Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples
Elemental carbon (EC), a ubiquitous component of fine atmospheric aerosol derived from incomplete combustion, is an important player for both climate change and air quality deterioration. Several policy measures have been implemented over the last decades to reduce EC emissions from anthropogenic so...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/6/580 |
| _version_ | 1797566348651397120 |
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| author | Stefania Gilardoni Leone Tarozzi Silvia Sandrini Pierina Ielpo Daniele Contini Jean-Philippe Putaud Fabrizia Cavalli Vanes Poluzzi Dimitri Bacco Cristina Leonardi Alessandra Genga Leonardo Langone Sandro Fuzzi |
| author_facet | Stefania Gilardoni Leone Tarozzi Silvia Sandrini Pierina Ielpo Daniele Contini Jean-Philippe Putaud Fabrizia Cavalli Vanes Poluzzi Dimitri Bacco Cristina Leonardi Alessandra Genga Leonardo Langone Sandro Fuzzi |
| author_sort | Stefania Gilardoni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Elemental carbon (EC), a ubiquitous component of fine atmospheric aerosol derived from incomplete combustion, is an important player for both climate change and air quality deterioration. Several policy measures have been implemented over the last decades to reduce EC emissions from anthropogenic sources, but still, long-term EC measurements to verify the efficacy of such measurements are limited. In this study, we analyze the concentration of EC suspended in fog water samples, collected over the period 1997–2016 in a rural background site of the southern Po Valley. The comparison between EC in fog water and EC atmospheric aerosol concentration measured since 2012 allowed us to reconstruct EC atmospheric concentration from fog water chemical composition dating back to 1997. The results agree with the EC atmospheric observations performed at the European Monitoring and Evaluation Program (EMEP) station of Ispra in the northern part of the Po Valley since 2002, and confirm that the Po Valley is a pollution hotspot, not only in urban areas, but also in rural locations. The reconstructed trend over the period 1997–2016 indicates that EC concentration during the winter season has decreased on average by 4% per year, in agreement with the emission reduction rate, confirming the effectiveness of air quality measures implemented during the past 20 years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:25:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-249f5db7ecfc4f91a552319466b655f2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:25:41Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-249f5db7ecfc4f91a552319466b655f22023-11-20T02:33:22ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-06-0111658010.3390/atmos11060580Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water SamplesStefania Gilardoni0Leone Tarozzi1Silvia Sandrini2Pierina Ielpo3Daniele Contini4Jean-Philippe Putaud5Fabrizia Cavalli6Vanes Poluzzi7Dimitri Bacco8Cristina Leonardi9Alessandra Genga10Leonardo Langone11Sandro Fuzzi12Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council, 40129 Bologna, ItalyInstitute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council, 40129 Bologna, ItalyInstitute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, 40129 Bologna, ItalyInstitute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, 73100 Lecce, ItalyInstitute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, 73100 Lecce, ItalyEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyRegional Agency for Prevention, Environment and Energy of Emilia-Romagna, 40122 Bologna, ItalyRegional Agency for Prevention, Environment and Energy of Emilia-Romagna, 40122 Bologna, ItalyAir Pollution Institute, National Research Council at the Ministry of Environment, Land, and Sea, 00147 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyInstitute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council, 40129 Bologna, ItalyInstitute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, 40129 Bologna, ItalyElemental carbon (EC), a ubiquitous component of fine atmospheric aerosol derived from incomplete combustion, is an important player for both climate change and air quality deterioration. Several policy measures have been implemented over the last decades to reduce EC emissions from anthropogenic sources, but still, long-term EC measurements to verify the efficacy of such measurements are limited. In this study, we analyze the concentration of EC suspended in fog water samples, collected over the period 1997–2016 in a rural background site of the southern Po Valley. The comparison between EC in fog water and EC atmospheric aerosol concentration measured since 2012 allowed us to reconstruct EC atmospheric concentration from fog water chemical composition dating back to 1997. The results agree with the EC atmospheric observations performed at the European Monitoring and Evaluation Program (EMEP) station of Ispra in the northern part of the Po Valley since 2002, and confirm that the Po Valley is a pollution hotspot, not only in urban areas, but also in rural locations. The reconstructed trend over the period 1997–2016 indicates that EC concentration during the winter season has decreased on average by 4% per year, in agreement with the emission reduction rate, confirming the effectiveness of air quality measures implemented during the past 20 years.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/6/580elemental carbonatmospheric aerosolfogPo Valley |
| spellingShingle | Stefania Gilardoni Leone Tarozzi Silvia Sandrini Pierina Ielpo Daniele Contini Jean-Philippe Putaud Fabrizia Cavalli Vanes Poluzzi Dimitri Bacco Cristina Leonardi Alessandra Genga Leonardo Langone Sandro Fuzzi Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples Atmosphere elemental carbon atmospheric aerosol fog Po Valley |
| title | Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples |
| title_full | Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples |
| title_fullStr | Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples |
| title_short | Reconstructing Elemental Carbon Long-Term Trend in the Po Valley (Italy) from Fog Water Samples |
| title_sort | reconstructing elemental carbon long term trend in the po valley italy from fog water samples |
| topic | elemental carbon atmospheric aerosol fog Po Valley |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/6/580 |
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