Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current EU Situation

Belis, Claudio A.; Blond, Nadège; Bouland, Catherine; Carnevale, Claudio; Clappier, Alain; Douros, John; Fragkou, E.; Guariso, Giorgio; Miranda, Ana Isabel; Nahorski, Zbigniew; Pisoni, Enrico; Ponche, Jean Luc; Thunis, Philippe; Viaene, Peter; Volta, Marialuisa

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-33349-6_4

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…1a) is of particular interest, due to both its sensitive environment and its proximity to the Po Valley (Tampieri et al, 1981;Seibert et al, 1998;Wotawa et al, 2000;Dosio et al, 2002;Campana et al, 2005;Kaiser, 2009;Finardi et al, 2014). In fact, the Po basin represents a major pollution hotspot in Europe, with large emissions from highly populated urban areas (about 40 % of the Italian population lives in this region, WMO, 2012), intense anthropogenic activities, such as industry and agriculture, combined with a local topography promoting atmospheric stability (Chu et al, 2003;Barnaba and Gobbi, 2004;Schaap et al, 2004;Van Donkelaar et al, 2010;Bigi and Ghermandi, 2014;Fuzzi et al, 2015;EMEP, 2016;Belis et al, 2017;EEA, 2017). Despite the efforts to decrease the number of particulate matter (PM) exceedances, Italy is still failing to comply with the European air-quality standards (EU Commission, 2008, 2018, the Po Valley being the major area responsible for this situation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Po Valley aerosol pollution to the northwestern Alps – Part 2: Long-term impact on air quality

et al. 2019

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Abstract. This work evaluates the impact of trans-regional aerosol transport from the Po basin on particulate matter levels (PM10) and physico-chemical characteristics in the northwestern Alps. To this purpose, we exploited a multi-sensor, multi-platform database over a 3-year period (2015–2017) accompanied by a series of numerical simulations. The experimental setup included operational (24/7) vertically resolved aerosol profiles by an automated lidar ceilometer (ALC), vertically integrated aerosol properties by a Sun/sky photometer, and surface measurements of aerosol mass concentration, size distribution and chemical composition. This experimental set of observations was then complemented by modelling tools, including numerical weather prediction (NWP), trajectory statistical (TSM) and chemical transport (CTM) models, plus positive matrix factorisation (PMF) on both the PM10 chemical speciation analyses and particle size distributions. In a first companion study, we showed and discussed through detailed case studies the 4-D phenomenology of recurrent episodes of aerosol transport from the polluted Po basin to the northwestern Italian Alps. Here we draw more general and statistically significant conclusions on the frequency of occurrence of this phenomenon, and on the quantitative impact of this regular, wind-driven, aerosol-rich “atmospheric tide” on PM10 air-quality levels in this alpine environment. Based on an original ALC-derived classification, we found that an advected aerosol layer is observed at the receptor site (Aosta) in 93 % of days characterized by easterly winds (i.e. from the Po basin) and that the longer the time spent by air masses over the Po plain the higher this probability. Frequency of these advected aerosol layers was found to be rather stable over the seasons with about 50 % of the days affected. Duration of these advection events ranges from few hours up to several days, while aerosol layer thickness ranges from 500 up to 4000 m. Our results confirm this phenomenon to be related to non-local emissions, to act at the regional scale and to largely impact both surface levels and column-integrated aerosol properties. In Aosta, PM10 and aerosol optical depth (AOD) values increase respectively up to factors of 3.5 and 4 in dates under the Po Valley influence. Pollution transport events were also shown to modify the mean chemical composition and typical size of particles in the target region. In fact, increase in secondary species, and mainly nitrate- and sulfate-rich components, were found to be effective proxies of the advections, with the transported aerosol responsible for at least 25 % of the PM10 measured in the urban site of Aosta, and adding up to over 50 µg m−3 during specific episodes, thus exceeding alone the EU established daily limit. From a modelling point of view, our CTM simulations performed over a full year showed that the model is able to reproduce the phenomenon, but markedly underestimates its impact on PM10 levels. As a sensitivity test, we employed the ALC-derived identification of aerosol advections to re-weight the emissions from outside the boundaries of the regional domain in order to match the observed PM10 field. This simplified exercise indicated that an increase in such “external” emissions by a factor of 4 in the model is needed to halve the model PM10 maximum deviations and to significantly reduce the PM10 normalised mean bias forecasts error (from −35 % to 5 %).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Po Valley aerosol pollution to the northwestern Alps – Part 2: Long-term impact on air quality

et al. 2019

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“…As a consequence, the Po basin is one of the EU hotspots suffering from premature mortality associated to atmospheric pollution (EEA, 2015). In spite of the improvements in the last decades (e.g., Bigi and Ghermandi, 2016), the air quality in the Po Valley is still far from the standards established by the European Commission (EU Commission, 2008) and exceedances of these standards are expected to continue in the next years (Belis et al, 2017;Caserini et al, 2017; EEA, 2017; Guariso and Volta, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Po Valley aerosol pollution to the northwestern Alps. Part 1: phenomenology

