This dissertation consists of three separate research projects. Each paper uses a different applied econometric technique to investigate problems related to air quality economics. The first chapter is a general introduction to all three studies. The second chapter explores adopting an environmentally-friendly public transportation system in Europe. The Bayesian econometric methods show that willingness to pay for a new public transportation system is primarily driven by improvements to public goods, such as air quality and greenhouse gas emission reduction. The third chapter uses the red tide-related stated experience and satellite imagery of chlorophyll-a concentration as well as field data of respiratory irritation. This chapter illustrates that ancillary scientific information can be efficiently combined with choice experimental data. The fourth chapter uses panel fixed-effect models to investigate the short-term effect of air pollution on students' cognitive performance in China. It is shown that PM2.5 has a significantly negative impact on students' exam performance. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation consists of three separate research projects. The first chapter is a general introduction to all three chapters. The second chapter assesses residents' support for environmentally-friendly public transportation (EFPT) upgrades across Europe. We develop a novel Bayesian logit model to investigate residents' willingness to pay for local EFPT upgrades. We find evidence that WTP is primarily driven by expected improvements to public goods, such as air quality and greenhouse gas abatement, as opposed to private ridership benefits. WTP distributions are strongly positive in all nations suggesting implicit public support for EFPT in Europe. The third chapter presents a unique opportunity to validate stated experiences by Florida Gulf coast residents with red tide-related air toxins with satellite imagery of chlorophyll-a concentration, as well as field data on respiratory irritation at local beaches. We find that respondents are more likely to choose our proposed new harmful algal blooms forecast system when the chlorophyll-a concentration or respiratory irritation is higher at nearby coastal locations. Moreover, we illustrate that this ancillary scientific information can be efficiently combined with choice experimental data and consider this research a first step in a broader effort to directly link scientific data on environmental conditions with nonmarket economic outcomes. The fourth chapter investigates short-term exposure of air pollution on students' cognitive performance in a high-stakes exam: China's College English Test (CET). We use student fixed effects in the panel-data model to estimate the effect of air pollution on students' test scores. Our findings indicate a statistically significant negative effect of PM2.5 on exam performance and also show PM2.5 is equally harmful to listening and reading section, and maybe even more for writing section. We also find that short-term exposure causes negative cognitive effects, suggesting that temporary preventative measures could be effective in avoiding the negative effects of PM2.5.

Lakes and oceans are threatened by harmful algal blooms (HABs), caused mostly by toxic cyanobacteria. When people or animals drink the toxic water, it can be damaging to their health, potentially leading to hospitalization or even death. In some cases, these toxins are not just limited to the water, but can become airborne through wave breaking, bubble bursting, and spume droplet formation. New information is needed regarding the transport and fate of HAB-associated aerosols. The overall goal of this research was to monitor particle concentrations and measure meteorological conditions near HAB sites to determine the conditions that may lead to increased exposure to HAB cells and toxins in the atmosphere. By creating predictions of which conditions and locations will be experiencing higher aerosol levels at any given time, models could be used to inform the public and policy makers to ensure that appropriate responses and safety measures can be taken. The research also includes experiments to study plumes of colored smoke, as a proxy for the transport of biological particles such as HAB cells, pollen, and pathogens. The first objective of this research was to explore associations between measured weather conditions and particle concentrations measured above active HABs and HAB sites using drone-based sensor packages. The second objective was to monitor wind and particle concentrations near freshwater and marine HABs using ground-based sensor packages. The third objective was to model HAB aerosol behavior at a beach level to predict respiratory irritation. The fourth objective was to use aerial and ground-based sensors and images of colored smoke to predict particle concentrations at different distances and intensity levels downwind from the source(s). / Doctor of Philosophy / Certain environmental conditions in lakes and oceans can favor unhealthy amounts of algal growth. Overgrowth can lead to harmful algal blooms (HABs). This occurs when algae produce toxins that make the water unsafe for humans and animals to drink. Sometimes these toxins don't stay in the water and can become toxic airborne particles. We need more information to understand what happens to create and transport these airborne toxins produced by HABs. This research aims to monitor particle concentrations and weather to find what conditions lead to more aerosolized toxins. Accurate predictions of high levels of HAB toxins in the air could be used to alert the public. This work utilized colored smoke released outdoors as a visual indicator of particle movement in the air. The specific objectives of this research were to (1) find associations between weather and particle concentrations at lake HAB sites using drone-mounted samplers at a height above 30 feet from the ground, (2) find associations between weather and particle concentrations at lake and ocean HAB sites using samplers at a height of 5 feet from the ground, (3) predict human throat irritation levels from airborne toxins at the beach level, and (4) use a drone sensor, a ground sensor, and simultaneous video footage of a controlled smoke release to visually track airborne particles.

