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This paper examines the role of museum atmosphere in affecting brand trustworthiness, perceived quality, visitor satisfaction, and visitor behavioral intentions in a museum context in Italy. While broadly examined with reference to stores, atmosphere has been rarely looked at in the museum context, particularly in Italy, the authors developed a research framework to investigate the relationships among museum atmosphere, brand trustworthiness, perceived quality, intention to revisit, and intention to recommend. Using a survey as a research instrument, the study was conducted with 1,370 visitors of three Italian museums: Museo delle Culture (MUDEC), Museo del Novecento, and Galleria d'Arte Moderna (GAM). Results show that the museum atmosphere affects both perceptions of brand trustworthiness, and visitor behavioral intentions. The paper makes the case for using the development of the atmosphere as a strategy to include the visitor perspective in the museum value co-creation process. Theoretical and managerial implications are then outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is typically interpreted that more moisture in the atmosphere leads to more intense rains. This notion may be supported, for example, by taking a scatterplot between rain and column precipitable water. The present paper suggests, however, that the main consequence of intense rains with more moisture in the atmosphere is that there is a higher chance of occurrence rather than an increase in the expected magnitude. This tendency equally applies to any rains above 1 mm (6 h)−1 to a lesser extent. The result is derived from an analysis of 33 local rain gauge station data and a shared sounding over Friuli Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy. Significance Statement: Moisture is the source of clouds. Clouds, in turn, are source of rain. So we may expect that more moisture in the atmosphere causes more intense rains. We may further speculate that with more moisture in the atmosphere as a consequence of the global warning, we must face more catastrophic rain events and floods. However, this paper, by analyzing data over Friuli Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy, suggests otherwise: more moisture indeed increases frequencies of intense rains, but not their magnitudes as much. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Southern Mediterranean regions, the issue of summer fires related to agriculture practices is a periodic recurrence. It implies a significant increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other combustion-related gaseous and particles compounds emitted into the atmosphere with potential impacts on air quality and global climate. In this work, we performed an analysis of summer fire events that occurred on August 2021. Measurements were carried out at the permanent World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station of Lamezia Terme (Code: LMT) in Calabria, Southern Italy. The observatory is equipped with greenhouse gases and black carbon analyzers, an atmospheric particulate impactor system, and a meteo-station for atmospheric parameters to characterize atmospheric mechanisms and transport for land and sea breezes occurrences. High mole fractions of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) coming from quadrants of inland areas were correlated with fire counts detected via the MODIS satellite (GFED-Global Fire Emissions Database) at 1 km of spatial resolution. In comparison with the typical summer values, higher CO and CO2 were observed in August 2021. Furthermore, the growth in CO concentration values in the tropospheric column was also highlighted by the analyses of the L2 products of the Copernicus SP5 satellite. Wind fields were reconstructed via a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) output, the latter suggesting a possible contribution from open fire events observed at the inland region near the observatory. So far, there have been no documented estimates of the effect of prescribed burning on carbon emissions in this region. This study suggested that data collected at the LMT station can be useful in recognizing and consequently quantifying emission sources related to open fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This research investigated the presence of atmospheric microplastics, including those originating from tyre wear, in urban parks and rural roadside areas (Siena, Italy). We used the leaflets of the commonly found higher plant, Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust), as a novel biomonitor of atmospheric microplastic deposition. In the study, we observed that rural roadside locations had high concentration of tyre wear particles, whereas urban parks situated more than 500 m away from busy roads exhibited no detectable levels of tyre wear particles. In contrast, the number of plastic microfibres was significantly greater in urban parks, given their central city locations. The results suggest a substantial daily deposition of microplastics, potentially leading to human exposure in both residential and rural areas. In situations where human habitation is in proximity to roads, there is a heightened risk of exposure to tyre wear particles from road surfaces. Our results suggest that Robinia pseudoacacia L., with its widespread availability, waxy coating, and high surface-to-mass ratio, as well as ease of surface area determination for estimating deposition rates, can serve as a valuable resource for investigating the deposition of airborne microplastics including tyre