National Association for Head Teachers (NAHT), are calling on the government, local councils to guide schools in using the newly launched .

The Clean Air for Schools Framework, developed by Global Action Plan, the Philips Foundation and the UoM, is a free online tool that gives teachers, headteachers, parents and local authorities a bespoke blueprint of actions for tackling air pollution in and around the school. Its database of actions include interventions that can be taken both inside and outside school grounds including implementing school streets, improving indoor ventilation and consolidating deliveries. At a time when schools are urgently reviewing their operations, implementing major changes to the movement of pupils and parents on their premises, the group is calling on all schools across the UK & Ireland to adopt and implement the framework, with support from local and national government.

All actions in the Clean Air for Schools Framework have been vetted by existing research, academic insights and in-school air quality testing by the University of Swagֱ�� and further refined in collaboration with teachers and students. Notably, in classroom research conducted at Russell Scott Primary School in Greater Swagֱ�� found that using an air purifier over a short period of time can reduce levels of indoor air pollution (PM2.5) by up to 30% in classrooms.

Chris Large, Co-CEO at Global Action Plan says: “This year long research project has uncovered the effects air pollution has on our children’s ability to learn, as well as their health. Given lockdown restrictions have already impeded learning time, we must give all children a fighting chance, especially those in pollution hotspots who are also likely to be victims of the attainment gap. The new Clean Air for Schools Framework is now available for free to help any school set up a clean air action plan, but schools cannot do this alone. We ask the government to bring together all parties with potential solutions – NGOs, local government, education leaders and businesses – to combine under one national effort to eliminate harmful pollutants from schools.”

Mark Leftwich, Director, Personal Health, Philips UK and Ireland:

“Every child has the right to learn in a safe working environment which not only protects their health, but also safeguards their ability to learn and shape their future prospects. It is imperative that we take immediate action to protect the futures of our children who have already experienced severe disruption to their learning over lockdown and cannot afford to be held back any further. As a society, we already have many practical tools at our disposal to tackle air pollution and with schools, parents and local authorities working together, we can put them into place today, ensuring this generation of schoolchildren have the best possible learning environments we can give them. We therefore urge the UK Government to encourage all schools to adopt the Clean Air for Schools Framework.”

Prof Martie van Tongeren, Professor in Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Swagֱ��:

“Pollution of indoor and outdoor air affects the health of our children. In addition, the available evidence indicates that it affects their cognitive development, which may affect educational attainment. We’ve spent a year investing how to improve air quality in and around schools which will benefit child’s health and educational development and should be a priority for government, local authorities and schools.

“Studies that investigate the link between exposure to air pollution during early life and effects of educational attainment and brain health at later life are urgently needed and policies should be set out by ministers to tackle this urgent challenge, immediately.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: “I am doing everything in my power to stop Londoners breathing air so filthy that it damages children’s lungs and causes thousands of premature deaths. The Ultra-Low Emission Zone has already cut toxic air by a third and led to reductions in roadside nitrogen dioxide that are five times greater than the national average. We recently launched our School Streets air quality monitoring project and are funding 430 new School Streets as part of our world-leading Streetspace plan. This will play an important role in enabling parents and children to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school which has so many benefits, not least in improving air quality. We know there is still more to do, and the task is made all the more urgent by emerging evidence of the link between air pollution and the worst effects of COVID. Pollution isn’t just a central London problem which is why I am committed to expanding the ULEZ next year. I have consistently demanded that the government match my ambition and improve the environment bill to include legally binding WHO recommended limits to be achieved by 2030, and to give cities the powers they need to eradicate air pollution.”

Greater Swagֱ��, Director of Public Health, Eleanor Roaf: “This year, during lockdown, one of the very few positives was the improvement in our air quality. We’re in danger of losing these gains, but if we all try and change our habits, and in particular, walk and cycle for as many of our shorter journeys as we can, then we’ll reduce congestion and improve air quality, which will not only improve our health but also reduce our covid-19 risk. We encourage all schools in Greater Swagֱ�� to harness the free Clean Air for Schools Framework to eliminate harmful pollutants from in and around the school premises.”

