Insights
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Publications & presentations
Sky-diving for Science: A Novel Technique for Rapid Vertical Transect Methane Sampling
Winner of the Best Paper Award at the 27th International Clean Air & Environment Conference, this paper explores how sky-divers can be used as the vehicle for methane sampling within the lower atmosphere using the AirCore technique.
Use of Satellite Remote Sensing in Mine Emissions Management
Presentation by Damon Roddis to the 2023 NSW Mining Health, Safety, Environment and Community Conference on 9 August 2023. This presentation covers the use of satellite remote sensing in mine emissions management; a summary of the international literature as part of ACARP Research and Development Project C34008.
Satellite Remote Sensing – Review of Applicable Technologies
This paper summarises the first stage of an R&D project evaluating satellite remote sensing for air quality management in the mining industry, focusing on methane and particulate matter observations. The study identifies benefits and limitations of currently available and future technologies. The research involves an international literature review, with future work exploring sub-orbital techniques for methane emission validation.
Hard to Abate Sectors: Industry Roundtable Decarbonising Manufacturing & Materials
To coincide with COP26, Zephyr Environmental facilitated an Industry Roundtable on reducing carbon in manufacturing and materials. Three industry leaders / experts discuss the following areas;
- Materials / Embodied Carbon
- Green steel, Green Cement & the Path to Net Zero
Affordable Coverage Without Compromise: Correting Low-cost Particulate Matter Sensors For Real-world Conditions
Winner of the Young Achievers Best Paper Award at the 28th International Clean Air & Environment Conference, this paper explores the effectiveness of a hybrid particulate matter monitoring network combining one near-reference monitor with three low-cost sensors, evaluated over twelve months with quarterly collocation to correct for humidity-driven and seasonal measurement drift. The findings demonstrate that appropriately corrected low-cost sensors can meaningfully expand monitoring coverage, enabling a scalable, cost-effective approach to real-time operational emissions management.
Novel Techniques for Evaluation of Wind Erosion Potential Over Surfaces
Winner of the Innovation Award at the 28th International Clean Air & Environment Conference, this paper explores practical techniques for establishing site-specific wind erosion data, moving beyond generic literature-based threshold friction velocities that are often outdated and poorly matched to local conditions. It compares portable wind tunnel testing, benchmarked against the US EPA sieving method, with the Confined Air Burst Chamber (CABC) for estimating the relative control efficiency of dust suppression techniques.
Comparison of AERMOD and CALPUFF Performance in Non-complex Terrain with Heterogeneous Land Cover
This paper explores a limitation in AERMOD's treatment of surface roughness, which applies boundary layer parameters from a single upwind fetch uniformly across the domain rather than updating them for downwind land cover changes. Using a case study from a southeastern Australian mining operation, it shows that AERMOD performed well at open-land receptors but failed substantially at a forested receptor where upwind land use differed, while CALPUFF, using spatially varying wind fields from CALMET, markedly reduced this bias while maintaining performance elsewhere.
Multi-sector Atmospheric Emission Inventory for Hanoi, Vietnam (Part A)
This paper explores Hanoi's first high-resolution, multi-sectoral atmospheric emissions inventory, developed using a hybrid top-down and bottom-up approach with local emission factors tailored to the city's motorcycle-dominated fleet and agricultural residue burning. The inventory reveals that PM2.5 emissions stem from multiple sources, including motorised transport, industry, power generation, and transboundary regional haze, allowing regulators to prioritise air quality management measures. As Part A of a two-part series, the paper presents the current state of the inventory and its insights, with Part B addressing best practice for city-wide dispersion modelling.
Leveraging the Hanoi Emission Inventory to Inform Air Quality Management (Part B)
This paper explores best practice for city-wide atmospheric dispersion modelling in Hanoi, building on the high-resolution emissions inventory presented in Part A and examining its strengths and weaknesses as a modelling input. It positions this work as a scientific baseline for Hanoi's 2030 Clean Air Action Plan, noting that the inventory suggests a 20% reduction in PM2.5 is achievable only through a combination of interventions. Prioritisation of these interventions will ultimately be informed by fit-for-purpose urban-scale dispersion modelling.
Bridging Dispersion Modelling and Field Odour Observations Using Statistical Regression for Odour Impact Assessment
This paper explores a statistical framework for correlating AERMOD dispersion modelling with field odour surveillance data, addressing a methodological gap in Victoria's Guidance for Assessing Odour (EPA Publication 1883) for Level 3 assessments. Using field survey observations classified against Publication 1883's risk categories, site-specific meteorological data and a dynamic peak-to-mean ratio were applied to derive modelled concentrations, which were then linked to ordinal exposure risk categories through ordinal logistic regression.
Evaluating the Performance of Low-cost Sensors Against Regulatory-grade Equipment for Particulate Matter
This paper explores a four-week co-location study evaluating three AirGradient Open Air and three AirBeam3 low-cost sensors against a TEOM regulatory-grade monitor at a Sydney reference site. Results showed both sensor types correlated reasonably well with the reference monitor for PM2.5 (r = 0.79–0.87), but performed substantially worse for PM10. The findings suggest low-cost sensors can support indicative PM2.5 trend monitoring and event detection but are not suitable for PM10 quantification or regulatory compliance without substantial site-specific correction.
An Agent Loop for Autonomous, Reasoning-driven Tuning of Numerical Weather Prediction Models
​This paper explores whether an autonomous multi-agent system can configure the WRF weather model for accurate near-surface meteorology without human input, using a reasoning agent to propose physics schemes and an execution agent to run and score simulations against observations. Tested across four climatically distinct Australian sites, the harness improved configurations toward the Emery et al. (2001) surface-meteorology benchmarks, with two sites meeting all eight benchmarks and the remaining two meeting seven of eight.
Evaluation of Fugitive Methane Measurement Techniques for Large Diffuse Sources
​This paper explores multiple techniques trialled for estimating methane emissions from diffuse sources such as coal mines and landfills, ranging from satellite imaging and aircraft or drone survey down to ground-based methods including flux chambers, open-path technology, and static research-grade instrumentation. It also presents a co-location study comparing several lower-cost, more portable instruments (the Aeroqual AQS1, ABB MicroGuard, Aeris, Axetris and LI-COR) against the Picarro G2201-i cavity ring-down spectrometer, the accurate but labour-intensive benchmark for high-concentration sources.
Channel Degradation in Low-energy Floodplain Wetlands
This paper explores the characteristics of channel degradation in low-energy floodplain wetlands, in semiarid New South Wales. The findings point to a positive feedback between erosion, vegetation loss, exposure of dispersive subsoils and downstream sand reworking, with relevance for water, wetland and agricultural management in semiarid landscapes. These findings also hold importance for carbon capture and flux within inland wetlands and adjacent drylands.