Air Pollution 2008

Sixteenth International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution

22 - 24 September 2008
Skiathos, Greece

Overview

The 16th International Conference on Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution took place recently on the Greek Island of Skiathos. The Meeting was chaired by Professor Jim Longhurst of the University of the West of England, and Professor Carlos A Brebbia, Director of the Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT), both in the UK.

The first of these conferences was held in Mexico in 1993 and since then the meeting has been successfully held every year attracting participants from many different countries.

The goal of the conference is to bring together researchers who are active in the study of air contaminants and to exchange information through the presentation and discussion of papers dealing with a wide variety of topics. The conference encouraged papers on case studies, particularly those discussing the evaluation of proposed emission techniques and strategies. Papers of a more theoretical nature, dealing with advanced mathematical and computational methods, were also within the scope of the conference.

Opening Addresses

Professor Brebbia welcomed the delegates in the name of WIT and explained the aim of the Institute: the transfer of knowledge at international level. WIT has been most effective in providing a medium for this transfer which includes research projects with other partners, training and PhD and MPhil levels, organisation of courses and conferences and, last but not least, provision of services to industry. The other byproduct of these activities has been the setting up of WIT Press, the academic publisher of the Institute which produces the conference books as well as other state of the art publications.

WIT, Professor Brebbia said, has been very successful in achieving its objectives, and its Conference programme in particular continues to bring together scientists and practitioners from all over the world.

Jim Longhurst then welcomed the delegates saying:

"This successful international meeting builds upon the prestigious outcomes of the 15 preceding conferences beginning with Monterrey, Mexico in 1993, Barcelona in 1994 and most recently in the Algarve, Portugal in 2007. These meetings have attracted
outstanding contributions from leading researchers from around the world, with the presented papers permanently stored in the WIT eLibrary as Transactions of the Wessex Institute (see library.witpress.com/).

"The accompanying hard back conference volume contains the peer reviewed papers accepted for presentation at the meeting. This book will be widely distributed to libraries, research agencies and other outlets further enhancing the international reach of the conference. In its fifteen previous meetings the Air Pollution conference series has achieved international recognition as a high profile, high level and influential academic and practitioner meeting. The sixteenth meeting will continue this tradition.

"Air pollution remains one of the most challenging problems facing the international community; it is widespread and growing in importance and has clear and known impacts on health and the environment. The human need for transport, manufactured goods and services brings with it often unintended, but none the less real, impacts on the atmospheric environment at scales from local to global. Whilst there are good examples of regulatory successes in minimising such impacts, the rate of development of the global economy bring new pressures. The willingness of governments to regulate air pollution is often balanced by concerns over the economic impact of regulation.

"Science is the key to identifying the nature and scale of air pollution impacts and is essential in the formulation of policy relevant information for regulatory decision-making. Continuous improvements in our knowledge of the fundamental science of air pollution and its application are necessary if we are to properly predict, assess and mitigate the air pollution implications of changes to the interlinked local, regional, national and international economic systems. Science must also be able to provide the evidence of improvements to air quality that result from implementation of the mitigation measure or the control regulation. The ability to assess and mitigate using the precautionary principle is a challenge that science must grasp and position itself to convince decision makers that uncertainty does not mean inertia. The outcomes of such activities must be peer reviewed but they must also be translatable into a suitable format to assist policy makers in reaching sustainable decisions and to build public acceptance and understanding of the nature and scale of the air pollution problem.

"This conference brings together contributions from scientist around the world to discuss their recent work on various aspects of the air pollution phenomena. The conference series provides opportunities to foster scientific exchange, develop new collaborations amongst and between scientists and policy makers or regulators, and provides a means for identifying new areas for scientific investigations.

"Over the next three days we will hear papers addressing a broad range of scientific and technical developments in our understanding of the fundamental causes of air pollution, the control and management options to mitigate air pollution and the environmental effects of emitted pollutants. Papers to be presented here provide new data or present critical reviews in the themes of modelling studies, policy and management studies, global and regional studies, emissions, monitoring and measurement studies and impact studies.

"The Co-Chairs of the conference wish to thank the authors for their contributions and to acknowledge the assistance of the eminent members of the International Scientific Advisory Committee with the organisation of the conference and particularly with the peer reviewing of submitted papers.

"The proceedings of the Air Pollution conference series are regularly recorded and reported in a wide range of abstracting services and databases including Crossref, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Scopus, Compendex, GeoBase, INSPEC, Thompson Index to Scientific and Technical proceedings, Scitech Book News and the Directory
of Published Proceedings which brings your work to the attention of a wide international audience.