Diémoz¹,

Barnaba²,

Magri³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Abstract. Mountainous regions are often considered pristine environments, however they can be affected by pollutants emitted in more populated and industrialised areas, transported by regional winds. Based on experimental evidence, further supported by modelling tools, we demonstrate and quantify here the impact of air masses transported from the Po Valley, a European atmospheric pollution hotspot, to the northwestern Alps. This is achieved through a detailed investigation of the phenomenology of near-range (few hundreds km), trans-regional transport, exploiting synergies of multi-sensor observations mainly focussed on particulate matter. The explored dataset includes vertically-resolved data from atmospheric profiling techniques (Automated LiDAR-Ceilometers, ALC), vertically-integrated aerosol properties from ground (sun photometer) and space, and in situ measurements (PM10 and PM2.5, relevant chemical analyses, and aerosol size distribution). During the frequent advection episodes from the Po basin, all the physical quantities observed by the instrumental setup are found to significantly increase: the scattering ratio from ALC reaches values > 30, AOD triplicates, surface PM10 reaches concentrations > 100 µg/m3 even in rural areas, secondary inorganic compounds such as nitrate, ammonium and sulfate increase up to 28 %, 8 % and 17 % of the total PM10 mass, respectively. Results also indicate that the advected aerosol is smaller in size and less light-absorbing compared to the aerosol type locally-emitted in the northwestern Italian Alps, and hygroscopic. In this work, the phenomenon is exemplified through detailed analysis and discussion of three case studies, selected for their clarity and relevance within the wider dataset, the latter being fully exploited in a companion paper quantifying the impact of this phenomenology over the long-term (Diémoz et al., 2018). For the three case studies investigated, a high-resolution numerical weather prediction model (COSMO) and a lagrangian tool (LAGRANTO) are employed to understand the meteorological mechanisms favouring the transport and to demonstrate the Po Valley origin of the air masses. In addition, a chemical transport model (FARM) is used to further support the observations and to partition the contributions of local and non-local sources. Results show that the simulations are not able to adequately reproduce the measurements (with modelled PM10 concentrations 4–5 times lower than the ones retrieved from the ALC, and maxima anticipated by 6–7 hours), likely owing to deficiencies in the emission inventory and particle water uptake not fully taken into account. The advected aerosol is shown to remarkably degrade the air quality of the Alpine region, with potential negative effects on human health, climate and ecosystems, as well as on the touristic development of the investigated area. The findings of the present study could also help design mitigation strategies at the trans–regional scale in the Po basin, and suggest an observations-based approach to evaluate the outcome of their implementation.

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“…Estimating total uncertainty is an essential element of the integrated assessment process. In order to assess the total uncertainty of an integrated system, the uncertainty related to the different modelling components of the system (meteorological modelling, air quality modelling, exposure modelling, cost-benefit modelling) has to be quantified separately [67]. Possible ways to explore the uncertainties in the context of specific decisions is to carry out sensitivity and comparative analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Quality Planning and the Minimization of Negative Externalities

2019

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The minimization of negative externalities is a key aspect in the development of a circular and sustainable economic model. At the local scale, especially in urban areas, externalities are generated by the adverse impacts of air pollution on human health. Local air quality policies and plans often lack of considerations and instruments for the quantification and evaluation of external health costs. Support for decision-makers is needed, in particular during the implementation stage of air quality plans. Modelling tools based on the impact pathway approach can provide such support. In this paper, the implementation of health impacts and externalities analysis in air quality planning is evaluated. The state of the art in European member states is reported, considering whether and how health effects have been included in the planning schemes. The air quality plan of the Piemonte region in Italy is then considered. A case study is analyzed to evaluate a plan action, i.e., the development of the district heating system in the city of Turin. The DIATI (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Ambiente, del Territorio e delle Infrastrutture) Dispersion and Externalities Model (DIDEM model) is applied to detect the scenario with the highest external cost reduction. This methodology results are extensible and adaptable to other actions and measures, as well as other local policies in Europe. The use of health externalities should be encouraged and integrated into the present methodology supporting air quality planning. Efforts should be addressed to quantify and minimize the overall uncertainty of the process.

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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current EU Situation

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

Transport of Po Valley aerosol pollution to the northwestern Alps – Part 2: Long-term impact on air quality

Transport of Po Valley aerosol pollution to the northwestern Alps – Part 2: Long-term impact on air quality

Transport of Po Valley aerosol pollution to the northwestern Alps. Part 1: phenomenology

Air Quality Planning and the Minimization of Negative Externalities

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