Hybrid multiple-site mass closure and source apportionment of PM and aerosol acidity at major cities in the Po Valley.

This study investigates the major chemical components, particle-bound water content, acidity (pH), and major potential sources of PM in major cities (Belluno, Conegliano, Vicenza, Mestre, Padua, and Rovigo) in the eastern end of the Po Valley. The measured PM mass was reconstructed using a multiple-site hybrid chemical mass closure approach that also accounts for aerosol inorganic water content (AWC) estimated by the ISORROPIA-II model. Annually, organic matter accounted for 31-45% of the PM at all sites, followed by nitrate (10-19%), crustal material (10-14%), sulfate (8-10%), ammonium (5-9%), elemental carbon (4-7%), other inorganic ions (3-4%), and trace elements (0.

A procedure to evaluate the factors determining the elemental composition of PM. Case study: the Veneto region (northeastern Italy).

The Po Valley is one of the most important hot spots in Europe for air pollution. Morphological features and anthropogenic pressures lead to frequent breaching of air quality standards and to high-pollution episodes in an ~46 × 10-km-wide alluvial lowland. Therefore, it is increasingly important to study the air quality in a wide geographical scale to better implement possible and successful mitigation measures.

Estimation of local and external contributions of biomass burning to PM in an industrial zone included in a large urban settlement.

A total of 85 PM samples were collected at a site located in a large industrial zone (Porto Marghera, Venice, Italy) during a 1-year-long sampling campaign. Samples were analyzed to determine water-soluble inorganic ions, elemental and organic carbon, and levoglucosan, and results were processed to investigate the seasonal patterns, the relationship between the analyzed species, and the most probable sources by using a set of tools, including (i) conditional probability function (CPF), (ii) conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF), (iii) concentration weighted trajectory (CWT), and (iv) potential source contribution function (PSCF) analyses. Furthermore, the importance of biomass combustions to PM was also estimated.