Elisa Morabito

Impact of maritime traffic on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals and particulate matter in Venice air.

AbstractHarbours are important hubs for economic growth in both tourism and commercial activities. They are also an environmental burden being a source of atmospheric pollution often localized near cities and industrial complexes. The aim of this study is to quantify the relative contribution of maritime traffic and harbour activities to atmospheric pollutant concentration in the Venice lagoon. The impact of ship traffic was quantified on various pollutants that are not directly included in the current European legislation for shipping emission reduction: (i) gaseous and particulate PAHs; (ii) metals in PM10; and (iii) PM10 and PM2.5. All contributions were correlated with the tonnage of ships during the sampling periods and results were used to evaluate the impact of the European Directive 2005/33/EC on air quality in Venice comparing measurements taken before and after the application of the Directive (year 2010). The outcomes suggest that legislation on ship traffic, which focused on the issue of the emissions of sulphur oxides, could be an efficient method also to reduce the impact of shipping on primary particulate matter concentration; on the other hand, we did not observe a significant reduction in the contribution of ship traffic and harbour activities to particulate PAHs and metals. Graphical abstractImpact of maritime traffic on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals and particulate matter and evaluation of the effect of an European Directive on air quality in Venice

Temporal evolution of cadmium, copper and lead concentration in the Venice Lagoon water in relation with the speciation and dissolved/particulate partition

In order to study the role of sediment re-suspension and deposition versus the role of organic complexation, we investigated the speciation of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in samples collected in the Venice Lagoon during several campaigns from 1992 to 2006. The increment in Cd and Pb concentration in the dissolved phases, observed in the central and northern basins, can be linked to important alterations inside the lagoon caused by industrial and urban factors. The study focuses on metal partition between dissolved and particulate phases. The analyses carried out in different sites illustrate the complex role of organic matter in the sedimentation process. While Cd concentration in sediments can be correlated with organic matter, no such correlation can be established in the case of Pb, whose particulate concentration is related only to the dissolved concentration. In the case of Cu, the role of organic complexation remains unclear.