Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PMCOST (Sources and Chemical Composition of Particulate Matter in Poland and their Control Strategies)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2023-01-31
PMCOST addressed the key challenge of particulate matter (PM) air pollution in Poland which is one of the major threats to human health across the country and Europe in general. PMCOST brought together Polish researchers, including young scientists on air pollution together with world leading experts from the UK and Norway to address this challenge. This twinning of researchers, matched complementary areas of expertise and helped Polish scientists to become more effective in supporting Polish policy makers and other stakeholders in assessment and improving air quality in Poland. The project developed a capability for state of the art atmospheric chemistry transport modelling (ACTM) and enabled to carry out a national assessment of the chemical composition of PM, the main contributing emission sources and the most effective strategies to protect human health through targeted emissions abatement. The key aspects of the Training Programme covered:
• air pollution modelling at regional and local scales,
• natural and anthropogenic emissions,
• air pollution measurements,
• data analysis methodology (pre- and post-processing modelled data),
• health impact assessment approaches.
The General Objectives of the project were:
a) To improve scientific expertise and outputs of the Polish partners within the domain of air pollution modelling through training of the Polish team & to achieve a holistic view of issues related to particulate matter (PM) pollution and its impacts in Poland.
b) To enable the Polish partners to link up better with and assist policy makers and other stakeholders in the development of appropriate risk reduction programmes, through training on creating an effective interface between science and national and international PM policy development.
These general objectives are linked with the following Training and Capacity-building Objectives:
c) To improve the scientific and technical skills of the Polish team.
d) To improve the academic outputs of the Polish team by publishing joint peer reviewed papers.
e) To promote the involvement of early-stage researchers in the project.
f) To establish long lasting scientific co-operation between the networking partners beyond the project, including interactions across the Polish research groups and internationally.
g) To prepare the ground for the establishment of a high-quality air pollution modelling system for Poland.
• air pollution modelling at regional and local scales,
• natural and anthropogenic emissions,
• air pollution measurements,
• data analysis methodology (pre- and post-processing modelled data),
• health impact assessment approaches.
The General Objectives of the project were:
a) To improve scientific expertise and outputs of the Polish partners within the domain of air pollution modelling through training of the Polish team & to achieve a holistic view of issues related to particulate matter (PM) pollution and its impacts in Poland.
b) To enable the Polish partners to link up better with and assist policy makers and other stakeholders in the development of appropriate risk reduction programmes, through training on creating an effective interface between science and national and international PM policy development.
These general objectives are linked with the following Training and Capacity-building Objectives:
c) To improve the scientific and technical skills of the Polish team.
d) To improve the academic outputs of the Polish team by publishing joint peer reviewed papers.
e) To promote the involvement of early-stage researchers in the project.
f) To establish long lasting scientific co-operation between the networking partners beyond the project, including interactions across the Polish research groups and internationally.
g) To prepare the ground for the establishment of a high-quality air pollution modelling system for Poland.
To achieve the PMCOST objectives the following activities have been undertaken during the reporting period:
1) Organisation of three main thematic workshops and a final wrap-up meeting involving international experts, researchers and policy makers
2) Organisation of online training and discussion meetings:
• 10 training and discussion meetings on anthropogenic emissions and emission scenarios
• 2 training workshops on natural emission modelling
• 7 training and discussion meetings on air pollution measurements
• 3 training workshops on graphical data processing and analysis methods in air pollution modelling
• 2 training workshops on uEMEP modelling
• 11 training and discussion meetings on local scale modelling
• 11 training and discussion meetings on scenario analysis and analysis methods for impacts of air pollution on human health
3) Training during visits to Partners’ institutions:
• UWr (2 persons) visited UKCEH – training on air pollution measurements
• IOS (2 persons) visited UKCEH – training on air pollution measurements
• UWr (2 persons) & UKCEH (1 person) visited MET Norway – training on EMEP and uEMEP modelling
• UWr (3 persons) visited Imperial College – training on local scale modelling and health impact assessment
• UKCEH (1 person) visited UWr – training on source-attribution (SA) simulation methodology
4) Continuous support in running models and tools by exchange of e-mails, providing input data; transfer of model codes.
5) Organisation of air quality measurements training campaign for Wroclaw.
