Atmospheric and Biological Environmental Monitoring

The extent of harmful effects of pollution on atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic environments can be translated into extreme temperature changes, dirty air, clean water shortages, and increased incidence of toxicity that harms every life on earth. Within a lifetime, our environment is changing drastically. Much of the information of environmental pollution impacts needs to be studied, from the mechanism of toxic nanoparticles on the molecular level to the detection of trace gases on the satellite perspective. It is therefore essential to develop advanced monitoring techniques, e- cient process technologies and health impact assessment tools to ?ll the gaps in our scienti?c knowledge. This edition of “Atmospheric and Biological Environmental Monitoring” is a handful of recent developments and techniques from environmental scientists in well-diversi?ed ?elds. These collections of manuscripts are extracts from the recently concluded “7th International Symposium on Advanced Environmental Monitoring” organized by the ADvanced Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Korea and held on February 25-28, 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The three parts highlight important aspects of emerging environmental monitoring technologies: Atmospheric Environment, Contaminants Control Process, and Environmental Toxicity Asse- ment. Observational tools presented in the ?rst part ranges from in-situ measurements to satellite remote sensing for atmospheric monitoring. Highlighted in the second part is the recently developed water quality monitoring system for lake strati?cation and membrane technologies for detection and removal of contaminants. Lastly, toxicity monitoring of endocrine disruptors and nanoparticles are highlighted in the third part with new discoveries.