Modeling oxidizing potential and metal concentrations in the atmosphere for the Ile-De-France region
University Paris Est Créteil
The position will be based at LISA, a laboratory co-accredited by CNRS, PAris Est Créteil University and Université Paris Cité.
Homepage: http://www.lisa.u-pec.fr/fr
Air pollution remains a major public health problem. Despite major efforts to reduce concentrations of the most harmful pollutants, the levels observed in the atmosphere are still a cause for concern for human health, particularly in urban environments such as Ile-De-France.
To improve this situation, we need to be able to link sources of pollution and health impact, in order to implement more effective solutions, notably by targeting the most harmful sources of pollution. This is particularly the case for fine atmospheric particles, which are responsible for 40,000 deaths a year in France. However, current regulations are based on compliance with threshold concentrations based on mass concentration (µg.m-3), without taking into account the chemical nature of the particles and therefore the toxicity associated with the different sources of these particles in the atmosphere.
In recent years, the scientific community has been seeking to develop new indicators that would provide more direct information on the toxicity of particulate matter and associated sources. Among these indicators, oxidative potential (OP) is a very promising one, providing an indirect measure of the oxidative stress induced in the respiratory system by the presence of fine particles. This stress occurs when certain fractions of the aerosol – organic matter and certain metals (Cu, Mn, Fe, etc.) – induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in excess of the antioxidants naturally present in the pulmonary fluid, which can trigger inflammatory phenomena.
We have recently developed a module to simulate OP (Vida et al. 2024), which is coupled to the CHIMERE chemistry-transport model (used to forecast air quality in France and Europe). We have also developed Europe-wide emission inventories for copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), 3 metals important in generating oxidative stress (thesis N. Dubois).
Within the framework of this project and the offer of a post-doctoral contract, we propose to simulate the OP as well as the concentrations of Cu, Fe and Mn at the scale of the IDF.
In this very dense urban environment, pollution sources are both local (road traffic, transport, domestic heating, industry) and regional or even continental (agriculture, transport from other urban areas). It will thus be possible to identify and quantify the most toxic sources of pollution present in the IDF, with a view to supporting air pollution reduction policies.
This project also aims to assess our model’s ability to simulate this new indicator (OP) and these new species (metals), based on measurements from the Airparif network and in particular the original measurements carried out at a super site in central Paris since 2022.
The results of this project and the original developments that will be carried out foreshadow future operational monitoring systems.
Please contact Dr Gilles Foret – gilles.foret@lisa.ipsl.fr