Environmental Protection and Disaster Risks: Selected Papers from the 1st International Conference on Environmental Protection and Disaster RISKs ... in Systems, Decision and Control, 361)

This book presents research findings and conclusions that has been developed as algorithms or intelligent new methods solving problems in the fields of air pollution, climate and health, natural hazards and risks, water resources, human activities and management and informatics, remote sensing, high-performance computing and GIS for environmental monitoring and management. Environmental protection and disaster risk topics are challenging fields, that scientific world is trying to address as much as it can. Earthquakes, floods, fires, droughts, blizzards, dust storms, natural releases of toxic gases and liquids, diseases and other environmental variations affect hundreds of millions of people each year. Many disaster events are triggered by human activities. Dealing with these problems will require systems thinking and integrating multidisciplinary science. Actions in these directions are taken more and more in the recent years by political bodies, NGOs and scientific groups trying to find sustainable solutions for the future generations. Every point of view matter when it comes to our global home – The Planet Earth. Organization Preface Contents Air Pollution, Climate and Health Effects of Satellite Data Assimilation in Air Quality Modelling in Bulgaria 1 Introduction 2 The Modelling System 3 Satellite Data Assimilation Description 3.1 AOD Calculations 3.2 Assimilation Technology 4 Results 4.1 Effects of Satellite Data Assimilation on the Daily Evolution of Surface Concentrations 4.2 Monthly Means and Domain Means for Domains BP and BG 5 Conclusions References Degree-Days and Agro-meteorological Indices in CMIP5 RCP8.5 Future Climate—Results for Central and Southeast Europe 1 Introduction 2 RCP8.5 Scenario and Model Set-Up 3 Heating, Cooling Degree-Days and AM Indices 4 Calculations and Results 5 Conclusion References Assessment of the Joint Quantiles of Temperature and Precipitation in CMIP5 Future Climate Projections over Europe 1 Introduction 2 CMIP5 Scenarios, Models and Input Data 3 Performed Calculations and Obtained Results 3.1 Ensemble Spatial Patterns and Temporal Evolution 3.2 Trend Analysis 4 Conclusion References Coastal Boundary-Layer Characteristic During Night Time Using a Long-Term Acoustic Remote Sensing Data 1 Introduction 2 Measuring Site and Equipment 3 Data and Analysis Overview 3.1 Data Availability 3.2 Analysis 4 Averaged Vertical Profiles of Nocturnal Coastal Boundary Layer 4.1 Nocturnal Land Air Masses 4.2 Nocturnal Marine Air Masses 4.3 Thermodynamic State of Nocturnal Air Masses 5 Conclusions References Climatological Study of Extreme Wind Events in a Coastal Area 1 Introduction 2 Study Area, Experiment Equipment, and Data Overview 2.1 Measuring Side 2.2 Measuring Instrument Used 2.3 Data Availability 3 Methodology 4 Results 5 Conclusions References Anthropogenic and Solar Influence on Temperature over Bulgaria 1 Introduction 2 Data 2.1 Meteorological Data 2.2 Solar Data 3 Methods 4 Results 4.1 Time Series Spectra 4.2 Anthropogenic Effects 4.3 Solar Effects 5 Conclusions References Chemical Characteristics of Precipitation and Cloud Water at High Elevation Site in Bulgaria 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 2.1 Site Description 2.2 Sampling Equipment 2.3 Chemical Analysis of Cloud Water and Precipitation Samples 2.4 Data Analysis 2.5 Back-Trajectory Analysis for Long Range Effects 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Physico-Chemical Parameters 3.2 Chemical Composition 3.3 Acidification and Neutralization Potentials 3.4 Long Range Transport Effects for Some Selected Periods 4 Conclusions References Performance of Operational Chemical Transport Models for Particulate Matter Concentrations in Bulgaria 1 Introduction 2 Methods 2.1 Model to Observation Analysis 2.2 Model-to-Model Comparison 3 Results 3.1 August 2017 3.2 February 2019 4 Conclusion References Study of the Extreme Thermal Conditions for the Sofia Region—Preliminary Results 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 2.1 Meteorological Fields Modelling 2.2 Wind Chill Index Calculation 2.3 Heat Index Calculation 3 WRF Model Validation 4 Thermal Comfort Modelling 4.1 Wind Chill Modelling 4.2 Heat Index Modelling 5 Conclusion References Interaction Between Particulate Matter Characteristics and Atmospheric Boundary Height Over Sofia Based on Case Studies 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 2.1 Experimental Site and Instruments 2.2 Descriptions of Case Studies 2.3 Models Applied 3 Results and Discussions 3.1 Spring Cases 3.2 Summer Cases 3.3 Winter Cases 3.4 Common Analysis 4 Conclusions References The Seasonal Recurrence of Air Quality Index for the Period 2008–2019 Over the Territory of Sofia City 1 Introduction 2 Modeling Tools 3 Results 4 Conclusion References Modelling of the Seasonal Sulphur and Nitrogen Depositions over the Balkan Peninsula by