wear particles. Here we investigate the suitability of Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust) leaflets as a novel biomonitor of airborne microplastics (MPs) including tyre wear particles (TWPs). Leaflets were collected from rural roadside locations (ROs, n = 5) and urban parks (UPs, n = 5) in Siena, Italy. MPs were removed by washing, identified by stereomicroscope, and analysed for polymer type by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Daily MP deposition was estimated from leaf area. The mass magnetic susceptibility and the bioaccumulation of traffic-related potentially toxic elements (PTEs) were also analysed. The total number of MPs at ROs was significantly higher at 2962, dominated by TWPs, compared with 193 in UPs, where TWPs were not found. In contrast, total microfibres were significantly higher in UPs compared with ROs (185 vs. 86). Daily MP deposition was estimated to range from 4.2 to 5.1 MPs/m2/d across UPs and 29.9–457.6 MPs/m2/d across ROs. The polymer types at ROs were dominated by rubber (80%) from TWPs, followed by 15% polyamide (PA) and 5% polysulfone (PES), while in UPs the proportion of PES (44%) was higher than PA (22%) and polyacrylonitrile (11%). The mean mass magnetic susceptibility, a proxy of the bioaccumulation of traffic-related metallic particles, was higher at ROs (0.62 ± 0.01 10–8 m3/kg) than at UPs (–0.50 ± 0.03 10–8 m3/kg). The content of PTEs was similar across sites, except for significantly higher concentrations of Sb, a tracer of vehicle brake wear, at ROs (0.308 ± 0.008 µg/g) compared with UPs (0.054 ± 0.006 µg/g). Our results suggest that the waxy leaflets and easy determination of surface area make Robinia an effective biomonitor for airborne MPs including TWPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows an analytical methodology based on solid-phase extraction by XAD-2 adsorbent and gas chromatography (GC) coupled with nitrogen-phosphorus (NPD) and ion-trap mass spectrometry detectors (ITMS) in negative chemical ionization (NCI) mode analyses for investigating organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) at trace levels (in nanograms per cubic meter) in the atmosphere: in particular, we set up a procedure for analyzing 38 OPs. For the analytical methodology linearity responses have been obtained in GC-NPD (r > 0.9982) and GC-NCI/ITMS (r > 0.9974) in a large linearity range (0.10-500 pg μL(-1) in both cases) whereas the limits of detection range between 0.01 and 0.03 pg μL(-1) in both the techniques with a relative standard deviation (RSD) below 9.0 in both cases. Particular attention has been devoted to investigate the effect of different solvents (n-hexane, benzene, chloroform, carbon disulfide, acetonitrile) on the OP recovery as well the breakthrough volumes have been evaluated (100% recovery up to 4,286 L g(-1)). The study has also investigated the OP recoveries at different sampling flow rates (1.5 and 2.0 L min(-1)) for determining the optimal conditions for sample collection. Finally, the whole approach has been successfully applied to real samples collected in four different areas in the Molise region (Central Italy) during different seasons: the results show that parathion-ethyl, dimethoate, omethoate, and malathion are present in all periods at low levels (ranging between 70 and 10 ng m(-3)): their levels in such periods can be correlated with spraying as well atmospheric conditions favoring the dispersion/accumulation of these pollutants.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is used to investigate the chemical composition of organic aerosol in terms of functional group distribution with a special focus on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. The knowledge of the functional group composition is a benchmark for understanding how SOA components partition into the particulate phase and undergo chemical transformation. The paper presents a new chemical derivatization procedure coupled to proton NMR (1H NMR) analysis for the specific determination of total carbonylic groups in atmospheric aerosol samples, which couples with the procedure for determination of total carboxylic acid groups described in a previous work. A first deployment of the combined techniques for the analysis of PM10 samples collected in the Po Valley in the warm season shows that the concentration in the particulate phase of total carbonyls varies and covaries with respect to those of carboxylic acids and of less-oxidized functional groups. The proposed methodology provides the breakdown of the oxygenated fraction of the organic aerosol into major functional groups through well-established chemical methods and can be used to benchmark the more sensitive and widely used aerosol mass spectrometric techniques.

Radon concentration measurements in atmosphere were taken in years from 1997 to 1999 in Milan and at pre-alpine sites located north of Lombardy. In this paper the results of measuring campaigns and a comparison of radon levels observed in the hilly area north of the town and on the pre-Alps are reported. The general criteria of the measurements and the interpretative models of radon concentration are presented. The Lake Maggiore area shows evidence of a great nocturnal stability and frequent formation of Nocturnal Stable Layer. The peculiar findings in the high altitude stations confirm the use of radon as an indicator of atmospheric dispersion of pollutants in an area with complex orography. The afternoon minimum values are concordant for the different stations: this implies a remixing in afternoon hours over the whole area investigated.