[1] https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/news/clean-air-day-charity-launches-the-clean-air-for-schools-framework

[i] Greenpeace Investigations Unit, 2017

Traffic pollution drops in lockdown – but other risks to air quality increase, reveal Swagֱ�� researchers

Wed, 06 May 2020 10:20:59 +0100

Traffic pollution for most parts of the UK is plummeting thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown but more urban ozone – a dangerous air pollutant which can cause airway inflammation in humans - is probably being generated, say experts from Swagֱ��.

The analysis was led by Hugh Coe, Professor of Atmospheric Composition, plus air pollution expert Dr James Allan from Swagֱ��’s Department of . Their findings have been submitted in response to a call for evidence from the government’s (Defra).

According to Swagֱ�� research, levels of nitrogen oxides have shown reduction in most locations in the UK during mid-March and April when lockdown has been in full force – but the level of decline ranges from of 20 to 80 percent.

Swagֱ��’s city centre, for example, has seen a 70 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxides.

This drop can be attributed to the recent impact to traffic on the nation’s roads, either private cars or public transport, as citizens were advised to stay at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“However, there is considerable site-to-site variability with some locations showing far less reduction than others,” said Professor Coe. “In fact, a small number of sites have even shown a modest increase, for example in parts of Edinburgh.

“Whether this is due to changes in the number or type of vehicles now travelling in that particular area, changes in driving patterns or other causes is not clear but the reductions are certainly not uniform.”

For example, levels of nitrogen oxides fall less in rural areas than urban areas; and they are higher in the morning than compared to later in the day. Unlike NO2, there was no evidence of a decrease in PM2.5 - tiny particulates that can make the air appear hazy.

“While these particle are produced by vehicles, they are also known to originate from domestic wood burning and chemical reactions involving emissions from industry and agriculture, so there has been no significant improvement in air quality in that regard,” said Professor Coe.

At the same time, the Swagֱ�� team speculate that photochemical production of ozone may become more important in urban areas during summertime in these low NOx conditions.

This is an important finding because while ozone is extremely important for screening harmful solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation when present higher up in the atmosphere - it can be a dangerous air pollutant at the Earth's surface. Increasing surface ozone above natural levels is harmful to humans, plants, and other living systems because ozone reacts strongly to destroy or alter many biological molecules.

“Ozone is a strong oxidant and induces a range of health effects such as throat irritation and airway inflammation. It can reduce lung function and as a result worsens diseases such as bronchitis and asthma. In addition to human health impacts, ozone reduces plant growth and hence agricultural yields and chemically ages a wide range of polymers,” explained Professor Coe

He added: “Observations in cities across the UK show marked decreases in nitrogen oxides but with corresponding increases in ozone during lockdown.”

As nitrogen oxides reduce then photochemical production may well become more efficient and can lead to higher ozone concentrations in summertime as higher temperatures increase emissions of biogenic hydrocarbon from natural sources such as trees. These biogenic hydrocarbons significantly affect urban ozone levels.

As a result of the Swagֱ�� research government and local authorities will need to be alert to the potential increase in urban ozone during lockdown.

The Swagֱ�� team used the government’s Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) to help gather their nationwide data and the University’s own Swagֱ�� Air Quality Supersite (MAQS), located in Fallowfield on the University campus. The work is carried out through the Swagֱ�� Environment Research Institute, which has a theme dedicated to Pollution, Human Health and Wellbeing.

The AURN is the UK's largest automatic monitoring network and it includes automatic air quality monitoring stations measuring oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (including PM10, PM2.5).

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) is a generic term that includes nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and these gases contribute to air pollution, including the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropospheric ozone.

