Tomasz Wolski

The relationships between air pollutants, meteorological parameters and concentration of airborne fungal spores

Fungal spores are an important component of bioaerosol and also considered to act as indicator of the level of atmospheric bio-pollution. Therefore, better understanding of these phenomena demands a detailed survey of airborne particles. The objective of this study was to examine the dependence of two the most important allergenic taxa of airborne fungi--Alternaria and Cladosporium--on meteorological parameters and air pollutant concentrations during three consecutive years (2006-2008). This study is also an attempt to create artificial neural network (ANN) forecasting models useful in the prediction of aeroallergen abundance. There were statistically significant relationships between spore concentration and environmental parameters as well as pollutants, confirmed by the Spearmans correlation rank analysis and high performance of the ANN models obtained. The concentrations of Cladosporium and Alternaria spores can be predicted with quite good accuracy from meteorological conditions and air pollution recorded three days earlier.

Hourly predictive artificial neural network and multivariate regression trees models of Ganoderma spore concentrations in Rzeszów and Szczecin (Poland).

Ganoderma spores are one of the most airspora abundant taxa in many regions of the world, and are considered to be important allergens. The aerobiology of Ganoderma basidiospores in two cities in Poland was examined using the volumetric method, (Burkard and Lanzonii Spore Traps), from selected days in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Spores of Ganoderma were present in the atmosphere from June to November, with peak concentrations generally occurring from late July to mid-October. ANN (artificial neural network) and MRT (multivariate regression trees), models indicated that atmospheric phenomenon, hour and relative humidity were the most important variables influencing spore content. The remaining variables (air temperature, dew point, air pressure, wind speed and wind direction), also contributed to the high network performance, (ratio above 1), but their impact was less distinct. Those results are consistent with the Spearmans rank correlation analysis.

A long-term trend and temporal fluctuations of the sea level at the Polish Baltic coast

The analysis of sea level record series along the Polish coast is presented. The main aim was to identify linear trends in the sea level changes at the coastal (Świnoujście, Kołobrzeg, Ustka, Łeba, Władysławowo, Hel, Gdynia, Gdańsk), lagoonal (Trzebież, Tokmicko) and riverine (Szczecin) gauge stations. The analysis showed individual coastal stations to differ in the rate of sea level changes. During 60 years of continuous observations (1947–2006), the differences varied from 1.0 (the western part of the coast) to 2.5 mm year−1 (the eastern part of the coast). The longest, more than 100-yr-long data series showed the sea level rise in Świnoujście and Kołobrzeg to be about 0.5 mm year−1; 1.57 mm year−1 being revealed in Gdańsk. Spectral analysis applied to the data showed numerous fluctuations and cyclicity in changes of the annual mean sea level at the Polish coast. A distinct, major 3-year cycle was revealed. In addition, three secondary cycles of 4.6, 6.7, and 8.6 years were present in the data, more or less clearly identifiable at individual stations.

Occurrence probability of maximum sea levels in Polish ports of Baltic Sea coast

Occurrence probability of maximum sea levels in Polish ports of Baltic Sea coast In this work long-term probability of occurrence of maximum sea levels in some points of Polish Baltic Sea coast, was determined. Use was made of multi-year series of measurement data on maximum yearly sea levels, and their probability distributions were determined. To the analysis Gumbels distribution and Pearson distribution of 3rd type as well as quantile methods and the highest credibility method, were applied. Kolmogorov test was used to examine conformity of the theoretical distributions with real random variable distribution. As results from the analysis, the highest sea levels of 1000- year return period can be expected in Polish ports of the west part of the coast, i.e. Kolobrzeg (750, 2 cm, i.e. 2,5 m above the average sea level) and Swinoujscie (723,6 cm). Lower sea levels of the same return period can be expected in Ustka (720,2 cm), Wladyslawowo (709,7 cm) and Gdansk (716, 7 cm), respectively.

A comparative study of hourly and daily relationships between selected meteorological parameters and airborne fungal spore composition

Air sampling was conducted in Szczecin (Poland) throughout April–September 2013. The final data set included 177 daily and 4248 hourly samples. The total of 21 types of spores, which occurred in a number >10 in the season, were taken into account. The following meteorological parameters were analyzed: air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed. Effects of individual weather parameters on hourly and daily concentrations of different fungal spore types were examined using Spearman’s rank association test, whereas effects of complex of meteorological factors on hourly and daily compositions of spore were assessed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Airborne fungal spore distribution patterns in relation to meteorological variables were determined by RDA, after DCA results detected a linear structure of the spore data. The RDA results obtained indicated that all the applied variables accounted for 20 and 22% of the total variance in the hourly and daily spore data, respectively. The results of stepwise forward selection of variables revealed all included hourly and daily meteorological variables were statistically significant. The largest amount of the total variance in the spore composition was explained by the air temperature in both cases (16%). Multivariate ordination did not show large differences between the hourly and daily relationships (with exception of wind speed impact), while the differences between simple hourly and daily correlations were more clear. Correlations between daily values of variables were in most cases higher than between hourly values of variables.

