A wide-ranging investigation of the COVID-19 lockdown effects on the atmospheric composition in various Italian urban sites (AER – LOCUS)

Campanelli, Monica; Iannarelli, Anna Maria; Mevi, Gabriele; Casadio, Stefano; Diémoz, Henri; Finardi, S.; Dinoi, Adelaide; Castelli, Elisa; Sarra, Alcide di; Bernardino, Annalisa Di; Casasanta, Giampietro; Bassani, Cristiana; Siani, Anna Maria; Cacciani, Marco; Barnaba, Francesca; Liberto, Luca Di; Argentini, Stefania

doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2021.100954

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This led to a decrease in the emissions of primary pollutants, due to the temporary shutdown of numerous economical activities and a strong reduction in vehicular traffic. As demonstrated by Campanelli et al ( 2021 ) and Bassani et al ( 2021 ), in the area under examination, the air quality was affected by these policies, with a general reduction in the atmospheric concentration of NO 2 , C 6 H 6 and PM 10 and an increase in the in situ O 3 concentration.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Analysis of two-decade meteorological and air quality trends in Rome (Italy)

Bernardino

Iannarelli²,

Diémoz³

et al. 2022

Theor Appl Climatol

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This study presents a trend analysis of a two-decade (2000–2020) series of surface meteorological and air quality data measured in Rome (Italy). Data series are collected at three sites in Rome downtown and its coastal surroundings. This paper fills the gap due to missing or incomplete recent information about the meteorological and atmospheric composition tendencies in the Rome area. Datasets are subjected to in-depth quality control and to statistical analysis to verify the data homogeneity, whilst trend analysis is performed using the Seasonal Kendall test. The results show a statistically significant positive trend for average air temperature (0.07 °C year−1 in urban and coastal sites), whilst maximum and minimum temperatures increase more in urban (0.10 °C year−1) than in coastal (0.01 °C year−1) environment. The water vapour mixing ratio trend is higher in the city (0.10 g kg−1 year−1) than along the coast (0.03 g kg−1 year−1). The heat index tendency is more pronounced in the Rome centre (0.11 °C year−1) than in the coast (0.06 °C year−1). The monthly cumulative precipitations do not show statistically significant trends. On the other hand, air quality generally improved: surface pollutant concentrations show a significant decrease thanks to the reduction of local emissions (C6H6, − 0.12 µg m−3 year−1; SO2, − 0.09 µg m−3 year−1; CO, − 0.02 mg m−3 year−1; NOx, − 1.28 µg m−3 year−1; NO, − 0.38 µg m−3 year−1; NO2, − 0.60 µg m−3 year−1, PM10, − 0.35 µg m−3 year−1). Only O3 shows a statistically significant positive trend (0.15 µg m−3 year−1), in agreement with wider scale studies. The outcomes suggest that whilst local and national policies contribute to the improvement of air quality, the rising of temperature—as likely consequence of climate change—may be an emerging cause of concern for human thermal discomfort and potential effect on the conservation of tangible immovable heritage.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Analysis of two-decade meteorological and air quality trends in Rome (Italy)

Bernardino

Iannarelli²,

Diémoz³

et al. 2022

Theor Appl Climatol

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“…The aims to supply data for forest management and clinical practice guidelines fall beyond the purposes of this study. The analysis models adopted here, on the one hand, did not take into account all of the variables influencing the production of BVOCs, such as phytochemical variables [96], chrono-referenced variables [97], meteorological ones [98], interactions among variables, or the degree of connectivity among variables constituting any complex system [99]. This limit seems largely embedded in the concept of the model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Potential Respiratory Benefits of Forest-Based Experiences: A Regional Scale Approach

Droli

Sigura

Vassallo

et al. 2022

Forests

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Background: Several studies have suggested the possibility of obtaining specific respiratory benefits by experiencing forests and other natural resources. Despite this, forests have never been considered according to such potential. This study aims to compare municipalities by considering the absence/presence of tree species generating ‘above threshold’ potential respiratory benefits. Methods: The autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy has been assumed as a research area. The natural resource based view (NRBV), postulating the strategic role played by natural resources in achieving both above-average (thus ‘valuable’) and ‘concentrated’ (thus ‘rare’ among competitors) performance, has been adopted. The literature reviews dealing with potential respiratory benefits of biogenic organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted by trees, published within the ‘forest therapy’ research field, have been adopted. Three analysis models rating tree species by their potential respiratory benefits in ‘holistic-general’ (P1), ‘particular’ (P2), and ‘dynamic” terms (P3) have been outlined. The resulting overall potentials of tree species have been assessed by adopting the well-rooted Hollerith distance (HD) model. Tree species have been rated “1” when they satisfy one or more of 58 potential respiratory benefits. Municipalities have been ranked by considering the surface area covered by forest types whose dominant tree species achieve above-average potential respiratory benefits. QGIS software has been adopted to geographically reference the results obtained. Results: (P1) Valuable municipalities include those covered by both coniferous and deciduous forests; (P2–3) Municipalities achieving the highest potential respiratory benefits, in both particular and dynamic terms, have been mapped. Discussion: Forest-based initiatives that are running in the preselected municipalities can be both further improved and diversified in a targeted way. Conclusions: Despite some limitations mostly embedded in the concept of ‘model’, this study allows scholars to reduce uncertainties when locating municipalities in which to conduct local-scale experiments.

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“…In Italy, a 20% reduction in BC emissions was estimated based on observations limited to two sites in northern Italy ( Evangeliou et al, 2021 ). Other studies in northern Italy have revealed reductions in BC concentrations between 25% and 77% ( Campanelli et al, 2021 ; Collivignarelli et al, 2020 ). To the best of our knowledge, no information on BC concentration changes due to the lockdown is currently available in southern Italy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%