This research integrates the theoretical implications of risk perception, the social amplification of risk, and the role of place-specific contexts, in order to explore the various perceptions surrounding Florida red tides. Florida red tides are a naturally-occurring event, yet most scientists agree that they are increasing in frequency, duration, and severity. This has profound implication for public health, the local economy, and the biological community. While many of the negative impacts are not easily controllable at this time, some of the secondary impacts can be mitigated through individuals' responses. Unfortunately, public perceptions and consequent reactions to red tides have not been investigated. This research uses questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and newspaper content analysis to explore the various perceptions of risk surrounding red tides. Surveys and interviews were conducted along two Florida west coast beaches, Fort De Soto Park and Siesta Key. Results indicate that the underlying foundations of the social amplification of risk framework are applicable to understanding how individuals form perceptions of risk relative to red tide events. There are key differences between the spatial locations of individuals and corresponding perceptions, indicating that place-specific contexts are essential to understanding how individuals receive and interpret risk information. The results also suggest that individuals may be lacking efficient and up-to-date information about red tides and their impacts due to inconsistent public outreach. Overall, particular social and spatial factors appear to be more influential as to whether individuals amplify or attenuate the risks associated with red tides.

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This thesis contributes to the development of dinoflagellate cysts as indicators of past environmental change in the Northeastern Pacific coastal ocean, and investigates past variations in sea-surface temperature, salinity and primary productivity encoded in dinoflagellate cyst sedimentary records from the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB, southern California) and Effingham Inlet (Vancouver Island, British Columbia) over the last millennium. The dinoflagellate cyst records extracted from the SBB and Effingham Inlet predominantly laminated sediments and analysed at sub-decadal resolutions, constitute some of the most detailed records of cyst-producing dinoflagellate populations in the world. A two year-long sediment trap study from the SBB documents the seasonality in dinoflagellate cyst production for the first time on the Pacific coast of the United States. The study shows that dinoflagellate cyst data can be used as indicators of changes in sea-surface temperature and primary productivity associated with seasonal upwelling in the SBB. In particular, several dinoflagellate cyst taxa such as Brigantedinium spp. and Lingulodinium machaerophorum are identified as indicators of “active upwelling” (typically occurring in spring and early summer) and “relaxed upwelling” conditions (fall and early winter) at the site, respectively. Analysis of a dinoflagellate cyst record from the SBB spanning the last ~260 years at biannual resolution documents the response of cyst-producing dinoflagellates to instrumentally-measured warming during the 20th century, and reveals decadal scale variations in primary productivity at the site that are coherent with phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The cyst assemblages are dominated by cysts produced by heterotrophic dinoflagellates (in particular Brigantedinium spp.), but the turn of the 20th century is marked by an abrupt increase in concentrations of L. machaerophorum and Spiniferites ramosus, two cyst taxa of autotrophic affinity. Their increasing abundances during the 20th century are interpreted to reflect warmer conditions and possibly stronger stratification during summer and fall. The dinoflagellate cyst data suggest a warming pulse in the early 1900s and provide further evidence that persistently warmer and/or more stratified conditions were established by the late 1920s. The dinoflagellate cyst record from Effingham Inlet, spanning the last millennium, is characterized by the proportionally equal contribution of cysts produced by autotrophic and heterotrophic dinoflagellates in most samples. The cyst data indicate variations in sea-surface temperature, salinity and primary productivity that are associated with local expressions of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (from the base of the record to ~1230), the Little Ice Age (from ~1230 to ~1900) and warming during the second half of the 20th century. Both dinoflagellate cyst records reveal that since the beginning (in the SBB) and mid-20th century (in Effingham Inlet), autotrophic dinoflagellates contribute to a greater portion of the primary production in the region, whereas heterotrophic dinoflagellates, as indicators of diatom populations, decline. Variability in the dinoflagellate cyst data is coherent at both sites and suggest a reduced expression of decadal scale variability associated with the PDO during the 19th century. / Graduate / 0416 / 0427 / mbringue@uvic.ca