A simple device consisting of a Petri dish containing cellulose paper soaked with paraffin oil (hereinafter defined "artificial leaf", AL) was deployed in a typical urban site and partitioning of a set of PAHs between the atmosphere and AL was investigated. Gas-phase PAHs rapidly equilibrate with AL, thus rendering it a promising cost-effective tool for spatial and temporal trends studies of air quality.

The atmosphere is an important pathway for microplastic (MP) transport; however, observations are limited, as traditional sampling methods are generally labor-intensive. Biological monitors (biomonitors) have been widely used as a simple alternative to determine the abundance or presence of anthropogenic pollutants. Here, we compared the effectiveness of co-located lichen and moss species as biomonitors of the atmospheric deposition of microplastics. Samples of the epiphytic lichen Evernia prunastri and the epigeic moss Pseudoscleropodium purum were collected from five remote areas of central Italy. A total of 154 MPs were found across all samples, 93.5% of which were fibers and 6.5% were fragments. The accumulation of MPs for lichens (range of 8–12 MP/g) was significantly lower than for mosses (12–17 MP/g), which might be related to their structural characteristics or habitat positions (epiphytic versus epigeic). Nonetheless, higher accumulation facilitates analytical determination and provides greater separation from the limit of detection, suggesting that mosses are preferred over lichens for studying the deposition of airborne MPs. This study further suggests that biomonitoring may be an effective tool to assess the spatial distribution of atmospheric microplastics, which is a key requirement for the development of waste mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous photosynthetic microorganisms considered as important contributors to the formation of Earth's atmosphere and to the process of nitrogen fixation. However, they are also frequently associated with toxic blooms, named cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). This paper reports on an unusual out-of-season cyanoHAB and its dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Lake Avernus, South Italy. Fast detection strategy (FDS) was used to assess this phenomenon, through the integration of satellite imagery and biomolecular investigation of the environmental samples. Data obtained unveiled a widespread Microcystis sp. bloom in February 2020 (i.e., winter season in Italy), which completely disappeared at the end of the following COVID-19 lockdown, when almost all urban activities were suspended. Due to potential harmfulness of cyanoHABs, crude extracts from the "winter bloom" were evaluated for their cytotoxicity in two different human cell lines, namely normal dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7). The chloroform extract was shown to exert the highest cytotoxic activity, which has been correlated to the presence of cyanotoxins, i.e., microcystins, micropeptins, anabaenopeptins, and aeruginopeptins, detected by molecular networking analysis of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Radar atmospheric decorrelation due to inhomogeneity of atmospheric refractivity is a critical limitation of satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR) in the high accuracy retrieving of geophysical parameters. With mm precision, a water vapor tracing technique based on GPS meteorology was widely employed to mitigate InSAR atmospheric errors. However, a reliable comparison of atmospheric delay between GPS and InSAR is rarely touched, mainly due to the scarcity of stable and accurate InSAR atmospheric phases. In the paper we propose a comparison methodology between GPS Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) and SAR Atmospheric Phase Screen (APS) in both differential and pseudo-absolute modes. In the experiment, ENVISAT ASAR APS maps and synchronous GPS campaign measurements in Como, Italy were collected for consistency analysis. Furthermore, the stratification effect of atmospheric delay, in a form of delay-to-elevation ratios, was particularly analyzed for the purpose of separating different components within APSs. Finally, with the above stratification analysis, terms of stratification and assumed turbulence from SAR APS and GPS were compared in differential mode. Presented results show that the stratified ratios from GPS delays and SAR APS maps are in agreement with a std of 7.7mm/km and a bias of 3.4mm/km. Correlation coefficients of stratified ratios are higher than 0.7 in ascending case. In differential mode, the atmospheric total delays coincide with STandard Deviations (STDs) smaller than 4mm (∼0.65mm PWV) and with correlation coefficients higher than 0.6. The comparison of total delays in ‘pseudo-absolute’ mode is provided as an alternative vision of the agreement between GPS and InSAR. The agreement in this mode was slightly worse than that in differential mode. STDs of the difference are smaller than 6mm (∼1mm PWV), and the correlation coefficients are about 0.5 for different implementation approaches. Above comparison results in the work provide a quantitative extent to which atmospheric measurements from GPS and SAR APS are comparable. Another significant finding is that in most cases the STD of difference (between GPS and SAR APS) is slightly smaller than STD of SAR APS itself in both comparison modes. It implies the potentiality to correct atmospheric errors in SAR interferometry with high-precision GPS