6) 10 presentations on emissions, air pollution modelling, measurements and health impact assessment given by speakers from expert institutions and invited experts during the main thematic workshops and wrap-up meeting.
7) Organisation of two online annual meetings with participants from all partner institutions.
8) Preparation and publishing of four joint peer reviewed papers in JCR journals; the next three are in preparation.
9) Communication and dissemination activities:
• 8 presentations of PMCOST results at international conferences
• 4 presentations of PMCOST results at national conferences
• 3 presentations promoting PMCOST at the steering committee workshop of the LIFE UWr project and the VIDIS Twinning project
• 3 presentations on natural and anthropogenic air pollution for the general public, online
• 9 presentations on air pollution modelling for the general public (e.g. Wrocław Festival of Science)
• 6 short texts in the University newsletter promoting PMCOST project outcomes
• PMCOST promoting materials distributed during the wrap-up meeting
• Project website
1) Organisation of three main thematic workshops and a final wrap-up meeting involving international experts, researchers and policy makers
2) Organisation of online training and discussion meetings:
• 10 training and discussion meetings on anthropogenic emissions and emission scenarios
• 2 training workshops on natural emission modelling
• 7 training and discussion meetings on air pollution measurements
• 3 training workshops on graphical data processing and analysis methods in air pollution modelling
• 2 training workshops on uEMEP modelling
• 11 training and discussion meetings on local scale modelling
• 11 training and discussion meetings on scenario analysis and analysis methods for impacts of air pollution on human health
3) Training during visits to Partners’ institutions:
• UWr (2 persons) visited UKCEH – training on air pollution measurements
• IOS (2 persons) visited UKCEH – training on air pollution measurements
• UWr (2 persons) & UKCEH (1 person) visited MET Norway – training on EMEP and uEMEP modelling
• UWr (3 persons) visited Imperial College – training on local scale modelling and health impact assessment
• UKCEH (1 person) visited UWr – training on source-attribution (SA) simulation methodology
4) Continuous support in running models and tools by exchange of e-mails, providing input data; transfer of model codes.
5) Organisation of air quality measurements training campaign for Wroclaw.
6) 10 presentations on emissions, air pollution modelling, measurements and health impact assessment given by speakers from expert institutions and invited experts during the main thematic workshops and wrap-up meeting.
7) Organisation of two online annual meetings with participants from all partner institutions.
8) Preparation and publishing of four joint peer reviewed papers in JCR journals; the next three are in preparation.
9) Communication and dissemination activities:
• 8 presentations of PMCOST results at international conferences
• 4 presentations of PMCOST results at national conferences
• 3 presentations promoting PMCOST at the steering committee workshop of the LIFE UWr project and the VIDIS Twinning project
• 3 presentations on natural and anthropogenic air pollution for the general public, online
• 9 presentations on air pollution modelling for the general public (e.g. Wrocław Festival of Science)
• 6 short texts in the University newsletter promoting PMCOST project outcomes
• PMCOST promoting materials distributed during the wrap-up meeting
• Project website
The PMCOST collaboration achieved the following outcomes for the Polish team, in line with the project objectives:
• increase in the quantity number of peer-reviewed publications; the annual average number of publications increased from 4 in the baseline (2014-2018) period to 11.5 in the years 2021-2022.
• increase in the quality of peer review publications (higher average journal impact factor); the average impact factor increased from 2.2. in the baseline period to 5.8 in the years 2021-2022.
• increased applications for the international (including ERC Starting Grant) and national grants; number of annual average national grant applications increased from 1 in the baseline to 3.5 in the years 2021-2022; number of annual average application for international project increased from 0.6 to 1.
• development of collaborations with policy makers, health specialists and NGOs.
• increase in the quantity number of peer-reviewed publications; the annual average number of publications increased from 4 in the baseline (2014-2018) period to 11.5 in the years 2021-2022.
• increase in the quality of peer review publications (higher average journal impact factor); the average impact factor increased from 2.2. in the baseline period to 5.8 in the years 2021-2022.
• increased applications for the international (including ERC Starting Grant) and national grants; number of annual average national grant applications increased from 1 in the baseline to 3.5 in the years 2021-2022; number of annual average application for international project increased from 0.6 to 1.
• development of collaborations with policy makers, health specialists and NGOs.