Airborne pollen from allergenic herbaceous plants in urban and rural areas of Western Pomerania, NW Poland

Abstract This paper presents the course of the pollen season of selected allergenic taxa (Rumex spp., Plantago spp., Urtica spp. and Chenopodiaceae) in two towns with different degrees of urbanisation (urban, the city Szczecin, and rural, the village Gudowo in Western Pomerania, northwest Poland). The study was conducted in the years 2012–2014 with the volumetric method. The pollen of allergenic herbaceous plants was present in the air from early May until the end of September. From among the taxa studied, the genus Rumex is characterised by the longest pollination period, while the genus Urtica by the shortest. The highest percentage contribution of pollen grains to the total pollen count in the air reaching over 90% is from nettle. The pollen seasons determined for the majority of taxa are longer in the city, however the mean pollen grain counts in the air are higher for the rural area.

Poaceae, Secale spp. and Artemisia spp. pollen in the air at two sites of different degrees of urbanisation

INTRODUCTION Among herbal plants, most cases of allergic reactions, like seasonal inflammation of nasal mucosa, conjunctivitis and pollen asthma, are related to the allergens from grass pollen. As the blossoming and pollination of rye is known to start the pollen season of grasses, information about the airborne rye pollen count permits alerting the people allergic to certain allergens contained in rye pollen. An important cause of allergy is also the pollen from wormwood, blossoming in late summer, as its two main allergens produce cross-reactions with many other plant allergens. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to evaluate the risk of allergic reactions in persons with pollinosis on the basis of the pollen calendar, analysis of concentrations of pollen grains of grass and rye, and comparison of diurnal pattern of airborne pollen grain concentrations at two sites with different degrees of urbanisation (Gudowo in the country and the city of Szczecin) in 2012-2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS The concentration of pollen was measured by the volume method. Length of the pollination season was determined by the method of 98%, assuming that the beginning and the end of the pollen season are the days on which 1% and 99% of the annual sum of pollen appeared. RESULTS The first pollen grains to appear in the air are those produced by rye, followed by those produced by grass and wormwood. The pollen seasons of grasses and wormwood started about one week earlier in Gudowo than in Szczecin, while the pollen season of rye started at almost the same time in the country and in the city. Airborne pollen counts of grasses, rye and wormwood were much higher in the country than in the city. The differences most probably result from the different floristic composition at these two sites and reflect the local contribution of the taxa studied in the country. CONCLUSIONS The risk of allergy caused by the pollen of the taxa analysed was much higher in Gudowo (in the country), than in Szczecin city.

Baltic Sea datums and their unification as a basis for coastal and seabed studies

Abstract This paper presents examples of application of a common reference datum, such as NAP, within the elevation EVRS reference system for the Baltic Sea. A common reference datum allowed for setting the geographical pattern of occurrence of extreme sea levels in the Baltic Sea. The eastern Baltic coasts exposed to western air masses are vulnerable to extreme hydrological events (the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Bothnia). On the contrary, the Swedish coasts of the central and northern Baltic are the least threatened by extreme sea levels. The south-western coasts of the Baltic Sea (the Bay of Mecklenburg and the Bay of Kiel) cover the basins with the most frequent and the most severe storm falls and extremely low sea levels. Demonstration of the Baltic surface deformation magnitude during a storm event is another example of NAP application. The instantaneous height difference between the north-eastern and southwestern coasts was 356 cm, which resulted from the negative impact of pressure (water cushion) induced by a dynamic and deep low-pressure system moving through the Baltic Sea. The common reference datum allowed for visualization of the so-called “theoretical water” distribution which has a wide application in the hydraulic engineering within the coastal zone. In addition, the study provides examples of differences that may be observed during storm events between the real sea-level data and the hydrodynamic model forecast. This is of great practical significance in terms of forecasting storm surges in the Baltic Sea.

Long-Term, Seasonal and Short-Term Fluctuations in the Water Level of the Southern Baltic Sea

Abstract Aim of this work are analyses of oscillations sea levels in the Southern Baltic on a scale of short-term changes, seasonal and long-term (age). The study was based on observational data in different periods time for tide gauges station of the Polish coast. On the example of some storm situations presents the part of the baric wave and the wind in the formation of extreme sea levels. The primary cause of the annual variability of sea levels was the characteristics of the annual and semi-annual oscillations (the annual and semi-annual solar tide). In the work also determined the rate of long-term sea-level rise for the Polish coast.