meteorological products, i.e. tropospheric delay or water vapor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Radon concentration measurements in atmosphere were taken in years from 1997 to 1999 in Milan and at pre-alpine sites located north of Lombardy. In this paper the results of measuring campaigns and a comparison of radon levels observed in the hilly area north of the town and on the pre-Alps are reported. The general criteria of the measurements and the interpretative models of radon concentration are presented. The Lake Maggiore area shows evidence of a great nocturnal stability and frequent formation of Nocturnal Stable Layer. The peculiar findings in the high altitude stations confirm the use of radon as an indicator of atmospheric dispersion of pollutants in an area with complex orography. The afternoon minimum values are concordant for the different stations: this implies a remixing in afternoon hours over the whole area investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soil moisture is widely recognized as a fundamental variable governing the mass and energy fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere. In this study, the soil moisture modelling at sub-daily timescale is addressed by using an accurate representation of the infiltration component. For that, the semi-analytical infiltration model proposed by Corradini et al. (1997) has been incorporated into a soil water balance model to simulate the evolution in time of surface and profile soil moisture. The performances of this new soil moisture model [soil water balance module-semi-analytical (SWBM-SA)] are compared with those of a precedent version [SWBM-Green-Ampt (GA)] where the GA approach was employed. Their capability to reproduce in situ soil moisture observations at three sites in Italy, Spain and France is analysed. Hourly observations of quality-checked rainfall, temperature and soil moisture data for a 2-year period are used for testing the modelling approaches. Specifically, different configurations for the calibration and validation of the models are adopted by varying a single parameter, that is, the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Results indicate that both SWBMs are able to reproduce satisfactorily the hourly soil moisture temporal pattern for the three sites with root mean square errors lower than 0.024 m3/m3 both in the calibration and validation periods. For all sites, the SWBM-SA model outperforms the SWBM-GA with an average reduction of the root mean square error of ~20%. Specifically, the higher improvement is observed for the French site for which in situ observations are measured at 30 cm depth, and this is attributed to the capability of the SA infiltration model to simulate the time evolution of the whole soil moisture profile. The reasonable models performance coupled with the need to calibrate only a single parameter makes them useful tools for soil moisture simulation in different regions worldwide, also in scarcely gauged areas. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple inverse parameter estimation method is used in a practical diagnostic approach to obtain the surface roughness lengths and surface resistance parameters from a chi-square cost function containing measurements of wind speed and air surface temperature differences in the atmospheric surface layer. The estimated parameters allow the calculation of the turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat and the surface-layer profiles of wind speed temperature and humidity from single-level data of wind speed and variance, air temperature and humidity, surface temperature, and total heat flux (sum of sensible and latent fluxes, estimated as net radiation minus soil heat flux). The procedure, which is potentially applicable when fast response data are not available without the necessity of external parameters (with the exception of the displacement height), is tested over a field dataset in southern Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury in different environmental compartments has been measured at Ny-Ålesund (78°54′ N, 11°53′ E) during an intensive campaign, 17 April to 14 May 2002. Time-resolved speciated determination of mercury in the atmosphere and snow was conducted at the Norwegian research station at the Zeppelin mountain, 474m above the sea level, and at the Italian research facility Dirigibile Italia, 12m above the sea level. Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) was present in the range <0.1 to 2.2 ngm-3 during the campaign. Three mercury depletion events, identified as periods with decreased TGM concentrations, were observed. At the lower altitude, TGM concentrations following such events were found to exhibit both higher magnitude and larger variability in comparison to results from the Zeppelin station. Oxidised mercury species in air and fall-out with snow as well as mercury attached to particles were also measured and their concentrations were found to be anti-correlated with TGM in air. concentrations of total Hg in snow (Hg-tot) showed a large (∼15x) increase in response to Gaseous Elemental Mercury Depletion Events (GEMDEs, range 1.5-76.5 ng L-1). Solid evidence for photo-stimulated emissions of Hg0(g) from the snow pack in conjunction to depletion events were obtained from gradient measurements as well as from flux chamber measurements. Steep diurnal concentration variations of Hg0(aq) in surface seawater were also found to concur with changing solar radiation. The concentration