River pollution remediation monitored by optical and infrared high-resolution satellite images.

The Bormida River Basin, located in the northwestern region of Italy, has been strongly contaminated by the ACNA chemical factory. This factory was in operation from 1892 to 1998, and contamination from the factory has had deleterious consequences on the water quality, agriculture, natural ecosystems and human health. Attempts have been made to remediate the site.

An air quality balance index estimating the total amount of air pollutants at ground level.

A new index named Air Quality Balance Index (AQBI), which is able to characterise the amount of pollution level in a selected area, is proposed. This index is a function of the ratios between pollutant concentration values and their standards; it aims at identifying all situations in which there is a possible environmental risk even when several pollutants are below their limit values but air quality is reduced. AQBI is evaluated by using a high-resolution three-dimensional dispersion model: the air concentration for each substance is computed starting from detailed emissions sources: point, line and area emissions hourly modulated.