CMAQ and EMEP-MSC-W 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 3 Results 4 Conclusion References The Use of LES CFD Urban Models and Mesoscale Air Quality Models for Urban Air Quality Simulations 1 Introduction 2 Numerical Simulation Tool 3 Experiment Setup 4 Results 5 Conclusions References Urban Heat Island and Future Projections: A Study in Thessaloniki, Greece 1 Introduction 2 Data and Methodology 2.1 Regional Climate Model 2.2 Model Inputs 2.3 The Heat Wave Day Criteria, the UHI and the Discomfort Index (DI) 3 Results 4 Conclusions References Chemical Characteristics of Flue Gas Particulates: An Experimental Investigation 1 Introduction 2 Materials and Methods 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 XRF Analysis 3.2 EPR Analysis 4 Conclusions References Natural Hazards and Risks Spatial Variation of Precursory Seismic Quiescence Observed Before Earthquake from 01.04.2010 in the Region of Crete 1 Introduction 2 Methodlogy 3 Data 4 Results 5 Conclusions References Earthquake Ground Motion Scenarios for the City of Ruse 1 Introduction 2 Earthquake Scenarios 3 Regional Seismo-Tectonic Setting 4 Soil Properties 5 Selection of the Ground Motion Attenuations (GMPE’ S) 6 Deterministic Earthquake Scenario for the City Ruse 7 Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Evaluation for the City of Ruse 7.1 Seismic Source Model 7.2 Seismicity Parameters 7.3 Treatment of Uncertainties 7.4 Probabilistic Earthquake Scenarios for the City of Ruse 8 Conclusion References Precipitation Chemistry in Bulgaria During Saharan Dust Outbreaks 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 2.1 Precipitation Samples and Their Chemical Analysis 2.2 Identification of Saharan Dust Intrusions 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Selected Dates and Samples 3.2 Examples for Type A and Type B of Saharan Dust Outbreaks 3.3 Composite Maps for the Groups A and B 3.4 Precipitation Chemistry Analysis 4 Conclusions References Modelling a Composite Tsunami Scenario for Karpathos Island (Aegean Sea) 1 Introduction 2 Selected Tsunamigenic Sources 3 Tsunami Simulation Method 4 Computational Grids 5 Results of Tsunami Simulations 5.1 Tsunami Propagation Field 5.2 Travel Time 5.3 Synthetic Mareograms 5.4 Maximum Elevation Fields 5.5 Maximum Inundation Zones 5.6 Maximum Momentum Flux 5.7 Contribution of Each Scenario to the Worst Composite Scenario 6 Discussion of the Results 7 Conclusions References Seismic Scenario and People Exposure for Blagoevgrad Region, Bulgaria 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 3 People Exposure Index in Blagoevgrad Region 4 Seismic Scenario for the City of Blagoevgrad 5 Distribution of Buildings and Population in the City of Blagoevgrad 6 People Exposure in the City of Blagoevgrad 7 Conclusion References Informatics, Remote Sensing, High Performance Computing and GIS for Environmental Monitoring and Management Forecasting the Propagation of HF Radio Waves Over Bulgaria 1 Introduction 2 Empirical Model for FoE Prediction 3 Empirical Model for Calculating FoF2 and MUF3000 Based on TEC Data 4 Model Electron Density Profile for a Given Time 5 Calculation of the Radio-Path Parameters 6 Conclusion References Wildfire Risk Reduction Based on Landscape Management 1 Overview of the Wildfires and Their Reoccurrence Pattern in Europe 2 Case Studies 2.1 Pedrógão Grande (Portugal June 2017) Case Study 3 Brecon Beacons National Park (South Wales April 2017) Case Study 4 Wildfire Paradox 5 Steps for Improvements 6 Conclusions References Numerical Weather Prediction for the Bulgarian Antarctic Base Area and Sensitivity to the SST Variable 1 Introduction 2 Model Configuration and Validation 2.1 Topography and Land Use Data 2.2 Model Parameterization Schemes 2.3 Model Validation 3 SST Sensitivity Experiments Planning 4 Assessment of the SST Impact on the Weather Forecast Accuracy 5 Relation Between the Meteorological Variables and the Modification of SST 6 Conclusion and Outlook References Water Resources, Human Activities and Management Value Eco-Innovation as a Basis for Clean Production Through Ecodesign in the Bulgarian Food Industry 1 Introduction 2 Clean Production Model Tools Methodology 3 Results and Discussion 4 Conclusion References Porewater Nutrient and Oxygen Profiles and Sediment-Water Interface Fluxes Under Extreme Organic Loading in Different Sedimentary Habitats in Sozopol Bay (SW Black Sea): A Laboratory Experiment 1 Introduction 2 Materials and Methods 2.1 Study Area and Field Sampling 2.2 Laboratory Experiment 2.3 Flux Calculations 3 Results 3.1 Porewater Nutrient and Oxygen Profiles 3.2 Sediment-Water Interface Fluxes 4 Discussion 5 Conclusions References Remote Sensing and Modelling of the Mopang Oil Pollution Near the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast 1 Introduction 2 Methods 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Mopang Oil Detections from 2017 to 2018 3.2 Propagation of Oil with Surface Currents 3.3 Simulation of the Propagation of Oil Leaks with OpenOil 4 Conclusions References