Scientists find highest ever level of microplastics on seafloor

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:01:00 +0100

An international research project has revealed the highest levels of microplastic ever recorded on the seafloor, with up to 1.9 million pieces in a thin layer covering just one square metre.

Over 10 million tons of plastic waste enters the oceans each year. Floating plastic waste at sea has caught the public’s interest thanks to the ‘Blue Planet Effect’ seeing moves to discourage the use of plastic drinking straws and carrier bags. Yet such accumulations account for less than 1% of the plastic that enters the world’s oceans.

The missing 99% is instead thought to occur in the deep ocean, but until now it has been unclear where it actually ended up. Published this week in the journal , the research conducted by; Swagֱ��, National Oceanography Centre (UK), University of Bremen (Germany), IFREMER (France) and Durham University (UK) showed how deep-sea currents act as conveyor belts, transporting tiny plastic fragments and fibres across the seafloor.

These currents can concentrate microplastics within huge sediment accumulations, which they termed ‘microplastic hotspots’. These hotspots appear to be the deep-sea equivalents of the so-called ‘garbage patches’ formed by currents on the ocean surface.

The lead author of the study, Dr Ian Kane of Swagֱ�� said: “Almost everybody has heard of the infamous ocean ‘garbage patches’ of floating plastic, but we were shocked at the high concentrations of microplastics we found in the deep-seafloor.

“We discovered that microplastics are not uniformly distributed across the study area; instead they are distributed by powerful seafloor currents which concentrate them in certain areas.”

Microplastics on the seafloor are mainly comprised of fibres from textiles and clothing. These are not effectively filtered out in domestic waste water treatment plants, and easily enter rivers and oceans.

In the ocean they either settle out slowly, or can be transported rapidly by episodic turbidity currents – powerful underwater avalanches – that travel down submarine canyons to the deep seafloor (see the group’s earlier research in ).

Once in the deep sea, microplastics are readily picked up and carried by continuously flowing seafloor currents (‘bottom currents’) that can preferentially concentrate fibres and fragments within large drifts of sediment.

These deep ocean currents also carry oxygenated water and nutrients, meaning that seafloor microplastic hotspots can also house important ecosystems that can consume or absorb the microplastics. This study provides the first direct link between the behaviour of these currents and the concentrations of seafloor microplastics and the findings will help to predict the locations of other deep-sea microplastic hotspots and direct research into the impact of microplastics on marine life.

The team collected sediment samples from the seafloor of the Tyrrhenian Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea) and combined these with calibrated models of deep ocean currents and detailed mapping of the seafloor. In the laboratory, the microplastics were separated from sediment, counted under the microscope, and further analysed using infra-red spectroscopy to determine the plastic types. Using this information the team were able to show how ocean currents controlled the distribution of microplastics on the seafloor.

Dr Mike Clare of the , who was a co-lead on the research, stated: “Our study has shown how detailed studies of seafloor currents can help us to connect microplastic transport pathways in the deep-sea and find the ‘missing’ microplastics. The results highlight the need for policy interventions to limit the future flow of plastics into natural environments and minimise impacts on ocean ecosystems.”

Dr Florian Pohl, Department of Earth Sciences, , said: “It’s unfortunate, but plastic has become a new type of sediment particle, which is distributed across the seafloor together with sand, mud and nutrients. Thus, sediment-transport processes such as seafloor currents will concentrate plastic particles in certain locations on the seafloor, as demonstrated by our research.”

The paper is published in , via First Release, (the article will appear in print at a later date). Citation: Kane et al. (2020) Seafloor microplastic hotspots controlled by deep-sea circulation.

University joins national scheme to engage citizens in science

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 09:54:55 +0000

UK citizens are set to contribute to world-leading research on air quality, plastic pollution, period poverty, farming methods and many other issues that directly affect their lives.

They will join in 53 innovative projects across the UK, including one led by the University of Swagֱ��’s Professor Sheena Cruickshank, funded by the government via the research and innovation funding agency UK Research and Innovation.

