Title: Extended use and optimization of struvite in hydroponic cultivation systems / Hydroponic systems are an attractive form of urban agriculture due to their low weight load, inert substrate conditions, and overall better control of plant nutrition and growth. However, gaining urban food sovereignty cannot be at the cost of increasing environmental impacts.
The doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships Programme (La Caixa) aims to attract talented Early-Stage Researchers of any nationality to pursue their PhD studies in the best Spanish and Portuguese research centres. The URBAG group offers a PhD position described here. Sponsored by "La Caixa" Foundation, it is aimed at supporting the best scientific talent and fostering innovative and high-quality research in Spain and Portugal
L'Alba Badia va participar en una taula rodona de Bioindicadors com avaluació de la qualitat de l’aire al 2n Congrés de Qualitat de l'aire que es va fer a Sabadell. Badia va explicar els impactes directes, com la dispersió atmosfèrica, emissions biogèniques i deposició, i indirectes, com canvis en la temperatura i l'altura de la capa límit, de les infrastructures verdes sobre la qualitat de l'aire.
Title: Environmental and social life cycle assessment of growing media for urban rooftop farming / New environmental strategies are emerging for cities to become more self-sufficient, such as hydroponic crop production. The implementation of such systems requires materials that usually originate in countries with low labour costs and other legal regulations. To what extent could these strategies be shifting problems across the globe?
La dra Alba Badia va participar a l'entrevista de Mireia Sans a "El cafè de la ràdio" de Ràdio Sabadell presentant els resultats de l'article "A take-home message from COVID-19 on urban air pollution reduction through mobility limitations and teleworking". En aquesta entrevista, Alba Badia explica la importància del confinament viscut per la pandèmia de COVID-19 en els valors de contaminació atmosfèrica.
Title: Sensitivity study of PBL schemes and soil initialization using the WRF-BEP-BEM model over a Mediterranean coastal city / Due to increased urbanization and global warming, cities are experiencing more heat wave (HW) events that cause extreme heat stress. To mitigate such effects, a better understanding of the impact of urban morphology on the boundary layer development is needed.
URBAG is using a Picarro G2301 station that measures CO2, CH4 and H20 from the ceiling of the ICTA-UAB. Located at a height of 147m above sea level, the station takes measurements every 10 seconds based on the cavity ring-down spectroscopy technique. This data is open to everyone by clicking on the image below, where you will also find more technical specifications.
The URBAG group is searching for a postdoctoral candidate for the María Zambrano grants aimed to attract international talent to the ICTA-UAB. Three lines of research: 1. Urban GHG monitoring and observations, 2.Urban climate and urban atmospheric modeling, air quality and GHG modeling, and 3. Regionalizing life cycle assessment and environmental evaluation
Title: A take-home message from COVID-19 on urban air pollution reduction through mobility limitations and teleworking / The rigorous traffic limitations during COVID-19 have forced many people to work from home, reaching an outstanding degree of teleworking and reduction in air pollution
Greetings from the URBAG team at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB)! We are happy to share with you our second newsletter, to keep you updated of what we have done so far in our project URBAG: Integrated System Analysis of Urban Vegetation and Agriculture.
Title: Recovered phosphorus for a more resilient urban agriculture: Assessment of the fertilizer potential of struvite in hydroponics / Urban agriculture (UA) is a means for cities to become more resilient in terms of food sovereignty while shortening the distance between production and consumption. However, intensive soilless UA still depends on the use of fertilizers, which relies on depleting non-renewable resources.
Title: Exploring the Potential of Using Carbonyl Sulfide to Track the Urban Biosphere Signal / Cities are implementing additional urban green as a means to capture CO2 and become more carbon neutral. However, cities are complex systems where anthropogenic and natural components of the CO2 budget interact with each other, and the ability to measure the efficacy of such measures is still not properly addressed.