Abstract
Trajectory analysis is a valuable tool that has been used before in aerobiological studies, to investigate the movement of airborne pollen. This study has employed back-trajectories to examine the four highest grass pollen episodes at Worcester, during the 2001 grass pollen season. The results have shown that the highest grass pollen counts of the 2001 season were reached when air masses arrived from a westerly direction. Back-trajectory analysis has a limited value to forecasters because the method is retrospective and cannot be employed directly for forecasting. However, when used in conjunction with meteorological data this technique can be used to examine high magnitude events in order to identify conditions that lead to high pollen counts.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- BADC:
-
The British Atmospheric Data Centre
- BAF:
-
British Aerobiology Federation
- BST:
-
British Summer Time
- ECMWF:
-
European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting
- Mb:
-
millibars
References
BADC, British Atmospheric Data Centre: 2002, BADC Trajectories – Help. http://cirrus.badc.rl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/trajectory/traj_form
BAF, The British Aerobiology Federation: 1995, Airborne Pollens and Spores: A guide to Trapping and Counting. ISBN 0-9525617-0-0
BBC, BBC Weather Centre: 2001, The UK Year So Far – 2001: Review and Statistics. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ ukweather/year_review/2001_review.shtml
P. Cariñanos J. Emberlin C. Galan E Dominguez Vilches (2000) ArticleTitleComparison of two pollen counting methods of slides from a Hirst type volumetric trap Aerobiologia 16 IssueID3/4 339–346
G. D’Amato G. Liccardi M. D’Amato M. Cazzola (2001) ArticleTitleThe role of outdoor air pollution and climatic changes on the rising trends in respiratory allergy Resp. Med 97 IssueID7 606–611
DEFRA, Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs: 2004, Complete Publications and Datasets – from the June Agricultural Census. http://www.defra.gov.uk/esg/work_htm/publications/cs/farmstats_web/Publications/complete_pubs.htm
Emberlin J.: 1997, Grass tree and weed pollens. In A.B. Kay (ed), Allergy and Allergic Diseases. Vol. 2, Blackwell Science.
J. Emberlin J. Mullins J. Cordon S. Jones W. Millington M. Brooke M. Savage (1999) ArticleTitleRegional variations in grass pollen seasons in the UK, long term trends and forecast models Clin. Exp. Allergy 29 347–356
Faegri K. and Iversen J.: 1992, Textbook of Pollen Analysis, John Wiley and Sons.
Fitter R., Fitter A. and Farrer A.: 1984, Collins Guide to the Grasses, Sedges, Rushes and Ferns of Britain and Northern Europe. Harper Collins.
C. Galan J. Emberlin E. Dominguez R. Bryant F. Villamandos (1995) ArticleTitleA comparative analysis of daily variations in the Gramineae pollen counts at Cordoba, Spain and London, UK Grana 34 189–198
Goudie A.: 1996, The Nature of the Environment, Blackwell.
Grime J.P., Hodgson J.G. and Hunt R.: 1996, Comparative Plant Ecology. Chapman and Hall.
M. Hjelmroos (1991) ArticleTitleEvidence of long distance transport of Betula pollen Grana 30 215–228
M. Hjelmroos (1992) ArticleTitleLong-distance transport of Betula pollen grains and allergic symptoms Aerobiologia 8 231–236
Hubbard C.E.: 1992, Grasses: A guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles. Penguin Books.
M. Huynen B. Menne H. Behrendt R. Bertollini S. Bonini R. Brandao C. Brown-Fährlander B. Clot P. D’Ambrosio De Nuntiis K.L. Ebi J. Emberlin E.E. Orbanne C. Galan S. Jäger S. Kovats P. Mandrioli P. Martens A. Menzel B. Nyenzi A. RantioLehtimäki J. Ring O. Rybnicek Traidl-Hoffmann. A. Van Vliet T. Voigt S. Weiland M. Wickman (2003) Phenology and Human Health: Allergic Disorders Report of a WHO meeting Rome, Italy
K.A. Larsson (1993) ArticleTitlePrediction of the pollen season with a cumulated activity method Grana 32 111–114
METO, Met Office: 2004, 1971–2000 Averages. http://www.meto.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/index.html
ONS, Office for National Statistics: 2002, Census 2001: First results on population. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/default.asp
J.M. Portnoy (2004) ArticleTitleWhat do pollen counts mean Ann. Allergy, Asthma and Immunol 93 109–110
Preston C.D., Pearman D.A. and Dines T.D.: 2002, New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Oxford University Press.
J.A. Sanchez Mesa M. Smith J. Emberlin U. Allitt E. Caulton (2003) ArticleTitleCharacteristics of grass pollen seasons in areas of southern Spain and the United Kingdom Aerobiologia 19 243–250
Stace C.: 1997, New Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press.
J. Subiza J.M. Maseillo J.L. Subiza M. Jerez M. Hinojosa E. Subiza (1992) ArticleTitlePrediction of annual variations in atmospheric concentrations of grass pollen. A method based on meteorological factors and grain crop estimates Clin. Exp. Allergy 22 540–546
Walker P.M.B. (ed).: 1995, Dictionary of Science and Technology. Larousse.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, M., Emberlin, J. & Kress, A. Examining high magnitude grass pollen episodes at Worcester, United Kingdom, using back-trajectory analysis. Aerobiologia 21, 85–94 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-005-4178-8
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-005-4178-8