Conference Sessions

The Conference sessions dealt with a series of advanced research and applications problems in Air Pollution:

Air pollution modelling
Aerosols and particles
Air quality management
Monitoring and measuring
Indoor air pollution
Urban air management
Emission studies
Air pollution effects in ecosystems
Policy studies

Invited Presentations

The proceedings were enhanced by a series of invited presentations:

"Elevated PMIO and PM2.5 concentrations in Europe: a model experiment with MM5-CMQA and WRF-CHEM" by R San Jose, Politecnico University of Madrid, Spain
"Spatial distribution of ultrafine particles at urban scale: the road-to-ambient stage" by F Costabile, Institute for Atmospheric Pollution, Italy
"The development and operation of the United Kingdom's air quality management regime" by J G Irwin, University of the West of England, UK
"Indoor concentrations of VOCs and ozone in two cities of Northern Europe during the summer period" by JG Bartzis, University of the West of England, UK
"Prediction of air pollution levels using neural networks: influence of spatial variability" by G Ibarra-Barastegi, University of the Basque Country, Spain
"Dealing with air pollution in Europe" by C'Trozzi, Techne Consulting, Italy
"Potential contribution of local air quality management to environmental justice in England" by J W S Longhurst, University of the West of England, UK
"Response of lichens to heavy metal and SOZ pollution in Poland – an overview", by K Sawicka-Kapusta, University of Kracow, Poland
"Air quality in the vicinity of a governmental school in Kuwait", by E Al-Bassam, Kuwait Institute of Science and Research, Kuwait

International Scientific Advisory Committee

The International Scientific Advisory Committee met over dinner to discuss improvements to the meeting when it is reconvened in 2010 (notice that the 2009 Call for Papers has already been distributed; the meeting is to take place in Tallinn, Estonia, from 20 to 22 July 2009). The meeting took place in a nice restaurant in the bay where the conference hotel was located. Delegates discussed the possibility of holding the 2010 meeting in different locations and new topics were proposed. The general feeling was that the conference has progressed and developed since the first meeting in 1993 in Mexico and that these changes have been fundamental to the continuous success of the meeting.

Conference Banquet

The conference provided numerous occasions for the delegates to interact and develop closer links. In addition to the coffee breaks, they had lunch together, with most people also dining at the venue. A cocktail party at the end of the first day also helped to bring them together.

The Conference banquet took place in a typical Greek taverna renowned for the quality of its food and wine selection, which included white from Santorini and Merlot from the Peloponese.

The friendliness of the event was enriched by a troupe of Greek dancers who performed and encouraged the delegates to perform after dinner. The occasion was truly enjoyable and helped to strengthen links among the delegates.

Publication of Papers

The proceedings of Air Pollution XVI, 672pp (ISBN: 1-84564-127-6) are available in
hardback from WIT Press priced at £221/US$442/€331.50. Orders can be placed by telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223, fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com

Papers from the conference will also be hosted online in the WIT eLibrary as volume 116 of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN: 1743-3541). For more details visit the WIT eLibrary at library.witpress.com

Air Pollution 2008

Proceedings

WIT eLibrary

Next Conference

Organiser

Wessex Institute of Technology, UK

Conference Chairmen

C A Brebbia
Wessex Institute of Technology, UK

J W S Longhurst
University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

International Scientific Advisory Committee

J Baldasano
University Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain

J Bartzis
University of West Macedonia, Greece

C Borrego
University of Aveiro, Portugal

F Costabile
National Research Council (CNR-IIA), Italy

J de Assunçao
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

D M Elsom
Oxford Brookes University, UK

I Hunová
Czech Hydrological Institute, Czech Republic

G Ibarra-Berastegi
University of the Basque Country, Spain

J G Irwin
University of the West of England, UK

G Passerini
University Politecnica delle Marche, Italy

F Patania
University of Catania, Italy

P Perez
University de Santiago de Chile, Chile

L Pignato
University of Palermo, Italy

V Popov
Wessex Institute of Technology, UK

R San Jose
Tech. University of Madrid, Spain

K Sawicka-Kapusta
Jagiellonian University, Poland

F Schwegler
Anglo Tech Division (Anglo America), South Africa

E Tiezzi
University of Siena, Italy

C Trozzi
Techne Consulting srl, Italy