The projects will target communities who would not normally engage with research and innovation, so they can shape research and innovation that is relevant to their lives and their local areas.

This will expand the opportunities for people from across the UK to actively contribute to publicly funded research and encourage underserved communities to share their ideas, concerns and aspirations and to get involved in decision making. The projects also aim to inspire a new generation of children and young people about the wonder and potential of research and innovation.

Twenty-five public engagement projects will support researchers, innovators, universities and other research institutions to work with community partners or organisations from communities that have fewer opportunities to engage with research and innovation.

A further twenty-eight projects focus on citizen science and will see diverse groups of people helping research teams to crowdsource and analyse data and collaborate with researchers to develop research questions.

It includes a cross disciplinary team of researchers from Swagֱ��, working with residents in the Brunswick neighbourhood of Ardwick in Swagֱ�� and S4B, who manage the redevelopment of the area, to investigate resident’s concerns about air quality and health.

Lead researcher Professor Sheena Cruickshank said: “I am very excited at this opportunity to work together with the community in this way. The residents are really concerned about how rising air pollution is impacting their health and that of their families. It’s so important we listen and act on these concerns and involve them in this process”

UK Research and Innovation’s Head of Public Engagement, Tom Saunders, said: “As part of UKRI’s new vision for public engagement we launched two new funding calls last year, one aimed at encouraging researchers to explore citizen methods, and another aimed at supporting researchers and universities to engage with communities and places and communities who have fewer opportunities to participate in research and innovation.

“The 53 pilot projects that we have funded represent an exciting range of ways that researchers and innovators can involve the public in their work, from games to citizens’ juries, storytelling to data crowdsourcing.

“In 2020 and beyond, we will build on the lessons we learn through funding these pilot projects to help us achieve our ambition of making research and innovation responsive to the knowledge, priorities and values of society and open to participation by people from all backgrounds.”

Air pollution is breaking our hearts: human and marine health is affected in similar ways

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:01:00 +0000

Air pollution is associated with detrimental effects on human health, including increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Research published today in The Journal of Physiology by researchers at Swagֱ�� shows that the knowledge we have about how pollution harms the hearts of marine species can be applied to humans, as the underlying mechanisms are similar. In other words, knowledge gained from the marine ecosystem might help protect the climate and health of our planet, whilst also helping human health.

Around 11,000 coronary heart disease and stroke deaths in the UK each year are attributable to air pollution, specifically due to particulate matter (PM), or small particles in the air that cause health problems. PM2.5 is one of the finest and most dangerous type of PM, is a compound for which the UK has failed to meet EU limits.

Researchers of this study looked across all vertebrates and particularly focused on a set of compounds that binds to the surface of PM, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as the amount of PAH on PM is a associated with the detrimental affect air pollution has on the heart.

While air pollution is known to be dangerous to humans, it actually only became a widely-researched topic in the past five years or so. In marine species however, the mechanism of how PAH pollution causes heart problems is well understood.

Studies after the 1999 Exxon Valdez oil spill showed that the ecosystem still has not recovered 20 years on. In 2010, research on fish after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which released large quantities of PAHs into the marine environment, showed that the heart’s ability to contract was impaired.

Dr Holly Shiels, senior author on the study, from Swagֱ�� said:

“Pollution affects all of us living on Planet Earth. Due to the conserved nature of cardiac function amongst animals, fish exposed to PAH from oil spills can serve as indicators, providing significant insights into the human health impacts of PAHs and PM air pollution.”

Dr Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which partly funded the research presented in this review, commented:

“We know that air pollution can have a hugely damaging effect on heart and circulatory health, and this review summarises mechanisms potentially contributing to impaired heart function. Reducing air pollution is crucial to protecting our heart health, which is why the BHF is calling on the next Government to commit to reducing air pollution to within WHO limits.”