of Hg0(aq) in seawater was found to be in the range 12.2-70.4 pg L-1, which corresponds to supersaturation. Hence, the seawater surface constituted a source emitting elemental mercury. The concentrations of RGM (reactive gaseous mercury), Hg-p (particulate mercury), and BrO column densities (detected by DOAS) were very low except for a few individual samples during the major Hg0 depletion event. BrO vertical column densities obtained by the remote satellite ESR-2 and trajectory analysis indicate that the air masses exhibiting low Hg0 concentrations originated from areas with high BrO densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lowest pass through the Alpine crest, the Brenner Pass, was heavily instrumented with ground-based and air-borne in-situ and remote sensors during the Special Observation Period (SOP) of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP) in the fall of 1999 to study gap flow. The main objectives were to study the combined effects of changes of terrain height and changes of width in altering the flow characteristics, to investigate the coupling of the gap flow to the flow aloft, and to provide high-density measurements in the along- and cross-gap directions. Gap flows occurred during one third of the 70-day SOP, a frequency above the long term average. Gap flows took place with and without accompanying cross-barrier flow and with and without a capping inversion. A case study demonstrates the hydraulic jump-like features that occurred in gap flow on 30 October 1999 and illustrates the types of data available for further analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

abstract The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has been measured weekly since 1992 at the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean sea. Lampedusa is a small island located approximately 100 km east of Tunisia, and 250 km south of Sicily. The 10-yr CO2 data set has been analysed to quantify trends, and characterize semi-annual, annual and inter-annual variability. The data show an average trend of +1.7 ppmv yr-1 ; the average annual cycle has an amplitude of about 9 ppmv. In the period of investigation the annual growth rate varies between 0.5 and 4.5 ppmv yr-1 , and the amplitude of the annual cycle between 7 and 11 ppmv yr-1 . By comparing the observed growth rate with recent estimates of carbon dioxide emissions, it is calculated that 58–61% of the emitted CO2 remains in the atmosphere. The CO2 growth rate appears to be related to large-scale dynamic phenomena, primarily El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). An evident signature of the 1997–98 El Niño is apparent in the CO2 record, and corresponds to a weakening of the exchange with the biosphere. A high correlation between the global average temperature and the 12-month average carbon dioxide growth rate is also found. Wind direction displays a significant inter-annual variability throughout the measurement period, possibly influencing the observed evolution of the CO2 concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of particle-bound nitrated PAH (NPAH) in the atmosphere has been observed in urban areas of Italy. Milan appeared to be the most polluted city. Sites of different nature were investigated in Rome and its outskirts. Particlebound NPAH were modulated not only in concentration, but also in the relative content of homologues, according to emission and in-situ generation mechanisms influencing the site. Despite that, direct release from motor vehicles was found less important than degradation of PAH with respect to the presence of NPAH in the atmosphere. Concentrations of NPAH seemed to be capable to affect ambient air quality, due to strong mutagenicity of selected congeners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is estimated that more than 100 geothermal CO2 springs exist in central-western Italy. Eight springs were selected in which the atmospheric CO2 concentrations were consistently observed to he above the current atmospheric average of 354 μmol mol-1, CO2 concentration measurements at some of the springs are reported. The springs are described, and their major topographic and vegetational features are reported. Preliminary observations made on natural vegetation growing around the gas vents are then illustrated. An azonal pattern of vegetation distribution occurs around every CO2 spring regardless of soil type and phytoclimatic areas. This is composed of pioneer populations of a Northern Eurasiatic species (Agrostis canina L.) which is often associated with Scirpus lacustris L. The potential of these sites for studying the long-term response of vegetation to rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical series of monthly mean temperatures from 27 Italian stations, updated to 1993, are analysed. Building on previous analysis thefollowing new results were obtained: there is an upward trend in seasonal and annual temperatures during the last 20 years; a positive trend, stronger at southern stations compared to northern stations, is apparent from 1920 to 1950, after when temperature shows no significant trend until 1985 when it starts to increase again. Data from Northern Italy show similar characteristics to a subset of data from a global climatic database, for the period 1881-1988. This comparison, however, suggests that good station coverage is important for the construction of a more detailed picture of seasonal climate variability." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]