Sources, Transport, and Sinks of Aerosol in Urban Environments (Italy)

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 9767

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council (CNR), Str. Prv. Lecce-Monteroni km 1.2, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: air quality; aerosol composition and sources; receptor models; monitoring activities

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Guest Editor
Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (IIA), National Research Council, Via Salaria km. 29,300, 00015 Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
Interests: outdoor and indoor air pollution; airborne particulate matter; source apportionment modeling; single-particle electron microscopy
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Guest Editor
Department of Physics, University of Genoa, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genoa, Italy
Interests: particulate matter composition and sources; receptor models; optical properties; bioaerosols; carbonaceous aerosols; atmospheric simulation chambers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cities are pollution hot spots and risk areas for public health because of the many pollutants released into the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources (including traffic and domestic heating). Among atmospheric pollutants, aerosol is a growing concern for people living within cities: On the basis of the most recent epidemiological studies, it seems to be the air pollutant most correlated with health effects, both in the short and long term. To date, the need has been established to implement actions and strategies aimed at reducing urban aerosol concentrations. Both the concentration and composition of airborne aerosol can be differently affected by local sources and topographical peculiarities. Research studies are thus needed to address the characterization of aerosol sources in the cities and to evaluate the dispersion dynamics in these urban canopies. Aerosol source apportionments, emission factors, measured (original, composite) source profiles, urban aerosol size distributions, spatial distribution mapping, wind and trajectory analysis, deposition paths, field measurements, and the use of dispersion models are fundamental tools in providing useful knowledge in the target of reducing emissions and limiting anthropogenic impact in cities. It is also important to compare the experiences acquired in different cities in order to obtain more widespread and shared information. The aim of this Special Issue will be to collect high-level studies of urban aerosol that allow interpreting aerosols emission, concentrations, dispersion, and deposition, as well as its dynamics in the urban environment, also in relation to the acting sources and to the different meteorological, climatic, and territorial peculiarities.

Dr. Daniela Cesari
Dr. Adriana Pietrodangelo
Dr. Dario Massabò
Dr. Daniele Contini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • urban aerosol
  • source apportionment
  • emission sources
  • monitoring and modeling
  • human health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 30726 KiB  
Article
Characteristics and Extent of Particulate Matter Emissions of a Ropeway Public Mobility System in the City Center of Perugia (Central Italy)
by Beatrice Moroni, Stefano Crocchianti, Federica Bruschi, Chiara Petroselli, Alessandro Di Menno di Bucchianico, Giorgio Cattani, Luca Ferrero and David Cappelletti
Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101356 - 17 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2262
Abstract
Minimetrò (MM) is a ropeway public mobility system that has been in operation in the city of Perugia for about ten years to integrate with urban mobility and lighten vehicular traffic in the historic city center. The purpose of this work was to [...] Read more.
Minimetrò (MM) is a ropeway public mobility system that has been in operation in the city of Perugia for about ten years to integrate with urban mobility and lighten vehicular traffic in the historic city center. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the impact of MM as a source of pollutants in the urban context, and the exposure of people in the cabins and the platforms along the MM line. These topics have been investigated by means of intensive measurement and sampling campaigns performed in February and June 2015 on three specific sites of the MM line representative of different sources and levels of urban pollution. Stationary and dynamic measurements of particle size distribution, nanoparticle and black carbon aerosol number and mass concentrations measurements were performed by means of different bench and portable instruments. Aerosol sampling was carried out using low volume and high-volume aerosol samplers, and the samples nalysed by off-line methods. Results show that MM is a considerable source of atmospheric particulate matter having characteristics very similar to those of the common urban road dust in Perugia. In the lack of clear indications on road dust effect, the contribution of MM to the aerosol in Perugia cannot be neglected. Full article
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Review

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22 pages, 4195 KiB  
Review
Shipping and Air Quality in Italian Port Cities: State-of-the-Art Analysis of Available Results of Estimated Impacts
by Eva Merico, Daniela Cesari, Elena Gregoris, Andrea Gambaro, Marco Cordella and Daniele Contini
Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12050536 - 22 Apr 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5077
Abstract
Populated coastal areas are exposed to emissions from harbour-related activities (ship traffic, loading/unloading, and internal vehicular traffic), posing public health issues and environmental pressures on climate. Due to the strategic geographical position of Italy and the high number of ports along coastlines, an [...] Read more.
Populated coastal areas are exposed to emissions from harbour-related activities (ship traffic, loading/unloading, and internal vehicular traffic), posing public health issues and environmental pressures on climate. Due to the strategic geographical position of Italy and the high number of ports along coastlines, an increasing concern about maritime emissions from Italian harbours has been made explicit in the EU and IMO (International Maritime Organization, London, UK) agenda, also supporting the inclusion in a potential Mediterranean emission control area (MedECA). This work reviews the main available outcomes concerning shipping (and harbours’) contributions to local air quality, particularly in terms of concentration of particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants (mainly nitrogen and sulphur oxides), in the main Italian hubs. Maritime emissions from literature and disaggregated emission inventories are discussed. Furthermore, estimated impacts to air quality, obtained with dispersion and receptor modeling approaches, which are the most commonly applied methodologies, are discussed. Results show a certain variability that suggests the necessity of harmonization among methods and input data in order to compare results. The analysis gives a picture of the effects of this pollution source, which could be useful for implementing effective mitigation strategies at a national level. Full article
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