The presence of anhydrosugars and sugar alcohols in airborne articulate matter <10 µm (PM10) samples collected between December 2018 and June 2019 was studied for two urban environments in Coimbra. Anhydrosugars were used to estimate the biomass burning contribution, and sugar alcohols were investigated regarding biological sources. Anhydrosugars contributed more than sugar alcohols to the total sugars, mainly levoglucosan. Higher levoglucosan concentrations were linked with the use of biomass-fueled heating appliances, mainly during cold periods. A significant contribution from biomass burning smoke was registered, accounting for 20% to 23% of the PM10 mass in the colder period. Xylitol presented higher concentrations in the colder period and was well correlated with levoglucosan, indicating a common origin. Mannitol and arabitol were well correlated with each other but did not present any kind of correlation with anhydrosugars or xylitol, suggesting a natural source. A quantitative estimation based on the concentration of ambient tracers (mannitol) was evaluated, and the results reveal that, for the two sites, the fungal spore relative contribution to PM10 (roadside site: 2.7% to 2.8%; urban background: 1.9% to 2.7%) and OC mass (roadside site: 6.2% to 8.1%; urban background: 3.9% to 7.5%) was significant and always higher in the warmer period.

Road traffic is recognized as a significant source of particulate matter (PM), especially in urban areas, where exceedances of the legislation PM limit values is one of the main environmental concerns. Therefore, the development and implementation of methodologies allowing detailed characterization of PM within urban areas are required to find potential solutions to decrease PM levels. This work aims to provide a detailed characterization of traffic-related PM concentrations at urban scale by using an integrated modelling approach and in-situ aerosol measurements. For this purpose, a modelling cascade based on transportation-emission-dispersion approach was implemented for a medium-sized Portuguese city (Coimbra). Moreover, optical aerosol measurements were obtained from an experimental field monitoring campaign (June 2017) implemented at a city 'hot-spot' to provide relevant in-situ data on number, surface and mass concentrations distribution into 31 size ranges from 0.25 to 32 μm. The spatial distribution of the exhaust and non-exhaust traffic-related emissions is analysed and discussed addressing their contribution to the PM pollution. The current study evidences the importance of road traffic non-exhaust emissions and demonstrates the usefulness of the integrated modelling approach in the mobility policy relevant context.

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NEANIAS is a research and innovation action project funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program. The project addresses the challenge of prototyping novel solutions for the underwater, atmospheric and space research communities, creating a collaborative research ecosystem, and contributing to the effective materialization of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). NEANIAS drives the co-design, implementation, delivery, and integration into EOSC of innovative thematic and core services, derived from state-of-the-art assets and practices in the target scientific communities. We present the overall NEANIAS ecosystem architecture, with an emphasis on its core visualization services, detailing their specifications and software development plan, and focusing on the underpinning service-oriented architecture for their delivery. We report on the underlying ideas and guiding principles for designing such visualization services, outlining their current release status and future development roadmaps towards Technological Readiness Level (TRL) 8 maturity and EOSC integration.